My favorite feature of the Penlux line is the boxes. Each box is cut from a single piece of cardstock and folded in such a way that no glue is necessary.

Ok, I was wrong. My favorite feature of the Penlux ink line is the colors. They are fabulous! The three inks I have here are in the vintage line of the Mo inks.

Penlux Mo Pine is incredibly close to Sailor Rikyu-cha. to the point that it seems likely that Penlux may have been utilizing Sailor’s ink manufacturing skills when producing Pine.

I also love the changes in Pine on various papers. Tomoe River paper brings out a subtle coppery sheen.

Penlux Mo Pine on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper shows off the yellow and brown undertones.

Penlux Mo Pine on Midori MD paper:

Pine looks like a completely different ink on Cosmo Air Light paper. The shading here is amazing.

Penlux Mo Pine on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Amber has a lovely combination of rusty orange and brown, again with plenty of shading.

The shading seems more pronounced on Tomoe River paper with a hint of greenish sheen.

Penlux Mo Amber on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper has shading but some of the depth of the color is flattened out.

Penlux Mo Amber on Midori MD paper:

On Cosmo Air Light paper, I saw a touch of feathering in some of the writing. Here, the ink looks a bit dusty as well.

Penlux Mo Amber on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Rouge is not a color I usually reach for. But as part of the set of vintage colors, I couldn’t pass it up.

Tomoe River paper shows more of the blue undertones for a burgundy ink with green-gold sheen.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

On Midori MD paper, Rouge has a dusty and faded appearance.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Midori MD paper:

The change in Rouge on Cosmo Air Light paper is dramatic – the blue undertones dominate the color for more of a grape purple.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Do you have a favorite from this trio of inks? Have you found rare or beloved inks in strange locations?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: PenLux Mo Inks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Each of the inks in the Write & Draw line come in a 50mL glass bottle for $17.33, about $0.35 per mL.

The Write & Draw inks are all named for the color and an animal – none that match the usual color of the animal, however! Yellow Zebra, Brown Penguin, and Brown Colibri are up first.

Red Duck, Orange Skunk, and Pink Gazelle:

Pink Alpaca, Red Turtle, Pink Owl:

Violet Raccoon, Violet Bee, Violet Lion, and Blue Chameleon:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Midori MD paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

Octopus Write & Draw inks on Midori Cotton paper:

Next week I’ll show the remaining 12 Write & Draw inks along with a look at the level of water resistance offered by these pigment inks.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided at a discount by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Octopus Write & Draw Inks Part 1 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I chose to review two inks in the Ink-cafe line – #536 Shikon is the first. This is a deep blue-purple ink, very saturated, and it sheens a bright gold on most paper types. As you can see in the photo above, I had a bit of trouble with the ink rubbing off the swatch and onto the rest of the card. This wasn’t actual smearing, but it is something that can happen with heavily saturated inks. I did not have the same issue writing on the paper samples.

Only a touch of the sheen shows up with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Midori MD paper:

The gold sheen shows a bit of green with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

The sheen is fairly metallic with Kuretake Ink-cafe #536 Shikon on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

The second ink I chose from the Ink-cafe line is a bright red #532 Araishu. This is a vivid red with slight orange undertones – not quite as bright as Monteverde Strawberry Shortcake.

Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Midori MD paper:

I was surprised at how much of the orange undertones showed up with Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Tomoe River 52gsm (TR7) paper:

A faint silver sheen can be sheen with Kuretake Ink-cafe #532 Araishu on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

I was able to pick up a sample of each of these inks from St. Louis Art Supply – a store that is new to me! The samples are quite small – only 1.5mL – but cost on $2.50 each. Dip pen nibs, Kakimori nibs, and glass nibs (most) all fit into the tiny sample vials, but I don’t know of many fountain pens that would be able to draw from them.

The ink is priced at $17.95 for a 20mL bottle – $0.90 per mL. This may be a bit steep for a new ink line, but I am interested to try the remaining colors. I do love how bright Araishu is without blinding me.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Kuretake Ink-Cafe Meiji no Iro Araishu and Shikon appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The external packaging for the Taisho inks is almost identical to some of the Taccia inks, perhaps giving hints to the actual ink manufacturer. The bottle contains 40mL of ink and has a small tag attached with space for a tiny swatch of the ink although the paper used for the tag is too absorbent to show the ink color accurately.

The three ink colors I have here are Gentle Green, Smoky Navy, and Opera Rose.

Opera Rose is an interesting color – a bit under saturated terracotta or salmon orange/pink/brown. It shades but not dramatically.

Papier Plume’s 011 ink is a few shades darker than Opera Rose, but the color is a match.

Smoky Navy has some great shading and is a lovely blue-black ink. Occasionally a hint of sheen shows up but only in the swatch.

I had a hard time finding a match to Smoky Navy in my collection. The lightest portion of the swatch is a match with Diamine Prussian Blue, and the darker areas appeared to match Robert Oster Thunderstorm, but the camera brings out much more green in Smoky Navy.

I saved my favorite of the batch for last. Gentle Green. It immediately reminded me of Taccia Sabimidori with the way is wrote blue but dried to a definite green.

When comparing Gentle Green to Sabimidori, though, the colors were further apart than I had imagined. The heavier applications of Sabimidori are close to the color in Gentle Green, but the overall color is quite different. Wearingeul Mad Hatter is a good match.

The first page below is Tomoe River (TR7) paper

Next is Midori MD paper – this paper is cream rather than the white of the other two examples.

Finally, Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper.

Here’s another shot of the Cosmo Air Light paper, turned to catch the sheen in both Gentle Green and Smoky Navy.

Scrolling through the photos of the paper types, you may have noticed how different the Taisho Roman inks appear on each. Gentle Green is the most obvious, but all three colors change between papers. I’ve photographed pairs of notebooks to show how much they can change.

Tomoe River 52gsm is on the left with Cosmo Air Light 83gsm on the right.

Cosmo Air Light 83gsm is on the left with Midori MD on the right. These don’t even look like the same inks.

So which ink and paper combination is your favorite?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: Taisho Inks, Part 1 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Its a bright, vivid orange to help see you through the last grey days of winter. When compared to other oranges in my collection, I’d say its a bit brighter and happier than Sailor Apricot, if that’s possible. This ink will definitely show best with a wide nib to get all the shading,

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and tell me what your favorite orange ink is. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

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FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Friday, February 24, 2023. All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, not Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Monday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: Items included in this post were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Giveaway: Sailor 2023 Pen Show Exclusive Ink appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

When I look at Sweet Tater Pie, I can smell the pie spices (it’s not scented, they are phantom smells.). Maybe it should have been scented? nah.. I’d rather imagine the smells. The color though reminds me of pumpkin pie for sure. OR sweet tater pie, if you prefer that as a holiday treat. Either way its a bright orange that’s not too garish, there’s a nice warm undertone that keeps it from searing the retinas. Depending on the tool you are using the ink with shade from a bright orangey to a deeper baked orange color.

When compared with some other russet oranges in my stash, I would say the closest similar ink color is Callifolio Inti which may be ever-so-slightly more brownish. Robert Oster Campfire is close as well and since that was a Phidon Pens exclusive, Sweet Tater Pie might be a good alternative for those of us south of the Canadian border. Lamy Bronze isn’t even in the ballpark colorwise.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), James Finniss Serendipity nib holder ($79AUD)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Brush: Silverwhite 1500s  Round #2

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Inkmas Day 12: Vanness Inc Sweet Tater Pie appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

(I must paws — pun! —  here to admit that these inks are already sold out but it took awhile for me to get them all the way from Canada! So I apologize for tempting you with feline-inspired inks that are no longer available. I couldn’t, however, let an opportunity to talk about ink and cats pass me by.)

Dominant Industry Ginger Chicken ($17 for a 25ml bottle) was inspired by the first cat to wander into the Wonder Pens world. The ginger tabby, named Chicken, has been a loyal companion for the family and shop since 2016. Since the Desk HQ also has a loyal ginger tabby, I have been a follower of Chicken’s adventures and a lover of that particular shade of orange that is the classic ginger cat.

In writing, I find that the Ginger Chicken ink is a bit darker than I expected. It reminds me more of ground ginger spices, or nutmeg. Maybe the spices blended for a Pumpkin Spice Latte. And there’s nothing wrong with that toasted orange color at all. But it’s not the color of a ginger cat, IMHO. Maybe in a finer nib pen, the ink will look a little lighter but in my wider stub nib, the ink is not what I was hoping for.

In comparison, Ginger Chicken is in the same family as J. Herbin Cafe des Iles, Monarca Tierra Colorada and Diamine Roasted Chestnut. Since these other inks are readily available, maybe you won’t be so sad that Ginger Chicken is sold out?

Dominant Industry Tuna Grey ($17 for 25ml), was inspired by a stray tabby named Tuna that arrived at Wonder Pens in 2021. Once Tuna worked his way into Chicken’s heart, the Chans had another family member. And we get the chance at a beautiful grey ink. Tuna is similar in color to several of the furballs that take up residence here at Desk HQ so I knew it would be a color I loved. Not to mention a general penchant for grey ink. Who knew grey inks would be one of my favorite colors?

Tuna Grey leans neutral with subtle hints of both purple and a hint of brown — it can almost appear multi-chromatic depending on the paper. Where some popular grey inks are clearly warm or cool (Nick Stewart Twilight Black is warm, Diamine Earl Grey is purply cool grey, Organic Studio Arsenic Grey is blue grey and Kaweco Smokey Grey leans slighty greenish). Isn’t it crazy how unique each grey is?

While I would never play favorites between the two cats, I will have to say that I prefer Tuna Grey ink to the Ginger Chicken color only because I had a preconceived idea about what color Ginger Chicken should be.

I am jealous I didn’t think of creating inks inspired by the shop interns here at the Desk too. If anything, I feel like the revenue generated might help to pay their epic food and litter bills! Maybe next year? Pepper Black? Ollie Orange? Lucy Moonbeam? Zoey Stardust? Hey, Robert Oster, Colorverse or Dominant Industry, give me holler! Let’s make this happen!

For more adventures of Wonder Pens shop cats, check out their Instagram. Maybe they will even announce a re-release of the inks?

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet
• Pens: Midori bullet pencil modified dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), James Finniss Serendipity nib holder ($79AUD)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Brush: Silverwhite 1500s  Round #2

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Inkmas Day 10: Dominant Industry for Wonder Pens (Tuna Grey & Ginger Chicken) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

This post today will be giving a first look at the two ink lines: the Cephalopod Series and the Avian Series. I will dive deeper into reviewing the characteristics of the inks in further posts, but I wanted to give an overview of the colors as soon as I could.

The first Series is Cephalopods. This line consists of Bobtail Squid Green, Colossal Squid Dark, Flapjack Octopus Orange, Vampire Squid Red, Blue-Ringed Octopus Blue, Spirula Green, Cuttlefish Brown, and Flying Squid Blue.

The Avian Series consists of Common Loon Black, Shoebill Stork Grey, Roseate Spoonbill Pink, American Goldfinch Yellow, Purple Gallinule Purple, Green Kingfisher Green, Pompadour Cotinga Burgundy, and Indigo Bunting Blue.

I was sent 0.5 ounce bottles of each ink – these are sold for $14.50 in 1.5 ounce bottles at various retailers.

Cephalopods:

Avian:

On Col-o-Ring cards, the only smearing I noticed was from my own clumsiness.

• Above: Cosmo Air Light paper

• Above: Cosmo Air Light paper

I attempted to remove the sticker that was used to close the bag ofCepholapod samples, but my clumsiness showed up again. I did want to show off the wonderful drawing on the sticker, however. Just ignore the fact that it is in pieces…

The Avian Sticker came off in one piece, though!

Cosmo Air Light shows plenty of shading and hints of sheen in Flying Squid, Blue-Ringed Octopus, Vampire Squid, Roseate Spoonbill Pink, and Common Loon Black. Haloing is also showing up in several colors.

• Above: Tomoe River Paper

• Above: Tomoe River Paper

The same five inks sheen on Tomoe River paper as well where the colors are softer and shading is less pronounced.

• Above: Midori MD Light paper

• Above: Midori MD Light paper

I love the depth of these inks on Midori MD Light paper. Vampire Squid sheens quite a bit here and Cuttlefish has a fascinating variety of layers.

As I said above, this is only meant to be a quick teaser of the Anderillium ink lines. In the coming weeks, I will dive deeper into how these inks perform. Don’t forget to check back next week!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Anderillium Inks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I do appreciate the labeling of each box with the name and color swatch. Small, but accurate.

I’ll start off with Crimson. This is a neutral red that can look a bit pink in fine nibs. It also brings a bit of haloing in certain lights – faint but noticeable.

TWSBI Navy has a hint of green undertones and a more noticeable halo than Crimson. Navy is a bit darker than Taccia Indigo. I don’t think I would call this Navy – to me that indicates a darker blue.

TWSBI Tangerine is such a happy color. It is a bit less yellow than Akkerman Oranje Boven but contains a touch more yellow than Robert Oster Orange. Tangerine is absolutely a happy color!

To give a better idea of how these three inks look in a pen, here are samples on Cosmo Air Light paper (top), and Old Tomoe River paper (bottom).  Crimson was the sheeniest!

Finally, here are swatches of all five new TWSBI inks, first on Cosmo Air Light paper:

And again on Tomoe River paper:

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the five newest TWSBI inks! The bottles are small but pretty in frosted glass. You can find these at any ink retailer for $6.50 each. $0.36/mL is a great price for these lovely colors.

DISCLAIMER: I purchased the items for this review with my own money and all opinions are my own. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Ink Review: TWSBI Tangerine, Navy, and Crimson appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

So when I saw Kala Island No. 38 Sweet Potato Balls (30mL for $13), I decided it would be a fun ink to try for Inkmas.

Sweet Potato Balls is a rich orange which really looks like fresh steamed sweet potatoes. There’s no shimmer sheen in this one, but you can get some really nice shading.

In terms of comparison, I think It’s probably closest to Lamy Bronze. J. Herbin Orange Indien isn’t a bad match for the darker bits, and Mont Blanc Lucky Orange is quite a bit lighter and brighter.

If you’re looking for a reddish orange with nice shading, I’d give Sweet Potato Balls a try!

• Papers: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50), Crossfield Journal ($24.00), 
• Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
• Inks: Kala Island No. 38 Sweet Potato Balls (30mL for $13)

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post 12 Days of Inkmas: Day 9 Kala Island No. 38 Sweet Potato Balls appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.