Duotone, dichromatic, or whatever you want to call it. Inks that present on the paper with different colours have been very popular in recent years. The first of these inks that really took off were from Sailor’s Ink Studio set of inks but since then there are many from Sailor, from Troublemaker, Vinta and of course Birmingham Pen Company. Many of the dichromatic inks are based around a pink dye that separated from a blue teal or green dye. That is fundamentally the same combination there! The ink is green with a pink that separates when the ink pools and dries.
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Ink Review: La Couronne du Comte (Diamine) Vert Sapin
In September 2019 La Couronne du Comte, a stationery store based in Tilburg, Netherlands (and sponsor of this blog) released Comte d’Or (“Count of Gold”), a gold ink made by Diamine exclusively for their store and the first from what will become their Les Couleurs du Comte (“The Colors of the Count“) ink series. La Couronne du Comte describe the series as “a range that focuses on special colours, rich in colour intensity, with a wonderful shading and/or sheen”. A year later they released three more inks, Bleu Cuivré (“Copper Blue”), a blue ink; Pan d’Epices (“Gingerbread”), a red ink; and Vert Sapin (“Pine Green”), a green ink . I’ll be reviewing all the ink in the series alphabetically.
I received Comte d’Or as part of a general promotion from La Couronne du Comte and I purchased Bleu Cuivré, Pain d’Epices, and Vert Sapin myself. You can find the inks here and use code “MACCHIATOMAN10” for 10% off!
Read MoreInk Comparison: Iroshizuku Out with the Old In with the New (Tsuyu-kusa, Tsukushi, Ina-ho, Sui-gyoku, Hana-ikada, Hotaru-bi)
Pilot giveth and Pilot taketh away! In October 2021 we found out that Pilot was discontinuing three inks from their Iroshizuku lineup, Tsuyu-kusa, Tsukushi, and Ina-ho. In November the same year they announced three new inks that will essentially replace the discontinued inks. These new inks are Sui-gyoku, Hana-ikada, and Hotaru-bi. Overall the changes make the Iroshizuku lineup more vibrant and colourful. This is going to be a long post with six comparison reviews (which quite aren’t as extensive as normal reviews) packed into one post.
Thank you to Pen Classics for sending me the new Iroshizuku inks for review here.
Read MoreInk Review: KWZ Aztec Gold IGL
KWZ inks are generally richly coloured and well behaved. Made in Poland by Konrad Żurawski there are Standard inks and Iron Gall inks. Within the second category is an "IGL” which is Iron Gall Light. Iron Gall Light still offers the hue change and water resistant qualities, at lesser intensities but with the pen care responsibilities of a standard ink. KWZ Aztec Gold IGL is one of those inks.
Thanks to Bookbinders Design Australia for sending this ink for review.
Read MoreInk Review: Tokyo International Pen Show Blackness High Tea
Tokyo International Pen Show Highness Black Tea is a Sailor made ink that was, unsurprisingly, made for the Tokyo International Pen Show back in 2019. This ink is no longer available, as far as I know, and I was only able to get it via a friend last year. Two inks were released exclusively for the 2019 show, the other being Noble Green Tea which I didn’t get (disappointingly!). Some photos of this green ink can be seen here, here, and here.
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