Colorverse inks are new to the scene inks from late 2017 and early signs were pretty interesting so I took the plunge and bought three of the inks. I was told by Colorverse (who were very helpful!) that the Season 2 "Astrophysics" inks were the sheenier inks so I naturally gravitated towards them. Quasar is indeed from this second season of inks (Season one was "Spaceward" and the latest, Season 3, is "Multiverse"). I went in with high hopes for these inks and I have been blown away. Granted, I've only inked two different bottles but I'm loving them.
Read MoreMajestic Blue
Ink Comparison: Diamine Blues
Reader, Alex, asked me to compare Diamineβs Oxford Blue to some other related dark blue Diamine inks so Iβve done just that! I have interpreted this not in terms of Diamineβs Blue-Black inks but in terms of their darker rich blues. This means that I have skipped the much darker blues such as the 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black, Blue Black, and Midnigt. I have also tried to not include lighter inks such as Blue Velvet or Asa Blue, and Iβve also skipped the low saturation Denim and the much more purple Imperial Blue. The inks in this comparison are Tchakovsky, from the Music set; Tudor Blue, from the second 150th Anniversary set; Majestic Blue; Oxford Blue; Lapis Blue, a Philippines exclusive; Regency Blue, from the first 150th Anniversary set; Sargasso Sea; and Blue Pearl, Blue Flame and Shimmering Seas, all from the Shimmertastic series. Iβll admit itβs a little arbitrary, but I believe these inks are an interesting comparison.
Read MoreSheen vs Shimmer (and some good sheeners)
Back in 2015 Brian Goulet made a video and accompanying article about sheening inks. I love sheen, in fact it's a major deciding point on whether I grab an ink or not, so this should be something right up my alley, but it wasn't. The article conflated markedly differing ink characteristics, and made quite curious decisions of which inks were chosen to exemplify the topic. He also left a number of very sheening inks off the list that Goulet Pens carry - ignoring the many sheening inks that they don't carry - such as Diamine Bilberry).
The main issue with the article (I'll just talk about the article) is that in it Brian conflated sheen resulting from the ink and shimmer/glitter resulting from particles or pigments in the ink. Now I concede that there isn't a well established term for these 'shimmering' inks. There is and was, however, an established term for the shine resulting from the ink itself: sheen!
(Moving forward I will call them sheen and shimmer)
Read MoreInk Comparison: Parker Penman Sapphire
Parker ceased production of Penman Sapphire in 2000 meaning that the bottle I have is at least 16 years old and probably older; that's more than half my age! I bought my bottle from a seller on eBay (and as of this writing he has another bottle up for sale). The ink is very well regarded and sort-after and the price certainly reflects that with prices upwards of $125 USD common. The price also dissuades many from getting the ink so alternatives are sought, and some, like Bungubox Sapphire, specifically mention that Parker Penman Sapphire was an inspiration for the ink. Brad Dowdy mentioned that Noodler's Baystate Blue, Private Reserve American Blue, and Diamine Majestic Blue come up as suitable substitutes but I've found in my testing that there are much better alternatives to Parker Penman Sapphire than these.
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