This black comparison has been in the works for a while and with resent additions to my Noodler's collection I thought it was ready to go. Blacks aren't terribly exciting inks but they are practical inks and people usually approach them for a specific reason and usually there are things that people are looking to not be present. In this comparison I've got 32 black inks. I originally intended to make this a comparison of Noodler's Blacks, then I decided to add some notable comparisons and finally I just put all my blacks together so it should be fairly comprehensive.
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Ink Comparison: Diamine Blues
Reader, Alex, asked me to compare Diamineโs Oxford Blue to some other related dark blue Diamine inks so Iโve done just that! I have interpreted this not in terms of Diamineโs 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 Iโve 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. Iโll admit itโs a little arbitrary, but I believe these inks are an interesting comparison.
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Ink Comparison: Sailor Dark Reds
Sailor Inks are one of my favourite brands of ink โ this is no secret. In general the characteristics their inks are what I look for in an ink. Reds are not my favourite colour but Maroons, Burgundies, Bordeauxs (etc.) are shades of red I really like, in fact they are one of my favourite colour families. The range of colours in this family move from inks with more blue, to more brown and more yellow. They also vary quite dramatically depending on the paper. This is by no means a complete account of Sailor's offering in this colour gamut but I think it still has a decent selection (but I clearly need more!)
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Ink Comparison: Parker Penman Emerald
In November last year I did a comparison of Parker Penman Sapphire an ink that a few other ink makers had either tried to copy or drew inspiration from. Parker Penman Emerald only has Bungubox Norwegian Wood (or Bungubox Emerald) that drew inspiration from it. Penman Emerald is the perfect green for me. I'm not a huge fan of greens in general (and generally avoid greens that lean blue) and this is the perfect, for me, balance of yellow and blue; it's slightly on the yellow side. It's got some sheen and shading which are other characteristics I am drawn to. Like the rest of the Parker Penman ink series, it was discontinued in 2000 which is around 17 years ago as of this comparison.
To avoid confusion, although Bungubox Emerald is probably the inks most well-known name I will be using its alternate name 'Norwegian Wood' to distinguish it from Parker Penman Emerald
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Double Ink Review: Bookbinders Emerald Boa and Eastern Brown
Bookbinders Snake Inks, from Bookbinders Online are, a series of, at the time of this writing, eight inks. Bookbinder's released these two in their initial release of four inks (the other two from the initial release being Red Belly Black and Everglades Ratsnake). Bookbinders Online are a Brisbane, Australia based company that also bind their own Tomoe River notebooks (the ones I use in these reviews). Emerald Boa is a light green ink and Eastern Brown is a warm brown both with distinct characteristics from each other.
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