Ink Review #1891: Monarca Arena Blanca

Monarca Arena Blanca is from Monarca’s Caribe collection. Thanks to Monarca for sending this ink over for review!

The color:

Arena Blanca is a sandy brown.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks much darker, almost purple.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

• EF Pilot Vanishing Point

• F, M, B Pilot Ishime

• Vintage Mabie Todd Swan (flex nib)

• Rhodia Goalbook

• Taroko Enigma notebooks (68gsm TR)

• Leuchtturm A5

• Pen & Gear Paper from Walmart

Dry time: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink performed well, just a bit of feathering.

Comparison Swabs:

Arena Blanca is lighter than Birmingham Sandstone. Click here to see the brown inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a FWP Carousel with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, this ink is well-behaved but it’s very light-too light to be easily read. I would stick to broad or flex nibs with this ink.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Monarca Stationery for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.