Ink Review: Akkerman 16-20

Let’s take a look at five Akkerman standard inks: 16 Oranje Boven, 17 Staten-Generaal Rood, 18 Garuda Rood, 19 Rood Haags Pluche and 20 Pulchri Pink. You can purchase these inks at a few retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right:16 Oranje Boven, 17 Staten-Generaal Rood, 18 Garuda Rood, 19 Rood Haags Pluche and 20 Pulchri Pink

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-80 seconds

Water Resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five had low-medium shading. Oranje Boven had low gold sheen.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was quite a bit of feathering but no bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

16 Oranje Boven is closest to Sailor Kin-mokusei.

17 Staten-Generaal Rood is similar to Diamine Amaranth.

18 Garuda Rood is close to PenBBS 381 Frosted Leaf in Autumn.

19 Rood Haags Pluche is close to Private Reserve Infinity Red.

20 Pulchri Pink is a little warmer toned than Montblanc Pink.

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All five inks had average flows.

Overall, 16 Oranje Boven is my favorite out of the five, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. I like that 16 has some shading and sheen, and is well behaved.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.