Birmingham Pen December 2018 Ink Subscription

Today we are looking at December's Pen Parcel, aka the Birmingham Pen ink subscription. Every month five new, 5ml samples hit my mailbox. Sometimes the inks become available as singles on the Birmingham website about a month after the subscription, sometimes they are just test colors. Lately they have been showing up toward the end of the month.

I really like this month’s colors, bright and happy. I think it’s interesting that the Birmingham Inks have been made in a few different countries, I never know which country the ink will be made in. This month they were made in Germany.

Swabs:

Left to right, Rose Overture, Salmon Hors d’Oeuvre, Marmalade, Daisy Lace and Arugula.

Writing samples:

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

Dry time:

Rose Overture: 50 sec

Salmon HDO: 30 sec

Marmalade: 20 sec

Daisy Lace: 40 sec

Arugula: 30 sec

Dry time: 20-50 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was feathering on Rhodia and Leuchtturm, mainly in the flex nib.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and no shimmer. Out of the five, Arugula is the only one that shows any shading, but even then it’s just a little bit.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as quite a bit of bleeding, so I would not recommend these inks for cheap paper.

Comparison Swabs:

Rose Overture is closest to Diamine Tulip but Rose Overture is a bit pinker so it’s not a great match. Salmon HDO is close to Pen Saijiki Syurei and Diamine Peach Haze but both are brighter than Salmon HDO. Marmalade is closest to Montblanc Golden Yellow, but in writing Golden Yellow is darker. Daisy Lace is close to PenBBS Johansson and Diamine Yellow and Arugula is close to Sailor Jentle Epinard and Platinum Classic Forest Black. Click here to see the Birmingham inks together.

I used a Bond A5 (Tomoe River 68gsm). Top to bottom, I used: TWSBI Eco Blossom Red with a medium nib, Kaweco Al-sport Rose Gold with a broad nib, Pilot Vanishing Point Yellow with a medium nib, Edison Collier Persimmon Swirl with a medium nib, and Lamy Safari with a medium nib. All of the inks had an average flow.

Overall, I really like these colors, some of my favorites out of the last few months’ subscriptions. I don’t like how much they feather in the larger nib sizes but they are a great value for the price.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.