Ink Review #2881: Journalize Midnight

Today’s ink is Journalize Midnight from the Time of a Day collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including JetPens.

The color:

Midnight is a deep blue with rose gold shimmer.

*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 has a ton of beautiful rose gold shimmer, but like the other inks in this collection it flakes off really easily.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and rose gold shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Midnight is closest to Diamine Arabian Nights. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I cannot find the photo I took of the longer writing for the life of me. I have looked everywhere, sorry! The ink has a slightly dry flow.

Overall, I love the color and it’s easily read in all nib sizes. The shimmer does flake off everywhere though, so rather than using this ink I prefer Diamine Arabian Nights.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2880: Journalize Noon

Today’s ink is Journalize Noon from the Time of a Day collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Noon is a pale blue with a ton of gold shimmer.

*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 has a ton of shimmer, but it flakes off really easily.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and gold shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Noon is closest to Van Dieman’s Snow Leopard. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I cannot find the photo I took of the longer writing for the life of me. I have looked everywhere, sorry! The ink has a slightly dry flow.

Overall, this ink is too pale for me in the smaller nib sizes, and too dry for my taste. The shimmer also flakes off the page so easily and gets everywhere.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2879: 3 Oysters Gyeoul Haneul

Today’s ink is 3 Oysters Gyeoul Haneul from the I.COLOR.U collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Gyeoul Haneul is a medium blue with a green undertone.

*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 is some shading.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Gyeoul Haneul is closest to Sailor Ink Studio 264. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Lamy Al-star Turmaline with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a slightly dry flow.

Overall, I like the color, but it can be too light to be easily read in the smaller nib sizes. It’s also drier than I prefer. It’s not an ink I need a full bottle of, but I don’t hate it.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #2871: Ferris Wheel Press The Ribbiting Pond

Today’s ink is Ferris Wheel Press The Ribbiting Pond from the Once Upon a Time collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

The Ribbiting Pond is a bright, light blue with silver and green shimmer.

*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 is much darker where it pooled than on the Col-o-ring swab.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

The Ribbiting Pond is lighter than Robert Oster Free Spirit. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Benu Talisman Cat’s Eye with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a dry flow.

Overall, I had some issues with this ink. The flow is very dry, which caused lots of skips in longer writing. I did not enjoy writing with it for more than a few paragraphs at a time. It’s not an ink I need.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review: Color Traveler Standard Cool-toned Inks

Let’s take a look at five Color Traveler standard inks: Bamboo Green, Olive Green, Shimanami Blue, Delta Light Blue and Pione Purple. You can purchase some Color Traveler inks from Shigure Inks.

Swabs:

Left to right: Bamboo Green, Olive Green, Shimanami Blue, Delta Light Blue and Pione Purple.

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-40 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five had low shading, no sheen and no shimmer.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was some feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Bamboo Green is a little more blue than Colorverse Arabella but not as blue as Thornton’s Green.

Olive Green has more blue in it than Rohrer and Klingner Sketch Emma.

Shimanami Blue is close to KWZ Menthol Green.

Delta Light Blue is similar to Colorverse Clear Cyan.

Pione Purple is closest to PenBBS Lin Huiyin.

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

Overall, I enjoyed all five of these inks. I think Olive Green is my favorite out of the five, simply because I like the color.

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

Ink Review: Akkerman Dutch Masters 1, 2, & 4

Let’s take a look at three Akkerman Dutch Masters inks: 01 Ceruleum blauw van Vermeer, 02 Dou's Emerald Green and 04 Hals Oud Bruin. You can purchase these inks at a few retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: 01 Ceruleum blauw van Vermeer, 02 Dou's Emerald Green and 04 Hals Oud Bruin.

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: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All three had low shading. Dou’s Emerald had low red sheen.

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

Comparison Swabs:

01 Cerulean is a little lighter and brighter than 3 Oysters Blue.

Dou’s Emerald is closest to Kobe 01 Rokko Green.

Hals Oud is closest to Akkerman 22.

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. 01 and 02 had average flows, 04 had a slightly dry flow.

Overall, Dous Emerald is my favorite out of the three. I would call it more of an olive green than an emerald, so the name doesn’t quite fit, but it’s still a fabulous green. I don’t know that I would ever need a full bottle since the Dutch Master bottles are a whopping 120ml’s, but I love the sample that I have.

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

Ink Review: Akkerman 11-15

Let’s take a look at five Akkerman standard inks: 11 Treves Turquois, 12 Mauritshuis Magenta, 13 Simplisties Violet, 14 Parkpop Purpur and 15 Voorhout Violet. You can purchase these inks at a few retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right:11 Treves Turquois, 12 Mauritshuis Magenta, 13 Simplisties Violet, 14 Parkpop Purpur and 15 Voorhout Violet

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 40-70 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five had low shading. Violet had medium gold sheen and the last two had low gold sheen.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was quite a bit of feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

11 Treves Turquois has a lot of other similar inks.

12 Mauritshuis Magenta isn’t quite as vibrant as L’artisan Fuchsia.

13 Simplisties Violet is a bit lighter than J Herbin Violet Boreal.

14 Parkpop Purpur is similar to J Herbin Violette Pensee.

15 Voorhout Violet is closest to Sailor Ink Studio 452.

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

Overall, I like all five of these inks. They are well behaved and nice colors. I probably wouldn’t get a full bottle of the turquoise because there are so many similar colors out there, but I really like the purples.

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

Ink Review: Akkerman 00-04

Let’s take a look at five Akkerman standard inks: 00 Royal Akkermanblauw, 01 Passage Blauw, 02 Residentie Blauw, 03 Akkerman Blauw and 04 Nassaus Blauw. You can purchase these inks at a few retailers including Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: 00 Royal Akkermanblauw, 01 Passage Blauw, 02 Residentie Blauw, 03 Akkerman Blauw and 04 Nassaus Blauw

Writing samples:

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

Dry Time: 30-50 seconds

Water Resistance: Low-Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: All five had low shading.

On Walmart Pen + Gear copy paper there was quite a bit of feathering and bleeding in all nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

00 Royal Akkerman Blauw is closest to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. 04 Nassaus Blauw is lighter than Kaweco Royal Blue. 02 Residentie Blauw is closest to Lamy Blue.

03 Akkerman Blauw is closest to Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa.

01 Passage Blauw is lighter and brighter than Rohrer and Klingner Sketch Marlene.

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

Overall, I really enjoyed all five of these inks. They are good colors, flow well and even have some shading. I really love the fun shaped bottles as well.

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

Ink Review #2778: KWZ Meet Me In St. Louis 2025-314 Blues

This weekend is the St. Louis Pen Show, so let’s take a look at the show ink! This year is KWZ Meet Me In St. Louis 2025, aka 314 Blues. You can pick this ink up at the show!

The color:

314 Blues is a bright medium blue.

*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 has some shading but no sheen.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 15 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: Low-there was some feathering on Rhodia, but I think that’s an issue with the latest batch of Rhodia paper I got rather than the fault of the ink.

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-again with issues on Rhodia, I still think it’s the paper’s fault.

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

314 Blues is brighter and more saturated than Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Lamy Al-star Pacific Blue with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed the Meet Me In St. Louis inks I’ve tried so far, and this one is lovely. You can pick up a bottle at the show!

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by the organizers of the St. Louis Pen Show 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.

Ink Review #2777: KWZ Azure 4

Today’s ink is KWZ Azure 4 from the Standard collection. You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens.

The color:

Azure 4 is a bright turquoise blue.

*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 is much darker, with a little bit of black sheen.

Writing samples:

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

*For my writing samples I use:

Dry time: 40 seconds

Water resistance: Medium

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had feathering in all nib sizes and some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Azure 4 is a little darker than Backpack Athens Blue. Click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Pilot Vanishing Point Black Ice with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has an average flow.

Overall, I enjoyed this ink. It’s a gorgeous bright blue with a little bit of sheen.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.