Ink Review: Diamine Ancient Copper

Diamine Ancient Copper

Diamine Ancient Copper is one of an elite group of inks that seems to be universally respected. It is artistically interesting -- in broad nibs it shades dramatically. It is easy to read, providing sufficient contrast on white and cream colored paper without being hard on the eyes. It is also a very lovely color that one does not often see in ink formulated for fountain pens. Acrylics, oils, metallic markers, yes - but not fountain pen ink.

It also has gravitas of a sort that is not usually present in inks that are not black or blue - a sort of quality that makes one see it and think, “the person that uses this ink must be sophisticated." It’s similar in this way to Diamine’s Oxblood and Damson, red and purple inks that are equally substantive, and are good choices for those with needs that are more traditional, but who tire of black and blue.

In my experience, Diamine ink performs consistently across the different colors of the line: it feathers a bit on absorbent, un-sized paper, and it behaves admirably on coated, ink-resistant paper. Ancient Copper behaved as expected on the six paper types I used to test it: cheap, office copier paper; Staples Bagasse notepad; Rhodia Bloc pad; Midori MD notebook; Canson XL Mixed Media notebook; and Leuchtturm1917 notebook. It took anywhere between one second to dry on copier paper to twenty seconds to dry on Midori paper.

Diamine Ancient Copper Water Tests

Diamine Ancient Copper is not a water resistant ink. It smudges and runs when exposed. In the smear test, in which I run a wet finger across the page, it left a coppery smudgy mess. In the drip test, in which I drip water and then blot it up, much of the ink lifted from the paper. In the soak test, in which I run the page under water, the ink nearly washed away completely. A ghost of the image remains - enough to still read it - but not much else.

Diamine Ancient Copper Bottle

Diamine ink is available in 30ml plastic and an 80ml glass bottles, both of which are utilitarian and slightly boring in appearance. The 30ml plastic bottle has a neck that is very small in diameter, and I found that some of my larger pens would not fit all the way in, which made getting to the ink a bit of a challenge. Though you may wish to go with the smaller volume to try out a new color, my recommendation would be to go for the larger bottle due to its superior usability.

Diamine ink is generally a very good value for the price -- similar to Noodler’s Ink. You get a lot for your money and the quality is very high, but one doesn’t buy it for the bottle. To me, Ancient Copper is a no brainer, in the same category as Noodler’s Black or Lamy Blue. It’s a classy, quality ink that looks good in almost every circumstance, behaves well, and is priced competitively.

Review notes: the handwritten portion of the review was created on 160 gsm, acid free, mixed media paper from Canson’s XL line. All lines, broad and thin, were made using a Pilot Parallel pen with a 3.8mm calligraphy nib.

Ink Review: Noodler's Ink Berning Red

Noodler's Berning Red

It’s an immutable karmic law that, when an ink producer creates a new color specifically to mock a presidential candidate, one then must use said ink to write the candidate’s campaign slogan, regardless of how one actually feels about said candidate. In this case, Nathan Tardiff, the man behind the curtain of Noodler’s Ink, created Berning Red in honor of Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist senator from Vermont, and one of the two remaining candidates for the Democratic nomination. The tagline for the ink is “a red for lefties that dries fast.” Because Sanders is a socialist, he’s a lefty on the American political spectrum, and left-handed writers need a quick drying ink - get it? Also red, because red is equated with socialism, as evidenced by the Soviet-propogada-inspired label.

Politics aside, Berning Red is quite a good ink. It’s a bright, candy-apple red - it doesn’t lean purple or brown, and no magenta is in sight. It’s a quintessential red that’s easy to read on the page. It has a moderate level of saturation, fading a little in the really broad strokes of a calligraphy pen, but producing a crisp, bold line with low levels of shading when used with a fine nib. It’s easy to write with, having a moderate level of flow and producing no sensation of scratchiness on most paper.

After I was done testing it, it cleaned up easily, flushing quickly from the converter and feed. It did not stain. Berning Red is also an extremely cost-effective ink. Noodler's standard line of ink is the best value on the market - the 3 oz bottles run roughly $12.50, which works out to a cost of $0.14 per milliliter - the lowest of any ink I’m aware of.

Paper	Dry Time
Copier	1 second
Bagasse	5 seconds
Rhodia	5 seconds
Midori MD	15 seconds
Carson XL	10 seconds
Leuchtturm	10 seconds

So how does the quick-drying claim stand up? Well, it dries faster than a lot of Noodler’s ink, though not so quickly as I’d have imagined for an ink specifically designed to be fast-drying. Overall, it was dry to the touch and smudge free in less than 15 seconds, with cheap office-grade copier paper being the fastest and Midori MD paper the slowest of those I tested.

It is generally well-behaved across each of the paper types I tested, though it has an increased tendency to show-though on absorbent papers, and to bleed through when used with a really wet nib, like the Pilot Parallel pens. It’s not something you’re likely to encounter if you’re using good quality paper in a fine-nib pen, but it is something to keep in mind.

Noodler's Berning Red water test

Berning Red held up surprisingly well in the water resistance test, in which I simulate three scenarios: something wet gets dragged across the page, droplets of water fall onto the page and get blotted up, and the paper gets soaked. It smeared easily enough when I ran a wet finger across the page, which resulted in a lovely red smudge - so it is not suitable for painting over with washes or watercolors. However, it didn't completely lift from the page when I blotted it, nor when I soaked it under the faucet, which means that your work won’t be completely obliterated if you do happen to get it wet by accident.

Noodler's Berning Red bottle

Noodler’s 3 oz glass bottles are, in and of themselves, utilitarian. They’re stock bottles ordered in bulk in order to keep the cost of production down. It’s the labels that are always interesting, even if they occasionally make you shake your head in bewilderment. Berning Red is certainly one of those cases. The Soviet-style design with hammer and sickle, and Bernie Sanders’ smiling face plastered on it is…fascinating. One cannot deny that it is eye catching. Whether you display the bottle proudly on top of your desk or stuff it in a drawer is likely to be driven more by your politics and sense of irony than by your aesthetic sensibilities.

Berning Red is a great ink. I’m very happy with having had the chance to test it. While it doesn’t displace Diamine Red Dragon as my current favorite red ink, its good behavior, ease of reading, and cost effectiveness make it a go-to choice when I’m in the mood for a vibrant red ink.

This bottle of Noodler’s Ink Berning Red was graciously provided by Pen Boutique.

Review notes: the handwritten portion of the review was created on 160 gsm, acid free, mixed media paper from Canson’s XL line. All lines, broad and thin, were made using a Pilot Parallel pen with a 3.8mm calligraphy nib. 

Ink Review: Kaweco Ruby Red

View fullsize

I'm a big fan of red ink. Red is my favorite color - I'm drawn to its vibrancy and dynamism. If the color red has a drawback, though, it is the quality that makes it so interesting: the high degree of contrast that makes it stand out from the crowd. In nature, red is an attention getting color, sending one of a number of messages depending on the organism in question: I am poisonous, I am ripe, I am dangerous, I am delicious. Unfortunately, all the extra stimulation that our brains must endure when dealing with the color can cause red ink to be fatiguing to read over a long period of time.

To find a regular spot in my ink rotation, then, a red ink's aesthetic qualities have to outweigh the burden of use. Some colors capture my imagination: Diamine Red Dragon is magical and J. Herbin Rouge Hematite is spectacular while Iroshizuki Momiji is sublime. Kaweco Ruby Red, though, is more prosaic: it's a pragmatic magenta red, and it makes no pretense about being more. It exhibits low to moderate levels of shading, depending on the width of the nib, and provides very high levels of contrast on white, off white, and cream colored paper.

As with the rest of the Kaweco line, Ruby Red is a dry ink that behaves well across all paper types, from the super-smooth Midori MD to the cheap, feather-prone, low-grade copier paper found in most offices.

Paper	Dry Time	Bleed Through	Show Through	Feathering
Copier	1 second	Low	Moderate	Low
Bagasse	3 seconds	Moderate	Moderate	Low
Rhodia	10 seconds	None	Low	None
Midori	15 seconds	None	Low	None
Canson	10 seconds	None	None	None

View fullsize

In the water test, Ruby Red showed no resistance at all. The smear test, in which I rub a wet finger across the page, resulted in a red smear that then lifted completely from the page when blotted. The drip test exhibited the same behavior: the ink lifted easily after a drop of water sat for a few seconds. The soak test, in which I run the paper under water, washed away the ink completely.

Each of the Kaweco colors behaves similarly with regard to water resistance: they have none. As long as you keep this in mind, it shouldn't dissuade you from using the ink - just make sure to limit your use to applications that don't require it.

Kaweco ink comes in two forms: cartridges and 30ml glass bottles, which is the format I used during testing. The bottles themselves are pleasantly designed, and the labels accurately reflect the color of the ink inside them. I have no real complaints about the bottle, other than I had to tip it to the side slightly in order to create sufficient depth to fill my test pen properly.

Ruby Red is a fine red ink - it's well behaved and moderately priced - but it fails to capture my imagination. I don't think it will find its way into my regular rotation for that reason. However, if you are in a position where you need a vibrant ink and you are stuck working with low-grade paper, it could be a very reasonable choice.

Kaweco Ruby Red is available from:

• Goulet Pens
• Jet Pens

Review notes: the handwritten portion of the review was created on 160 gsm, acid free, mixed media paper from Canson’s XL line. All lines, broad and thin, were made using a Pilot Parallel pen with a 3.8mm calligraphy nib.

A bottle of this ink was generously provided by Kaweco for review purposes.

ink review: j. herbin rouge opera

View fullsize

J. Herbin Rouge Opera

J. Herbin Rouge Opera should come with a warning. If you fill your fountain pen with it, you will, in short order, develop a compulsion to listen to Puccini, Verdi, and, perhaps, Bizet. The ink is the color of a heavy, velvet stage curtain and of walls lined with brocade. It's the color of soprano Anna Netrebko's dress in the 2005 staging of La Traviata. It's each of those shades from moment to moment, and it's all of them at once. Just try to avoid humming a little Wagner once your pen is inked up.

Practically speaking, the color is a dusky red with a hint of maroon. It exhibits a high degree of shading that ranges from brick red to a dark pink. Rouge Opera's behavior, pleasantly, is decidedly less melodramatic than its color. It took 4 seconds to dry on Rhodia paper and Staples bagasse. On cheap, office-grade copier paper, it dried nearly instantaneously.

Like many of the J. Herbin inks, Rouge Opera exhibits a high degree of feathering on low-quality paper. Bagasse fared the worst, with my Visconti Homo Sapiens producing a medium-weight line from a fine nib. On copier paper, the feathering was noticeable, but tolerable. As always, Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper fared the best.

On Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper, Rouge Opera results in low levels of bleed through and moderate show-through. I noticed significant bleed-through and show-through on both Staples bagasse and on copier paper, however. It is something to be aware of if one's intent is to use both sides of a page.

View fullsize

J. Herbin Rouge Opera water test

Most J. Herbin inks that I've reviewed have not been on speaking terms with water. Bleu Pervenche, for example, ran screaming at the slightest hint of moisture, and Terre de Feu faded into the background, leaving only a shadow of its former self behind. I was expecting the same behavior from Rouge Opera, but was, quite frankly, astounded at how it actually responded.

The smear test, in which I run a wet finger across the page, did result in significant smearing. However, as you can see, the words on the page are still completely legible – most of the ink remains bonded to the paper. The drip test, in which I let droplets of water sit on the page before blotting them up, resulted in feathering and lightening of the lines, but still left the words completely legible.

The soak test was the most surprising of all. While some ink washed away, and what was left feathered noticeably, all of the words are still completely legible and visible. I suppose one could refer to it at this point as Rouge Operetta – still of exceptional quality, just a little bit lighter.

View fullsize

J. Herbin Rouge Opera bottle

J. Herbin fountain pen inks come in a 30ml bottle with an integrated pen rest that is suitable for displaying on top of one's desk. The red label on this bottle is fairly representative of the ink inside.

Rouge Opera is a beautiful, dramatic, and on certain types of paper, well-behaved ink; it's certainly a color that lives up to its title. The excellent water-resistance is an unexpected bonus that puts this J. Herbin ink over the top. Keeping the high degree of feathering on poor quality paper in mind, I highly recommend it.

Review Notes: the fine lines were made with a Visconti Homo Sapiens pen with an extra fine 23k palladium nib. The bold lines were made using a Lamy Joy calligraphy pen with a 1.9mm steel nib. The paper is 80gsm from a Rhodia Bloc Pad.