Review of Colorverse Andromeda 16 ink

Review of Colorverse Ink
Astrophysics Season 2

Colour: Andromeda (16)


Colorverse is a recent entry into the fountain pen ink market. The inks are made in Korea and have until now only been available by order from Colorverse themselves. However Colorverse are currently in discussions to establish some global distributors. The first to sell their inks will be Hippo Noto, from Hawaii, available later this month (Jan 2018). From Colorverse the 2 bottle packs (80ml) are USD$30 + shipping. This puts them into the higher-price bracket.

The inks are themed around SPACE. They are currently just about to start selling their Season 3 inks. Season 3 will continue with the quirky and fun 2 bottle packs (65ml +15ml). However the smaller bottle will hold a complementary or contrasting colour, or type of ink (e.g. pigment or glistening).

I have purchased 3 colours, all from Season 2. Andromeda, Quasar and Vortex Motion. I will be reviewing all 3, starting with Andromeda.

I have tested this ink on 3 papers:

• Clairefontaine Papier Veloute 90gsm White. A fine paper with a smooth surface
• Tomoegawa 52 gsm Cream. Well-known paper, with surface sizing, resulting in a high degree of resistance to absorption.
• Hobbycraft brand 130gsm sketch paper White. A toothy paper, that tolerates light applications of water. It handles inks well although does absorb fountain pen inks more than the other 2.

On all 3 papers I have included swabs of comparison inks.

My findings

Andromeda is a dark, rich magenta shade, that washes out to a bright pink. It’s a free-flowing saturated ink, with a feel on the page very similar to Sailor inks. It feels “lubricated”, even from finer nibs. Being saturated it doesn’t show much shading, although there is some seen on the Clairefontaine paper. If you are a fan of rich smooth-feeling inks, you’ll enjoy this one.

Unsurprisingly I’ve found that Andromeda is paper-dependent. On papers that have surface sizing e.g. Tomoegawa, the ink performs as expected, with very little shading, and LOTS of gold sheen. I have included other high-sheening inks in the comparison swabs on the Tomoegawa paper, e.g. Joyful-2 Ikaho Magenta (which has a more green-tinged sheen).

Despite the saturated nature of the ink, there has been no sign of clogging in a fine nibbed pen.

The ink does not dry quickly: it took over 25 secs on Tomoegawa. It dried more quickly on the other 2 papers but needs some care to avoid smearing by quick writers or left-handed users. Once dry there is no sign of smears, unlike the recent Organic Studio inks (Walden Pond Blue & Nitrogen) which still smeared 3 – 4 weeks after using.

I haven’t done extensive water testing, but from the washes I made of the inks there appears to be little water-resistance. With regards to cleaning the ink washed out of my Serendipity dip pen easily, but I suspect, being a red/pink dye-based ink, that it may be slightly pernicious and resistant to cleaning if left for longer periods in a pen. It is currently in a Pelikan M30 piston-filler for longer-term testing, and I will report back on any issues, if they occur.

Being a big fan of Sailor-made inks I’m really enjoying using this ink, along with the other 2 that I purchased at the same time (reviews to follow). I think they will prove popular, especially once a local distribution network is established and they become more readily available.

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Excellent review! That is a gorgeous ink. It was good to hear about water resistance though. I have been leaning heavily on water resistant or waterproof inks to write in my journal with. I do love the color of this ink regardless. I can't wait to see more reviews with excellent pictures up close of the inks from this company.

Great color and interesting review, I cannot see any issues with this ink would you agree? No feathering or bleedthrough and not an outrageous price either for 80 ml from the other side of the world.

I love that color!

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Originally Posted by Fermata

Great color and interesting review, I cannot see any issues with this ink would you agree? No feathering or bleedthrough and not an outrageous price either for 80 ml from the other side of the world.

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I haven’t experienced any feathering or bleedthrough on the papers I’ve tested it on, but they are generally fountain-pen friendly. I’ll try it out on some standard copier/printer papers later, as well as other papers I have that don’t usually fare so well or tolerate FP inks.

I agree $30 isn’t outrageous for 80ml, but shipping can be expensive. Obviously it’ll be better when more global distributors start stocking it. Hippo Notto in Hawaii is a good start.........

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Originally Posted by Lady Onogaro

I love that color!

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I agree - it is lovely & I’m enjoying using it. I’ll be posting a letter to you very soon and I’ll be including the Krishna ink samples I promised you. I’ll include a sample of this one too :)

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Originally Posted by KKay

Excellent review! That is a gorgeous ink. It was good to hear about water resistance though. I have been leaning heavily on water resistant or waterproof inks to write in my journal with. I do love the color of this ink regardless. I can't wait to see more reviews with excellent pictures up close of the inks from this company.

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Thank you. Yes it is gorgeous. Reviews of these inks are starting to be posted more widely; the ones I’ve read so far have been very positive.

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Originally Posted by migo984

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Originally Posted by Lady Onogaro

I love that color!

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I agree - it is lovely & I’m enjoying using it. I’ll be posting a letter to you very soon and I’ll be including the Krishna ink samples I promised you. I’ll include a sample of this one too :)

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I'm doing a happy dance! :dance3:

Thank You. If they're ever available in Canada I'd like a blue or two or three.

Thank you for this review.

Not a colour for me, too pink.

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Originally Posted by fountainpagan

Thank you for this review.

Not a colour for me, too pink.

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Yes, it certainly is very pink! I think you’d love Vortex Motion and Black Hole :)

Vortex Motion is very nice, indeed. My kind of purple.

I will eagerly be waiting for your review on Black Hole:)

I did not include this ink in my last order.
Must make sure to get it, as well as Extra Dimension.

Awaiting further reviews of these fantastic inks....

Wonderful review and a gorgeous ink. Thanks to you, I think I will be buying it :)

FYI, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi was a Persian at the court of Emir Adud ad-Daula in Isfahan, Persia. Here's his illustration of Andromeda from the "The Depiction of Celestial Constellations": https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...2C_Oxford..jpg

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Originally Posted by sfarkhan

Wonderful review and a gorgeous ink. Thanks to you, I think I will be buying it :)

FYI, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi was a Persian at the court of Emir Adud ad-Daula in Isfahan, Persia. Here's his illustration of Andromeda from the "The Depiction of Celestial Constellations": https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...2C_Oxford..jpg

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That is a wonderful illustration! Thank you so much for posting it.

Thank you for the great review! This is a great color. I may have to try it.

Thank you for a great review. I am sorry if someone asked this already but do you know any sellers that ship to Japan?

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Originally Posted by aaronp

Thank you for a great review. I am sorry if someone asked this already but do you know any sellers that ship to Japan?

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I’m sure US sellers would ship internationally. Try HippoNoto (enquiries at shipping@hipponoto.com ) or Vanness vannessonline@gmail.com

Alternatively you could probably buy direct from Colorverse. I did, and they happily shipped to me in the U.K. Or they will help you find an appropriate stockist.

I think I will try order directly from Colorverse. Their website is just as beautiful. I did not know they have so many type of ink