EFNIR: Pilot Mixable Colour Sepia

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pilot Mixable Colour Sepia

This is review #222 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:


Post-recording notes: Cleaning was quite simple, but required an extra flush or two - lots of dye in there. I have no other brown this dark. In some lights, it seems almost to have a purple undertone, in other light, it's more a red-brown, and at other times, it just looks brown. It's quite the chameleon. It's also poorly-behaved - it even fuzzed a tiny bit on Rhodia - but it never bled.

I didn't notice it until after I'd recorded the review, but there is significant green sheen on Tomoe River paper - it's just that you have to hold it at an angle to the light to see it - perhaps because of how dark the ink is.

I plan to dilute the rest of the cartridge and install it in a Prera with a CM (stub) nib. If it's interesting, I'll add a photo for what it looks like, and perhaps more comments. (Green sheen is still there after diluting.)

Zoomed in photo (Too dark by a little, but mostly just not showing brown.)


Screenshot (Text a little too dark)


Scan of Completed Review (I can't decide whether the text is too dark or not - it seems awfully close.)


Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (AP: Color is quite close, and the best idea of the actual color of all the images; CP: text a little too dark)


Line width (One of the lines used for dry time. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 312µm. With 222 inks measured, the average line width is 295µm.)


Microscope image (The edges (and sometimes all) of the white areas inside the ink should be pink, but I couldn't get the picture to show that without making the rest too dark. Otherwise, color is quite accurate.)


Other (Scan of the diluted ink. Color matches what my eyes see.)


Previous Review: Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[mizgeorge]

Well I wasn't expecting that one!

Thank you Liz - excellent review as always, and one that confirms why I've never bothered loading this into a pen. The diluted version is definitely better - but I think I'd want to go about 1:4 with water before I'd find it even remotely interesting.

The colour was a surprise too - it's certainly not like any other sepia I've seen. As a brown is too purple for me. I wonder what the chroma looks like.

And I'm feeling dizzy from the time changes and feathers now. I'm with the little snek - let'th get out of here...

[LizEF]

Well I wasn't expecting that one!

Thank you Liz - excellent review as always, and one that confirms why I've never bothered loading this into a pen. The diluted version is definitely better - but I think I'd want to go about 1:4 with water before I'd find it even remotely interesting.

The colour was a surprise too - it's certainly not like any other sepia I've seen. As a brown is too purple for me. I wonder what the chroma looks like.

You're very welcome! I really like the diluted version, and it behaves very well. I think it will easily take the 1 part water to 4 parts ink dilution, even 1:3 seems like it will work well - I might have 1:2 in my pen other right now (1/3rd water, 2/3rds ink) - those Pilot cartridges hold a lot of ink and it's lasting a long time - of course, our mystery inks kept me using other pens for a while...

Anywho, yeah, not much like other sepias. More like a dark brown. Just did a chroma - will get a photo later when I record today's review - and I see muted purple, pink, coral or Creamsicle orange, and yellow.

And I'm feeling dizzy from the time changes and feathers now. I'm with the little snek - let'th get out of here...

[Sailor Kenshin]

Feathers belong on the other side of the Muirdoor! And that micro shot belongs at the end of a losing team's Superbowl party….

As for the ink: It's a very nice color, and the addition of water tames it somewhat. I have two of your comparison inks, the MV Moonstone, and the JH Cacao du Bresil, both well-behaved. I think I had a color mixing ink from this line once…can't recall.

Thanks as always for the story and the review!

(Brute force? Who, moi?)

[Yazeh]

Great review @LizEf of an "unworthy" ink. You
Had some fun imagining how that goat got a spanking with Quin's sword

[LizEF]

Feathers belong on the other side of the Muirdoor! And that micro shot belongs at the end of a losing team's Superbowl party….

As for the ink: It's a very nice color, and the addition of water tames it somewhat. I have two of your comparison inks, the MV Moonstone, and the JH Cacao du Bresil, both well-behaved. I think I had a color mixing ink from this line once…can't recall.

Thanks as always for the story and the review!

(Brute force? Who, moi?)

You're very welcome!

[LizEF]

Great review @LizEf of an "unworthy" ink. You

Thank you!

Had some fun imagining how that goat got a spanking with Quin's sword

[LizEF]

I wonder what the chroma looks like.

Here you go - the very bottom purple should lean much more red than the image suggests:

[Sailor Kenshin]

This ink does have a fascinating chroma in its favor.

[LizEF]

This ink does have a fascinating chroma in its favor.

Which suggests it would make for some interesting artwork, at least.

[mizgeorge]

Now I've seen the chroma, I'm more inclined to dump a cartridge's worth into a vial and try some washes with it.

Thank you again @LizEF

[LizEF]

Now I've seen the chroma, I'm more inclined to dump a cartridge's worth into a vial and try some washes with it.

Thank you again @LizEF

You're very welcome!