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.
Andromeda Clairefontaine.jpgAndromeda Hobbycraft.jpgAndromeda Tomoegawa.jpgAndromeda photo.jpg
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