I grabbed a handful of Sailor Studio Inks at the Portland PNW Pen Show. Some of the colors I grabbed are being discontinued so I wanted to be able to see if I can find some dupes* for the discontinued colors as well as just share the joy of finding a new favorite color.
*Dupe is a term used in the cosmetics community to describe a very similar color of a product that is less expensive or not a limited edition.
- 341 – Discontinued
- 343- Still in production (but there is no listing on the Dromgoole’s site at the moment)
- 564 – Discontinued
Overall, I love Sailor inks. The quality is excellent and the color range is excellent. I thought the Sailor Studio Inks line with 100 colors was almost perfect from the standpoint of people looking for a specific color. It was the closest I could find to the wall of paint colors at Lowe’s for fountain pen inks. That is all about to change so I wanted to grab colors I might not be able to get later and bring the collection to your attention if you haven’t tried it.
Sailor does not sell shimmer fountain pen inks (they do have a few shimmer inks for dip pens only called “Dipton”) but they do sell multichromatic and sheening colors and all of these were available in the Sailor Studio Ink collection.
So let’s dive in to the few I picked up.
Ink Swatches
I wanted to find more colors that I would use regularly so I went for a mid-saturation shading inks in blues, greens and purples — my favorite ink colors.
On all the papers I tested, the inks were all legible and shades well. I probably would have used all three for my Mermaid month so be prepared to see these inks again next July.
Ink Comparison
I assumed I would have a match for the blue-violet #343 but the closest I found was Robert Oster Sydney Lavender and Vinta Maskara. Maskara is bright and more saturated while the Sydney Lavender is a bit darker and duskier. But both are pretty close. But since #343 is staying in the Sailor Studio Ink line you can just purchase this one if you prefer it.
For #564, Robert Oster Peppermint feels really similar in person and Diamine Aurora Borealis is slightly more blue but also felt quite close. Everything else in my collection was brighter, green, or more turquoise so it is a particularly unique shade.
Finally, #341 is quite similar to the Sailor California ink from the 50 States Collection. And Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine hovers between #341 and #564. If you already own Aquamarine, you probably don’t need either #341 and #564.
Final Impressions:
I really like the aquas, greens and purples from the original Sailor Studio Inks. Honestly, I like most of the colors. I’m sad to see even one of the colors leaving the line because I think a lot of the colors were overlooked in our “shimmer ink era” and are just now getting some traction. I’m sure it was difficult for retailers to keep all 100 colors in stock especially when some colors sell super fast (hello, #123!) when others are more slow movers but dammit, we need ALL the COLORS!
I have about eight bottles of Sailor Studio Ink in my collection. I may try to get a bottle of warm brown from the Sailor Studio Ink line to “complete” my personal ink collection. What are your go-to ink colors or your favorite Studio Ink color? Am I missing something?