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Housekeeping: Ink Reviews & Pen Shows

Author AnaPosted on 10 Comments

Just thought I’d drop a little housekeeping post today to let everybody know what’s going on around here.

Ink Review Week

First, between Laura and I, there are going to be a ton of ink reviews in the next week or so. I have over a dozen Colorverse inks to review which I’ve decided to group into color families so you don’t have to wait a month to get to see them all. Laura will be bringing in some Monteverde reviews as well as some Diamine Shimmering inks so hopefully we will have something for everyone. We want to get them out before we head off to LA!

Pen Shows

Next up, in the sidebar, I have reactivated the Pen Show Countdown. Its like “Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?” the Well-Appointed Desk Edition. We are counting down the days to the LA Pen Show. Laura and I are headed out to LA and as I am looking outside to whiteout blizzard conditions here in Kansas City, California is sounding better and better.  I’ll try to keep it up for all the shows I’ll be attending this year which will include Arkansas, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, DC, San Francisco and Dallas thus far — with LA being the first of the year for me.

Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books

I noticed that there were a lot of people on the Col-o-ring mailing list. If you are waiting to order one, they are currently available from our online shop! Col-o-ring Ink Testing Books are also available through  many of our favorite online retailers in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia/NZ and soon even Korea! We’ll let you know as info is available.

We have other products and ideas in the works as well and will post them here on the site and unveil them at future pen shows. Stay tuned!

Some Questions

I want to ask you, lovely readers, is there something you’d like to see more of here on the blog? It was suggested that I should consider doing more videos but, of what? Reviews? How-to’s? Ask the Desk Q&As? Interviews? Do you want more pen reviews? Paper reviews? Behind the scenes? More cat photos? Everybody wants more cat photos, right?

Seriously, if there’s something lacking or a product, brand or company you think we neglect here on The Desk, leave a note in the comments and we will start to build a list of posts we can do in the future.

In the meantime, I’ll be in the studio…

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Sailor Shikiori Yodaki

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Ink Review: Sailor Shikiori Yodaki

This is the last of the Sailor Shikiori colors and I saved what I think it the best for last. I don’t know how widely known it is but when we were cooking up the Col-o-ring, I used Sailor Jentle Irori as my litmus test color for paper testing. It has a gold sheen that is subtle but it’s there. If it showed up on paper that we tried, it made it into our “maybe” pile. If the sheen was not revealed, the paper was NOT acceptable. So, my feelings for Sailor red inks are pretty deep set.

So, when I swabbed Sailor Shikiori Yodaki ($15 for 20ml bottle) and it was a deeper, brickier red and the green-gold sheen revealed itself, I was in. Smaller bottle? Okay fine. I have more ink than any one human could ever need anyway.

In some light, the shading will look look warm like sun-baked reds. With heavier applications, the color deepens and the sheen is revealed.

The variation in red inks is so vast its hard to find a close comparison but this color swatch collection shows where Yodaki falls in the spectrum. It’s more orangey in contrast to Irori which is more watermelon-y. Grenade is more wine colored, if you want to compare inks within the Sailor line.

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Zebra Sarasa Prefill: Shiny Metallic Gel Refills!

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Zebra Sarasa Prefill: Shiny Metallic Gel Refills!

Since my Pilot Juice Metallic Pen Set glee, I decided to refill my Prefill (my Zebra Sarasa Prefill, that is) with some of the metallic refills that are now available. I chose my favorite colors: metallic green, metallic pink and silver plus the pencil for an entirely non-work appropriate set. Who’s going to stop me, really?

I filled the Prefill with Shiny Pink 0.5mm ($1.90), Shiny Green 0.5mm ($1.90) and Silver 05.mm ($1.90) and the 0.5 mm mechanical pencil refill ($3). There is also a shiny blue and gold color gel refill available in the metallics but I didn’t have enough room in the pen to hold them all! Decisions had to be made.

As far as I know, Zebra is the only company making refills for multi-pens with metallic colors so if you’ve always wanted to add a metallic color to your multi-pen line-up, the Prefill is definitely the way to go. The current line-up of Prefill component bodies on JetPens are 5-color so you can have one more color than I do.

The Shiny Pink, Shiny Green and Silver worked well on white and dark colors. The metallic flakes are small enough to give the color a shine rather than a glittery quality so the name does seem to fit. I tested the colors over a swatch of black Sharpie marker on a Col-o-ring card ($10 for 100/card set — shameless plug!) to simulate colored paper to good effect.

These Zebra Sarasa Prefill shiny refills seem perfect for anyone who wants to spice up a their Bullet Journal, work notes or planner. I don’t think I’d use one of these colors exclusively for long writing but I like the idea of accenting, underlining or doing a title on a page with a little flair. Since most of the multi-pens allow for five different refills in each pen, I’m sure you can find the right combination of gel, ballpoint, pencil and shiny (!) to make your work, planning and projects a little more fun.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Eye Candy: Ink Sample Jar

Author AnaPosted on 6 Comments

I have collected so many ink samples and many have been used and the bottles refilled with inks to share with friends but some have still yet to be sampled or reviewed so where to keep them? I had a large glass jar that made a perfect display and forces me to keep the number down to what fit in the jar. I try to use them up now or  either pass them along now.

It is certainly not the most organized method but its definitely eye candy!

 

In Pen Review

Pen Review: Pilot Juice 6-Color Metallic & Pastel Sets (with Bonus White Gel Pen Comparison)

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Pen Review: Pilot Juice 6-Color Metallic & Pastel Sets (with Bonus White Gel Pen Comparison)

Sometimes its nice to go back to my tried-and-true basics: gel pens. For many of us, it was the gateway into better pens whether it was in school or later in life. And what better way to liven up a wintery day (or a bleary Thursday) than with some metallics and pastels! So I thought I’d go over the Pilot Juice Metallic 0.5m 6-Color Gel Set ($9.90) and Pilot Juice 0.5mm 6-Color Pastel Set ($9.90) as well as do a quick comparison of some of the white gel pens available and which ones I like best.

Like all the other Pilot Juice pens available, the metallic and pastel set in 0.5mm come with the spring-loaded clips and rubberized grips. They are all retractable so they are easy to use and feature the same conical tips. The metallic set come with metallic violet, metallic pink, metallic blue, metallic green, silver and gold.

I tested the pens on both white paper and black paper. Then I tested the color over black Sharpie marker to see contrast.

The 0.5mm is fine line enough to dry quickly and work for anyone with small handwriting like myself. Because it is very fine line, they are not as sparkly or glittery as a Sakura gel pen but they also don’t take an age to dry or get gloopy. The colors are nice and vivid but since the points are very fine, if you re using these on colored paper like construction paper, you may pick up loose paper fibers since the pens are very fine tipped and pointy. A light touch will work best and you may want to use a paper towel to wipe the end to remove any loose fibers.

The pastel set comes in the same packaging and features all the same great features as the metallics: retractable, conical tip, spring-loaded clips, etc.

The colors in the set are pastel yellow, pastel violet, pastel pink, pastel blue, pastel green, and white.

When tested on white paper, the pink and purple were the only truly usable colors. The green, purple and yellow would work for coloring or underlining and not much else. On black or dark colored paper or to go over other colors, ink or pen, though, the pastels and white were a lot more usable.

Again, the Pilot Juice 0.5mm are very fine line and sharp so on construction paper, you are likely to pick up paper fibers if you are heavy-handed but with a light touch or small or detailed work, these can be a nice addition to your collection.

I decided to include the Sakura Ballsign 5-Color 0.6mm Pastel Set ($12) for comparison since I had it available. It is a little bit wider tip but I think it will give a good comparison colorwise to the Pilot Juice Pastel set. It does lack the pastel yellow however.

You’ll notice that the pastel blue, pastel pink, pastel green and pastel purple included in the Ballsign set are all fairly usable on white paper as well as on darker stocks. And the white is much more opaque on black. I don’t know if its the shades of pastel they chose or the extra 0.1mm that makes the difference?

So, after comparing the Pilot Juice to the Sakura Ballsign, I decided to pull all the white gel pens I had in my stash and do a quick comparison of all the ones I had to show the difference in opacity on dark paper.

Above I have:

Clearly,  the Pilot Juice is very light but it is also very fine and the Uni-Ball Sign Broad is pretty opaque but the broadest of the lot. My favorite middle ground is the Signo Angelic which is pretty fine but also pretty opaque and can be layered up a bit.

The Y&C Gel Extreme did well on dark paper but I’ve not had as much success with it over ink and other artwork so if you’re looking for a pen to draw or write on colored paper, the Y&C might be good for you but I wouldn’t recommend it as much for using over other inks. I find it cuts or lifts up the other colors.

The Ballsign is okay for doing little bits of dotty snow or stars or the occasional highlight. Its okay but the Uni-Signo and Angelic are definitely better options.

Sakura Gelly Roll is good for doing eye lights or other “final touch” highlights but takes an age to dry so be prepared to leave your drawing or lettering out to dry if you use it.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: Windy City, Look Out!

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

Link LoveThis week was filled with reviews and hands-ons with the Wancher True Urushi Kickstarter Pen which reached its Kickstarter goals in about a nanosecond. They have unveiled the two additional color options for the Urushi already: yellow and green and the backers keep rolling in. It’s all pretty epic.

But yesterday, the Andersons rocked the US pen world by announcing that they are opening a second brick-and-mortar location in downtown Chicago! They will be divulging more details today at 10:30am CST on their podcast so tune in for details.

News of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Paper & Notebooks:

InCoWriMo:

Art & Art Supplies:

Other Interesting Things:

In Ink Review

Ink Review: Sailor Shikiori Yozakura

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment
Ink Review: Sailor Shikiori Yozakura

Next up in the new Sailor Shikiori line is Yozakura (20ml for $15). I was going to save this one for last because I thought it was going to be my favorite of the four but it ended up taking second place. So, there. I ruined the finale. You can skip ahead if you want. Or keep reading, if you want the full story.

When I saw Yozakura, it pushed all the right buttons for me initially — that slightly off kilter smoky purple/pink hue plus awesome Sailor ink in a nice bottle and, for me, the bonus of not being in a giant bottle. I thought it would be a win all around.

However, my penchant for fine and extra fine nibs would be the downfall here as the ink is lighter and more translucent than other inks in a similar vein. While Yozakuza was able to get some okay color (when dry! It dries darker than when its wet.) in wider nibs, in extra fine pens, its really quite light for regular usability. It does dry to a readable color but in actual writing, I found it a bit challenging to use.

I think with dip nibs, fude, calligraphy nibs and other specialty nibs it would be okay.

If Yozakura is the sort of smoky purply color appeals to you, I’d recommend Robert Oster Viola or Australian Opal Mauve instead. I love those colors for the range of shade and sheen and they are legible even in fine nib pens.

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