Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris

[Sandy1]

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⊹ + ⊹

Fidelity:

• One may compare the colour of the ink I used to the depiction provided by R&K by opening the .pdf colour chart on their site. LINK
  
• Wiki: Verdigris
  

Figure 1.

Swabs & Swatch

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/INK228a_zpsde84e0e2.jpg

Figure 2.

NIB-ism ✑

Paper: HPJ1124.

Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

Distance between feint vertical pencil lines is 25mm.

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_59b44f73.jpg

Pens: L ➠ R: 45, 440, C74, PPP, P99, Carene.

 

Figure 3.

Paper base tints:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%20Stuff%20-%202011/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Chocolate/86f3378c.jpg

Papers: L ➠ R: HPJ1124, Rhodia, G Lalo, Royal, Staples.

 

 

WRITTEN SAMPLES - Moby Dick

Ruling: 8mm.

 

Figure 4.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/88ca63b3.jpg

 

Figure 5.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/2494a05f.jpg

Figure 6.

Paper: G Lalo.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/1ad999f8.jpg

Figure 7.

Paper: Royal.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/45ee2d9e.jpg

Figure 8.

Paper: Staples.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/65f29f6d.jpg

Figure 9.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/28ea1f4b.jpg

 

OTHER STUFF

 

Figure 10.

Smear/Dry Times & Wet Tests.

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/9f1306ec.jpg

 

Figure 11.

Bleed- Show-Though on Staples 20lb.

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_6e389c0a.jpg

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Presentation:

• Bottle.

Availability:

• Available when Topic posted.

Daily writer?

• Possible.

A go-to ink?

• When a dark Teal-ish ink is desired.

USE

 

Business:

(From the office of Ms Blue-Black.)

• Suitable for most correspondence, with gravitas aplenty, yet not an oh-so-boring business ink.
• As there just might be a bit of 'eye catching' going on, it might acquire a patina of animation.
• For personal work product, especially for those who write extensively, it should be a good pick, and is easier on the eye than stark Black, especially on papers with optical brightening agents.
• Line quality supports use for marginalia & annotation.
• Not suitable for dedicated forms use, error correction, grading, mark-up or editing.

Illustrations / Graphics:

• The colour and high density makes R&KV an alternative to Black, (yay!), so should not be used in conjunction with Black.
• Smear/Dry Times were quite short, so rapid reworking of areas done in this ink should be possible.
• Line quality on all papers was high enough for narrow lines, including diagrams & labels.
• As a watercolour, the colour remains quite consistent and uniform when diluted, and the absence of water resistance indicates that it could be reworked or sponged away.

Students:

• Not a top pick.
• Performed well on papers used, though two-sided use on lowest bidder print/copy paper seems unlikely without use of a dry pen.
• Water resistance is imaginary, so anything written in R&KV should be safeguarded against spills, drips, rain, etc.
• Will do for assignments, especially when/if one prefers their work stand-out a bit, and submissions where Batstate Blue would be OTT.

Personal:

• As much as I like Dark Blue and Blue-Black inks, I find R&KV generally too close to Black to use as it comes - often choosing to dilute the stuff for 'personal' personal writing. However, this Review is about what the nice people at R&K put into the bottle . . .
• Being slightly off-Black, R&KV offers greater ease of reading than Black - there is less contrast against white paper.
• Suitable for pro forma personal business writing.
• So that this ink is not mistaken for Black, I trend away from the narrow nibs so as to show more of the ink, and seek a bit of soft shading.
• Flow rate is high enough to use one's dry pens to keep the interesting colour from totally submerging; and use of a slightly tinted paper provides some simultaneous [colour] contrast. (Compare the Platinum President Purist on the G Lalo to that pen on the Staples.)
• Should one choose to enliven the line, the use of shaped nibs would be most welcome, and the emphasis would shift away from the ink towards penmanship and line.

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

 

Flow Rate:

• Quite generous.
• Bordering on wet.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not seen.

Start-up:

• Immediate.
• With confidence.

Lubricity:

• Very well balanced between smoothness and control.
  
• Feedback was clear yet not distracting.

Nib Creep:

• Not seen.

Staining (pen):

• Not seen after five days contact.

Clogging:

• Not seen.
• Seems unlikely.

Bleed- Show-Through:

• On Staples: As shown in Figure 11.
• On Royal: Two-sided use is not possible from pens used.
• All other pen+paper combos were OK for two-sided use.

Feathering / Wooly Line:

• The Carene was less than totally crisp on the Royal.
• (See HiRes image below.)

Aroma:

• Very faint.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not evident.

Clean Up:

• A bit slow but thorough with plain water.

Mixing:

• R&K claims that, except for their Sepia, their FP inks may be intermingled.
• I have resisted mixing into this ink.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

THE LOOK

 

Presence:

• WTH - is that Blue-Black?
• Oh, it's Not-Quite-Blue-Black.
• Hmm . . . lookin' good.

Saturation:

• Quite high.
• A fully inked line is typical.

Shading:

• Very low potential.
• Needs significant encouragement.
  
• Attractive when it appears.

Variability:

• Pen+nib combos used:
  • Less than expected.

  [*]Papers used:

  • Less than expected, though the PPP unexpectedly skipped a few beats on the pesky challenging G Lalo.

  [*]Malleability:

  • Low.
  • Typical of a rather wet saturated dark ink, there is not a lot that can be done without resorting to unusually dry writers and low absorbency papers; and R&KV has a roomy enough performance envelope to handle such materials.
  • If shading is desired, wider nibs holds greater promise, as well as use of coated smooth surface papers.

Hi-Res Scans:

Originals are 60x30mm.

All are thumnails.

 

45 on HPJ1124:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_6369ff83.jpg

C74 on Rhodia:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_7adcde2a.jpg

PPP on G Lalo:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_3cb65761.jpg

Carene on Royal:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20RK%20Verdigris/th_1a552903.jpg

OTHER INKS

 

■ This Review uses the same Written Sample format, atrocious handwriting and some pen+paper combos common to most of my previous Reviews of Blue-Black inks. Consequently, ad hoc comparisons through manipulation of browser windows is supported.

■ Should that functionality not meet your requirements, I welcome your PM requesting a specific comparison. Additional scans may be produced, but the likelihood of additional inky work is quite low.

■ Of late I've been looking at some of the very dark inks that are not Blue or Blue-Black, so as things progress there should be written samples of such inks, and good comparisons can be made.

 

Swab Swami.

☞ For such dark inks I feel that swab comparisons are terribly inadequate, to the point of being deceptive, so are excluded.

 

PAPERS

 

Lovely papers:

• Those with a smooth hard [coated] surface.

Trip-wire papers: ☠

• Those that are highly absorbent and/or have an open surface.

Tinted Papers:

• R&KV has the value and saturation for use on tinted papers.
• I most often choose to bring out the colour of the ink by using a warm Natural White to Ivory-Champagne paper, with the Rhodia 'R' 90gsm my current favourite. *wiggle toes*
  

Copy/Printer Papers:

• What's written appears just fine, with crisp lines and no more than the usual amount of line-width gain (spread).
• Not unexpectedly, a slightly dry pen seems necessary to use both sides of 'lowest bidder' papers.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Perhaps.
• When one is pursuing shading and/or decreasing ink density by use of a dry writer.

ETC.

 

Majik:

• I'm afraid not - the ink is just not sufficiently malleable.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• Platinum President Purist on Rhodia.
• The PPP gives a line that is wide and dry enough to reveal the interesting colour, and with my light hand the 22K nib is soft enough to exploit Rhodia's charms.
• Rhodia gives a bit of simultaneous contrast to the ink's colour, and with its hard smooth surface generates just a whisper of shading to keep the ink from bottoming-out on the page.

Yickity Yackity:

• A well-mannered reliable companion, but not likely to reach my top shelf.
• Ah kushbaby, are you still waiting for another stunning Blue-Black?

======

 

NUTS BOLTS & BOILERPLATE

 

Pens

Written Samples:

A. Parker 45 + steel XF nib.

B. Sheaffer 440 + steel F nib.

C. Pilot Custom 74 + 14K SFM nib.

D. Platinum President Purist + 22K B nib

E. Pelikan P99 Technixx (Red) + steel B nib.

F. Waterman Carene + 18K factory Stub nib.

Lines & labels:

◆

.

Waterman Havana from a Pilot Penmanship + XF.

Papers

• HPJ1124: Hewlett-Packard laser copy/print, 24lb.
• Rhodia: satin finish vellum, 80gsm.
• G. Lalo: Verge de France, natural white, laid, 100gsm.
• Royal: 25% cotton, laser/inkjet copy/print, 'letterhead', 90gsm.
• Staples: house brand copy/print, USD4/ream, bears FSC logo, 20lb.
• Pulp: Calendar page.

Imaging

• An Epson V600 scanner was used with the bundled Epson s/w at factory default settings to produce low-loss jpg files.
• Figures shown were scanned at 200 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Hi-Res images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• No post-capture manipulation of scanner output was done, other than dumb-down by Epson, Photobucket & IP.Board s/w, and the viewing gear on your end.

Densitometer Readings on HPJ1124

• Red 97
• Grn 104
• Blu 132
• Lum 108

Fine Print

The accuracy and relevance of this Review depends in great part upon consistency and reliability of matériel used.

Ink does not require labelling/notice to indicate (changes in) formulation, non-hazardous ingredients, batch ID, date of manufacture, etc.

As always YMMV, due to differences in materials, manner of working, environment, etc.

Also, I entrust readers to separate opinion from fact; to evaluate inferences and conclusions as to their merit; and to be amused by whatever tickles your fancy.

 

-30-

Tags: Fountain Pen Ink Review Sandy1 Rohrer Klingner R&K R+K Verdigris Blue-Black Green-Black Dark Teal

 

Edited January 21, 2013 by Sandy1

[The Good Captain]

Great review of one of my all-time favourites. I love this colour and have it permanently in my Pelikan M420 in at the moment in the 101N Lizard. A real 'beaut' and it seems to be happy on most of the papers I use; even using both sides of Bank paper.

Well worth trying out for those that haven't and I think it looks a lot like Diamine Twilight on certain papers.

[PDW]

So, cap'n, in your personal opinion if I already have a bottle of Twilight would you say Verdigris is worth getting as well, or in practice are they just too close?

Edited January 21, 2013 by PDW

[The Good Captain]

I'll post a scan of the two later but I had the Twilight first and then got the Verdigris and I have to say I prefer the R&K ink. There seems more character and it shows the colour variation with different nibs and on different papers. I don't use the Twilight as much these days, if that's anything to go by!

Watch out for the two scans.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Here is the comparison that I posted when Twilight came to market:

 

Comparison: Diamine 'Twilight Blue' :: R&K 'Verdigris' LINK

 

As ever, I'd like to see other samples / comparisons, especially as I am reluctant to use swab comparisons for the very dark inks. But Twilight run from a wet pen isn't so very dark as to be mistaken for Black. (?)

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Great review of one of my all-time favourites. I love this colour and have it permanently in my Pelikan M420 in at the moment in the 101N Lizard. A real 'beaut' and it seems to be happy on most of the papers I use; even using both sides of Bank paper.

Well worth trying out for those that haven't and I think it looks a lot like Diamine Twilight on certain papers.

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your kind words, and for sharing your experience with this ink!

 

I can certainly understand the appeal of this ink, and it is most certainly well mannered; but have yet to fully embrace the colour at such a dark value. Perhaps I'm looking for a bit more lustre.

 

I do have a Dilution set underway, so that may be of some interest.

 

Bye,

S1

[The Good Captain]

At last, here are the two scans I mentioned earlier. I've checked and the Verdigris I still have inked up is the same as this sample which was done in January last year! The Twilight, last February.

Hope these don't confound people.

[dunhamsa]

The teal in R&K seems to be lost in the darkness of the ink in Sandy1's review and comparisons. I can see it a bit more in Captain's zoomed images, but it might be a stretch to notice the teal in real life circumstances. I have and do like the ink, but the name of the ink seems to be borderline with its reality, at least in my fine nibs.

[fourseamer]

The teal in R&K seems to be lost in the darkness of the ink in Sandy1's review and comparisons. I can see it a bit more in Captain's zoomed images, but it might be a stretch to notice the teal in real life circumstances. I have and do like the ink, but the name of the ink seems to be borderline with its reality, at least in my fine nibs.

+1

 

It's a lovely blue-black ink with a green tone to it. I noticed a similar greenish tint to R&K's limited edition Blau-Schwarz as well. Both are excellent inks, and as always, thanks to Sandy for the thorough review!

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Here's the Topic on Dilution posted in the ICS&T Forum next door: LINK

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

At last, here are the two scans I mentioned earlier. I've checked and the Verdigris I still have inked up is the same as this sample which was done in January last year! The Twilight, last February.

Hope these don't confound people.

Hi,

 

Thanks again!

 

more ink + more pens + more paper + more people = FPN

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

The teal in R&K seems to be lost in the darkness of the ink in Sandy1's review and comparisons. I can see it a bit more in Captain's zoomed images, but it might be a stretch to notice the teal in real life circumstances. I have and do like the ink, but the name of the ink seems to be borderline with its reality, at least in my fine nibs.

 

+1

 

It's a lovely blue-black ink with a green tone to it. I noticed a similar greenish tint to R&K's limited edition Blau-Schwarz as well. Both are excellent inks, and as always, thanks to Sandy for the thorough review!

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I agree that the Teal aspect of Verdigris is submerged by the darkness of the ink. As mentioned in the Review, that could be addressed by use of dry writers, less absorbent paper and dilution.

 

I do find the colour attractive, but found that it really benefits from 'fine tuning' the value (light to dark), especially as the ink doesn't misbehave when manipulated; and is the only ink to date that I've been able to get 'attractive' shading through dilution.

 

Bye,

S1

[JeanManuel]

Fantastic review, thanks a lot.

I also see verdigris as an alternative to black. I have been interested by D.Twilight for a while as well, so thanks for posting the link to a comparison. I use almost exclusively EF-F nibs, so I am interested by such very sarurated/dense and legible inks.

 

Edit/ps: the color of this ink changes a lot between day light and artificial lightings!

Edited January 25, 2013 by JeanManuel

[hoppes no9]

One of my favorite inks, thanks for the review!

 

I love the color and the saturation -- looks suitably dark even with the finest nibs.

[Sandy1]

Fantastic review, thanks a lot.

I also see verdigris as an alternative to black. I have been interested by D.Twilight for a while as well, so thanks for posting the link to a comparison. I use almost exclusively EF-F nibs, so I am interested by such very sarurated/dense and legible inks.

 

Edit/ps: the color of this ink changes a lot between day light and artificial lightings!

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I don't use the very narrow nibs too often, so I'm always interested in learning more from people who use such nibs on a routine basis.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

One of my favorite inks, thanks for the review!

 

I love the color and the saturation -- looks suitably dark even with the finest nibs.

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I keep learning more & more from our narrow nib afficionadi!

 

Bye,

S1

[Jared]

Sandy,

 

Thank you for another excellent review. My bottle had a hint of green to it, which wasn't what I expected.

 

 

I've seen your reference to your top shelf" inks, but am curious what those are. With so many quality and detailed reviews, your experience and advice is valued (if even it's your personal viewpoint).

 

 

Best,

 

Jared

[Sandy1]

Sandy,

 

Thank you for another excellent review. My bottle had a hint of green to it, which wasn't what I expected.

 

 

I've seen your reference to your top shelf" inks, but am curious what those are. With so many quality and detailed reviews, your experience and advice is valued (if even it's your personal viewpoint).

 

 

Best,

 

Jared

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

Thanks for letting us know what was in your bottle. Even though the 'hint of green' wasn't what you'd expected, I hope you still enjoy the ink.

 

If it is too Green for your liking, you might consider mixing a bit of R&K Magenta (40320) into Verdigris. (The R&K FP inks, except Sepia, can be safely intermingled.)

 

Ah, I'll leave it to your vivid imagination as to the inks on my 'top shelf'.

 

Bye,

S1

[gawain3]

I have Lamy Blue-Black and Noodler's Starry Night. This might be the something in the middle I'm looking for.

 

By the way, why name it Verdigris? Isn't verdigris the green you see on old copper? Looks like blue-black to me. :hmm1:

[Sandy1]

I have Lamy Blue-Black and Noodler's Starry Night. This might be the something in the middle I'm looking for.

 

By the way, why name it Verdigris? Isn't verdigris the green you see on old copper? Looks like blue-black to me. :hmm1:

 

Hi,

 

I agree that Verdigris may be worthy of consideration to accompany Lamy Blue-Black and Noodler's FNP Van Gogh Starry Night. All are strong performers, though Verdigris lacks water resistance.

 

Here's a sample of each of those inks from the Sheaffer 440 + F nib on HPJ1124:

 

Lamy Blue-Black, not I-G:

• http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Comparison%20LBlBk%20NFPNVGSN%20Verdigris/INK929_zps1d9af06c.jpg

R&K Verdigris:

• http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Comparison%20LBlBk%20NFPNVGSN%20Verdigris/INK930_zps7fc44638.jpg

NFPNVGSN:

• http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Comparison%20LBlBk%20NFPNVGSN%20Verdigris/INK932_zps239c96c6.jpg

I've posted a Review of the Lamy BlBk HERE; and a Review and a set of dilutions featuring NFPNVGSN are planned for the not too distant future.

 

If you like the value (light - dark) of Lamy BlBk, then you might consider diluting Verdigris and NFPNVGSN to about the same value, which would make the inks' colours more apparent.

 

Ink naming is a subject that used to bother me quite a bit, but I've since realised that the ink companies can name their ink whatever they want, and its 'buyer beware'. Only if a name is really goofy will I politely poke fun at the name of an ink. (My current template has 'Fidelity' near the start.)

 

Bye,

S1