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Coming May 2017 The fountain pen experience is much more than simply putting a pen to paper. The right pen, the right paper, the right ink and the right environment can all combine to create an incredibly enjoyable and uplifting experience. Sometimes the unpleasant smell of some fountain pen inks can detract from this experience so we've created a range of scented inks to add a new dimension to the fountain pen experience. We've chosen a selection of uniquely Australian scents and tested them thoroughly to ensure the scents do not interfere with the free flowing and well behaved characteristics that Blackstone inks are famous for. These scents are designed to enhance the writing experience and provide a subtle but noticeably pleasant fragrance when the bottle is opened and when writing. Australian Bush - Ink Colour: Green The classic aroma of the Australian Bush, a crisp and vibrant blend of Australian Native Eucalyptus, Kunzea, Lemon Myrtle, Rosalina and Nerolina. This is what you can smell when you walk out into the bush after rain. Blue Cypress - Ink Colour: Green/Blue Callitris intratropica Common Name: Cypress Pine A sweet, earthy, woody smell reminiscent of herbs and balsam. The Blue Cypress is mainly found in the Northern Territory and North Queensland, can live for over 200 years and grow to 45m. It has highly fragrant wood, bark and leaves all of which are used to extract the scent. Kunzea - Ink colur: Red Kunzea ambigua Common Name: Tick Bush, White Cloud, Duncane Kunzea A mild eucalyptus and myrtle smell with hints of pine and herbs. Mainly found in cool coastal areas of Australia, Kunzea is a tall shrub with white, pink or red flowers. Kunzea was given the common name Tick Bush because native animals are often found sleeping underneath the plants to get rid of ticks and other parasites. Blue Gum - Ink Colour Blue/Green Eucalyptus Globulus Common Name: Tasmanian Blue Gum A very pleasant, mild and spicy eucalyptus smell. The Blue Gum is a massive gum tree that can grow up to 100m. It is found mainly in Tasmania and Southern Victoria and is the floral emblem of Tasmania. New leaves are covered with a blue/grey waxy bloom which gives it it's common name. Brown Boronia - Ink Colour: Brown Boronia megastigma Common Name: Heaven Scent The Brown Boronia has a wonderful, lemon scented aroma which is not surprising considering they belong to the same plant family as citrus. Regarded as a serious contender for the title of ‘World’s Best Perfumed Plant’ by Don Burke, Brown Boronia is an evergreen, Australian native plant with flowers ranging in colour from yellow to dark brown. Wild Orange - Ink Colour: Orange Capparis mitchellii Common Name: Wild Orange or Native Orange The wild orange has a sweet, fresh, orange scent but is not related to oranges or citrus, nor to the Wild Orange (Osange Orange) of the USA. It is actually a member of the Caper family. The Wild Ornage is widely distributed throught Australia and is a well known 'Bush Tucker' food. It starts life as a rambling vine and grows into a tree up to 6m in height.

We've had a lot of requests to 'bring back the pouches' and package Blackstone Ink in them. We received a lot of feedback and comments when we first introduced ink in plastic pouches and we've taken a lot of this into account this time. We received a lot of positive comments about the environmentally friendly aspects of the pouches but the major criticism we received was that the cost savings did not override the extra time and effort involved in decanting the pouches and that the pouches were difficult to decant with the spout in the centre. We've addressed both these issues this time. Our new, even tougher, glossy white pouches have a side spout which makes it much easier to pour without spilling. We have also reduced the cost per ml from 18.3 cents per ml (first pouches) to 11.9 cents per ml and 10.9 cents per ml in the set of six colours.. The same ink in 30ml PP bottles is 26.5 cents per bottle. The new 50ml plastic pouches cost $AUD5.95 for a 50ml pouch. We only have a limited number of pouches available this time and depending on the feedback we get, we will look into introducing larger sizes and including a pouch version for all of our inks. Please feel free to offer any comments, suggestions or advice about ink in plastic pouches. I value everyone's opinions and always try to take the community's views into account.

The Robert Oster Signature ink from Australia arrived FINALY in our Boutique ! Forty-two marvellous colours to discover !! Be charmed by Copper, Direct Sun or Purple Rock ... All colour swatches are attached to our "Wall of Ink" in the Boutique and the webstore shows each colour separately. http://www.sakurafountainpengallery.com/en/boutique/robert-oster-signature-inkt-amp-vullingen Ink is more than a colour, ink is an emotion and we love it. Thank you Robert !!!!

For the sake of providing a (fairly) comprehensive overview of the Toucan range of inks, here is Toucan Black. I already had two other black inks when I purchased this one - Noodler's X-Feather and Diamine Jet Black; I subsequently gave the latter away. I use Noodler's X-Feather by preference - I live in mortal fear of smudging my hand-written notes (especially work-related ones) so the 'bulletproof' nature of the Noodler's ink provides a massive reassurance factor. That said, there are times when a non-permanent black ink is not only acceptable but desirable - for example, when my 11-year-old son asks me to re-ink his Lamy Safari. Do I trust him not to stain his fingers, shirt, trousers, and various items of furniture with celluloid-reactive ink? Well, let's put it this way: it' snot that I don't trust him, it's just that I know him! So this is the ink of choice for his Lamy Safari; his second pen has Waterman Serenity Blue; his third (a Platinum Preppy) is inked up with everyone's perennial favourite 'safe' ink, namely Noodler's Baystate Blue. OK, OK, maybe that wasn't such a good idea... Without further ado, here is probably the least exciting ink in the range - photo only, not bothering with the scan: http://i.imgur.com/3MLZHd7.jpg Forgot to mention: this ink is only available in Australia and New Zealand at present - made by Tintex (Dye Manufacturers of Australia), and distributed by the Just Write Pen Company (www.justwrite.com.au).

Just when I thought I'd finished reviewing the Toucan range of inks, I've discovered an extra colour! More to the point, when the JustWrite company began stocking the Toucan ink range in 30ml bottles as well as pouches, they decided to make the entire range available - including the one colour they'd decided NOT to distribute at the outset. I think the review will make it obvious why the JustWrite crew didn't consider it worth selling BOTH Crimson AND Scarlet - they're very similar - but as a lover of red inks I'm more than happy to have both in my arsenal. The crimson is probably the 'truer' red (though the swab I've included on this sample sheet comes up pink); the Scarlet is more of a darkish orangey-red, but I think it's a very pleasing shade nonetheless. Standard Disclaimer: The JustWrite company have provided me with a few inexpensive pens to check out or review for them - but my relationship with them is primarily as a customer. All these inks I have purchased myself, and these reviews are my own initiative. Anyway, no point blathering on - here's the "missing ink", for your viewing pleasure! http://i.imgur.com/0rhAQHj.jpg And, just in case you didn't see this when I posted it in a comment (on another ink review thread), here's how the Toucan ink bottles stack up against a few of my other inks - same capacity as J. Herbin, but it LOOKS so much smaller... http://i.imgur.com/pOgaR3c.jpg

When I decided to review a few of my preferred inks in the Toucan range, I wasn't going to bother with this one - the first time I trialled it (about 4 months ago?) I was seriously unimpressed. To unsaturated, and too 'bluey-green', to be called a 'Royal' blue. I wasn't a great fan of the Bright Blue either, though, till someone suggested I try it in a Noodler's pen - and suddenly I discovered I was dealing with a different ink. So I thought it was worth revisiting the 'Royal' Blue - and I wasn't disappointed. It's still not my favourite ink - as you'll see in the comparisons, the three blue (or turquoise) inks are all somewhat similar, though you can certainly tell them apart. I'd like to see Tintex try to produce something closer to a 'classic' royal blue - though I guess the market in such inks is rather saturated (if you'll pardon the pun). But this is not a bad ink - having re-filled a couple of pens with it for this review, I expect I'll use it (though not for formal correspondence) until the pens are empty... Starting (again) with the photo: http://i.imgur.com/6h0I4kd.jpg And the scan: http://i.imgur.com/18yto0C.jpg

Of all the inks produced by Tintex for their Toucan range, this would probably have to be the most striking - though for whatever reason it's not one I find regularly in my rotation. A dark, 'burnt orange' kind of colour, that varies considerably in shade depending on the wetness of the pen, the thickness of the line etc. Hardly surprising that it's one of their better sellers. Have 'migrated' from my Sony phone camera to a Sony camera - hopefully the photographic image will be a little sharper, and truer to the colour... (p.s. Please forgive the typo - I *know* Sheaffer should be spelt Sheaffer, but in the heat of the moment I got it wrong...) The scanned version, first of all: http://i.imgur.com/WBBzjem.jpg And the photograph: http://i.imgur.com/4Yh4ZrH.jpg

For the sake of completeness - and not out of any kind of love for this shade of ink! - here is Toucan Primrose. It's the palest of inks in the range, legible but just barely (and again, only using the wettest of pens). If you love yellow inks, this may well be right up your alley - and I will make no prejudgments as to your sanity! Like the rest of the inks in this range, Primrose is very well-behaved on reasonable quality paper - I did, unfortunately, smear this in a few places, but in my defense it was a little hard to see where the ink was and wasn't on the page!! It's a little paler than this in 'real life' - I suspect its two main uses will be (1) mixing your own colours (in a CMYK mixing kit, this would be the 'Y'), and (2) maybe as a highlighter ink - though I'd probably throw in a dash of 'Bright Green' to 'sex it up' a little... Only available in Australia at present (and NZ, sorry I keep forgetting my Kiwi compatriots!), with www.justwrite.com.au the main (sole?) distributor. Any questions, feel free to ask - and I'll answer if I can! This is my last review in this series - now I have to decide whether to review some of my other inks, but most of them (I think) already have a few reviews up here on FPN, so... We'll see. If you've trawled through all of these reviews... Thank you for your forbearance - and next time you're in the land of Aus (Downunder), why not place an order? http://i.imgur.com/CAo2IKL.jpg

This is post #9 in my series of reviews on the Toucan ink range - produced by Tintex, a.k.a. Dye Manufacturers of Australia. These inks are available (as of yesterday) either in a plastic pouches (30 or 60 ml) or in 30 ml glass bottles from the distributor - though it looks like the larger (400 ml) pouches are no longer on offer (see www.justwrite.com.au for details). I've had a difficult time trying to describe this ink - as you'll see in the images below. It's definitely not a reddish-brown, nor is it yellow-ish; I'd call it 'muddy' but that might sound like an insult; while 'chocolate' brown, 'coffee' brown don't quite capture it either. Have a look for yourself - and let me know if you can think of a better comparison! The photo first, this time around: http://i.imgur.com/1B3maKa.jpg And the scan: http://i.imgur.com/vMFJnz7.jpg

Toucan Violet - the third-last in the range (not sure whether I'll bother with #14). The review below may seem a bit harsh - but honestly, the only thing I don't love about this ink is its colour (!). It's well-behaved, reasonably saturated, washes well out of my pens... I just, well, prefer a more 'brightly coloured' purple (or violet). The ink in the Platinum Preppy (see sample) is just about perfect for me - this colour seems 'flatter' by comparison. That said, Toucan Violet is a 'legitimate' colour in its own right - it reminds me of the flowers on a spray of lavender. You know the drill: manufactured by Tintex, only available for purchase in Australia and NZ (at least for now), but an amazing price - kind of makes up for the extra we have to pay on every stinkin' pen and ink and paper that has to be imported Down Under and sold at a ridiculous mark-up to boot ('Pardon my potty mouth'!, as Fix-It Felix Jr would say...). Here it is - scan only (unless someone asks for a photo), but I think this is reasonably accurate: http://i.imgur.com/prgY6Ct.jpg

The Toucan ink with the most auspicious sounding name - but sadly not the most auspicious looking ink. Sitting somewhere between orange and yellow (I suspect it's a combination of the two), it's dark enough to be legible - just barely - but wouldn't make for the most comfortable reading. You'll notice I've deliberately used wetter pens to get a darker, more visible line (especially the Noodler's Nib Creaper) - but still it's not the most saturated of inks!! This scan probably does the ink some favours - it's a little lighter in real life - but I think it gives a reasonable impression of the ink. This *might* go OK in a highlighter pen; it's certainly OK to *mix* with the other inks in the range; and may have uses in ink-based artwork... but useless as an everyday writer. Tell me if you have a use for this ink - I'd love to know what it's good for! Here 'tis: http://i.imgur.com/doepAwL.jpg