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Octopus Write and Draw - Grey Merkat I’m not sure why they made a “mistake” with the spelling. I’m sure meerkat’s won’t mind I post this information systematically on all Octopus Write & Draw ink reviews: They suggest that the shelf life of their ink is two years, which is a bit surprising. The ink is ISO 12757-2 and DIN ISO 14145-2 Here is the list of complete line up: https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/creative-inks/write-draw-ink/?p=1 And warnings: https://www.octopus-office.de/info/en/write-draw-ink/ Now to the review. This is a nice, wet, juicy grey, like a 6b pencil. The chroma, shows some green surprisingly : It writes wonderfully with all pens, especially the Japanese Ef nib. It might be too wet for some. It’s waterproof and especially great for sketching and washes. I saw shading with a B nib. But the scanner disagrees and sees it all over the place Writing Samples: It seems I'm a bit dyslexic and have inverted the name It's Grey Merkat. Also my automatic spell check has corrected the spelling There was a hint of ghosting on this paper: There's some ghosting/bleed through on copy paper but it's much much better than Herbin inks Photo: Comparison: Water test: And finally an artwork, inspired by Meerkats, entitled: Art of the Fugue and another one a prompt of Inktober yearly challenge: River It's a nod to the song Moon River from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Yellow ink is J Herbin Bouton d'or · Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Stub, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/Stub 1.1), Osmiroid Copper flex nib. · What I liked: Writing, drawing, washing. · What I did not like: Liking it so much. · What some might not like: It’s a pigment ink, it might be too wet for some. · Shading: If you scan your writing · Ghosting: Faint on Tomoe River 68 gr paper. · Bleed through: With F nibs onwards on copy paper. But much better than Herbin inks. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Above average. · Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. · Start-up: Did not notice. · Saturation: Gorgeous grey. · Shading Potential: With M/B nibs and dry pens. · Sheen: Did not notice. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice. · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Did not notice. · Staining (pen): Did not notice. · Clogging: Nope. · Cleaning: Easy · Water resistance: Excellent. · Availability: 50 ml bottles. Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier