Sepia Toned Ink Comparison - 32 Inks

[coffeetoofull]

Thanks for the wonderful work and post on sepia inks. I've been making a transition in pens while moving towards sepia brown inks. I wrote the following post on the Fountain Pen Ink Sampler https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/227761-fountain-pen-ink-sampler-ink-journal-format/page__p__2433584__fromsearch__1#entry2433584 . My recent success has been with the Marala Guider India fountain pen (see my post on this pen) and Private Reserve inks. I've read some negative reviews on the Private Reserve Fast Drying inks, but like everything else, its rather subjective to testing standards. I like the colour in the Chocolat Private Reserve and its smoothness on quality paper.

Best Writings To you, coffeetoofull

[oshizemi]

Noodler's Brooklyn Brawn, never heard of it. Like it though!

[dcpritch]

Nice to know there are other sepia ink folks out there. I'm still amazed at how many different colors there are within the sepia category!

[Bo Bo Olson]

I kept saying that is not my MB Sepia; no where near, all the way down to the writing test...then; yes, that's my MB Sepia.

 

I went into German Ebay and lucked into second bottle...so I now have 1 2/3's bottles.

 

 

Me too:::""" I'm still amazed at how many different colors there are within the sepia category!""""

 

It appears I have more 'sepia's than I thought.

Pelikan brown was to me a red brown.

Collodi was an off shade red; there for an ink I fear to put in my piston pens.

I'd thought Noodlers Golden Brown as a good shading brown ink that took for ever to dry.

................

Lie de The and Cafe des Illes; were to me browns, but I could see them now as sepia, along with the MB Sepia.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[Biber]

Nice to know there are other sepia ink folks out there. I'm still amazed at how many different colors there are within the sepia category!

 

The actual color of sepia can be a very problematic subject, being dependent on both how one defines it and how one perceives it. Of course what color it actually is - being historically derived from squid ink which, as I understand it, can vary in color depending on specific species - is another story as well. I think that for most people (the present audience of cognoscenti not withstanding) when sepia is mentioned, what probably first comes to mind (and thus largely defining the term) are old photographs not actual squid ink. Therein lies the problem as the term "sepia" seems to be wantonly applied to any old non-color photograph, encompassing a wide spectrum of muddy greyish-mauvish-brownish-yellowish-redish-greenish hues. Consequently the search for the perfect sepia is a very personal quest guided by the hope that one will know it when one sees it. My ideal sepia du jour is R&K Sepia, but even that isn't the sepia color I have in my mind so the search continues. I suspect I'm actually looking for a bistre, whatever color is that is...

 

On that note, Dave, words cannot describe the tremendous service you have done by comparing all these so-called sepia inks, together in one place, for those of us searching for our ideal sepia.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Biber

[dcpritch]

Thank you Biber for the very nice compliment. I am so rarely included in any description of cognoscenti that I think it must be a mistake, but I'll go along with it for the sake of argument.

 

After your note above I had to look up "bistre" and correct my spell checker which wanted to insert something else. I can see, though, why you gravitate to R&K Sepia, which is also a favorite of mine.

 

Since I did my review there have been several new inks which have piqued my interest, some of which I've purchased, but I haven't yet developed the resolve to update my review. It was such a large task that afterward my family nearly cut me off from pens and inks, and I want to keep them happy while at the same time keep my fountain pen hobby unimpaired. Life is always a balance, rarely achieved but definitely worth the effort.

 

Best, David

[AlejoPlay]

PR Sepia.. does it consistently have the wonderful shading seen in your tests?

it's not my concept of "sepia", but it is a standout color with effects, all through your tests.

 

Good question - its an ink that is new to me. So here's what I just wrote on a sheet of Rhodia A4 lined 80g/m² paper:

 

 

I'd say that's some of the most dramatic shading I've seen; such a difference between light and dark tones.

 

I just ordered a bottle of this based on this writing sample! Gorgeous.

[yuphadee27]

Based on your writing sample, I just ordered one too.

[dcpritch]

I'm always happy to oblige as an enabler. Lord knows plenty of folks on FPN have done the same for me! I hope you enjoy the ink.

[PatientType]

dcpritch, Thank you for your comprehensive, comparative review as well as the follow up on J. Herbin sepia. I use brown & sepia colors a great deal. I'd say blue is my most commonly used color, then browns, then blacks, then everything else. So, I know I will be coming back again and again to refer to this review. Being able to see the swaths of so many brands and compare the nuances of color and shading is of great utility.

 

My biggest problem is that I like half a dozen of the inks enough to want them and flat out LOVE the Private Reserve sepia. But, I have at least seven bottles of various browns, some in multiples, and I need to use a few of those up before I order more. I let my ink inventory get way out of hand at one point and ended up gifting pens with a bottle of ink to a number of people. Now that every family member owns a pen and ink I can't afford to over stock again.

Edited October 12, 2012 by PatientType

[dcpritch]

... I let my ink inventory get way out of hand at one point and ended up gifting pens with a bottle of ink to a number of people. Now that every family member owns a pen and ink I can't afford to over stock again.

 

Ha! I'd say in your situation you can't afford **NOT** to overstock ink; all those new pen converts will be relying on you!

 

I would suggest locating samples of the several inks you've identified and trying them out with your own pens on paper you like to use. Then you will have a better idea how to spend your ink money.

 

Of course, having a few extra bottles of ink tucked away isn't a bad thing, either (this from an owner of a couple hundred bottles :embarrassed_smile: )

[Guest Gracie]

Thanks to all of the above for the fabulous information, especially all those mind-boggling ink samples. I just tried to do a test to add in here of three that I didn't notice in the samples, but I don't know the trick of getting true colour. My two copper-toned inks came out black, the "light Sepia" was somewhat true, and the paper itself turned psychedelic. Since there is no point in including that, suffice it to say that I also have Higgins Sepia Calligraphy Ink, not a true fountain pen ink but water-based; Diamine Ancient Copper which I love, although Pelikan Brilliant Brown will probably always be my favourite in that range; and my new Laywine's De Armentis Havanna, which is in the yellow range of Sepia and very pretty.

 

This whole string of information is obviously going to take considerable time to digest. Good work all!

[Belles-lettres]

One more kudos to David for his Nobel Prize quality research and comparisons. I cannot fathom the time it required just to organize the methodology and obtain the inks, clean the pen, etc.

 

Most marvelous, good sir, and I thank you.

[mrul]

Great work. I lost my breath for a while. :)

[larsbj]

Fabulous! Truly amazing review!

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Cool topic!

I also like to use Sepia toned ink.

 

This is my ink comparison included Sepia, Bordeaux and other Red toned ink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJdw1A_BKM

[Bo Bo Olson]

Grumble...R&K was not what I'd thought Sepia...it still looks gray to me...but I got a bottle coming.

Maybe it's got a bit of octopus ink in it.

[huyked]

Oh my gosh! Thank you for sharing all that hard work. Much appreciated!

[pen2paper]

This Sepia-toned ink comparison was born out of my own confusion from trying to understand the various inks I have which are labeled "sepia" or are generally thought to be sepia-toned. I discovered there is wide divergence among ink manufacturers, fountain pen users, and the non-fountain pen world about the meaning of sepia and the tone one expects from the name.

 

Here are a few definitions of sepia:

 

• Wikipedia: a dark brown-grey color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia

• Collins English Dictionary: a dark reddish-brown pigment obtained from the inky secretion of the cuttlefish

• American Heritage Dictionary: a dark brown ink or pigment originally prepared from the secretion of the cuttlefish, OR a dark grayish yellow brown to dark or moderate olive brown

• Barron's Marketing Dictionary: film whose color tends toward brown tones rather than shades of gray, giving the image an old-fashioned and sometimes dreamlike quality

• Princeton University Thesaurus: a shade of brown with a tinge of red burnt sienna

• Tonmo.com: a red-brown ink made from the ink sacs of cuttlefish

• My 15 year old son: "sepia - isn't that like old timey pictures?"

 

Obviously, there are lots of different thoughts on what sepia is or should be. Originally, sepia ink was derived from the ink sac of the cuttlefish. One of the inks in this comparison, Hakase Sepia, is actually made directly from cuttlefish, the only such ink of which I am aware, though the FPN community will no doubt be able to find another source or else make some of their own - we are an amazingly resourceful and industrious bunch. All the other inks are interpretations of "sepia" by the various ink manufacturers.

 

So, what's the deal with cuttlefish, you ask? Here is some interesting and helpful information from Tonmo.com: The ink of a cuttlefish is composed of highly concentrated melanin. This is the same dark pigment that we humans have, and which is responsible for skin color and the color of dark hair. It is a natural dye that cephalopods manufacture in an ink sac. When the need arises, the cuttlefish squirts this ink together with a jet of water. The result is a cloud of ink, which is used defensively as a visual screen or a distraction to predators. The ink also contains a compound, tyrosinase, which irritates predators' eyes and paralyzes their sense of smell temporarily. The color of the ink (melanin) is red, but when it is more concentrated, it becomes darker, changing to brown and even to black. Since red appears black in low-light, many night active or deep-sea cephalopods produce only red or brown ink.

 

What does this have to do with fountain pen ink? In it's simplest form, fountain pen ink is a pigment or dye and a binder. Per Tonmo.com, the first ink for writing and drawing was invented simultaneously in China and Egypt, around 2500 BC. This first ink was made of lampblack (soot) mixed with aqueous binders. In the middle ages and up through the nineteenth century, ink was made from such ingredients as gum arabic, copperas (vitriol), gall apples (source of tannin), and water. Occasionally soot was used for making the ink black, or minerals and other pigments could be used for color. In the 20th century, ink became more sophisticated and is now usually made of synthetic dyes and compounds. Ink today may combine tannic, Gallic and dilute hydrochloric acid with an iron salt, phenol, and a blue or black dye. The composition may optionally include a drying agent, an adhesion promoter, a color developer and/or a preservative. Of all the ancient forms of ink, sepia is the one ink related to cephalopods. The ink sacs of cuttlefish were dried and ground to a fine powder, then mixed with shellac. This ink came into use in the eighteenth century and was quite popular in the nineteenth century.

 

Back in August I began this thread to help me gather ideas for sepia-toned inks. I got a lot of response, far more than I anticipated, and as a result came up with a list of 45 inks - whittled down to 32 - that folks seemed to want included in this comparison. So, I assembled an arsenal of sepia-toned inks, though not as many as I would have were I to raid Sam Capote's ink storage facility, which in my imagination resembles the massive warehouse in the final scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I have about half of these in bottles, the other half being samples from Goulet Pens, Ryan Roossinck of Pear Tree Pens (now, sadly, no longer in business), and from helpful donations sent to me by some great FPNers.*

 

Some of the inks are clearly not within the sepia family: Diamine Burnt Sienna, Diamine Rustic Brown, J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil, Montblanc Carlo Collodi and Noodler's Golden Brown all seem to be far enough outside the spectrum to be excluded. Still, I included them in the comparison because ... well, because people asked, I have them, and the difference between 27 and 32 inks really isn't that much. Doesn't the swab sheet look colorful?!

 

Here are the inks in alphabetical order by maker, which is the way I've laid out my tests:

 

• Caran d'Ache Grand Canyon

• Carter's Harvest Brown (vintage - c. 1941)

• Diamine Burnt Sienna

• Diamine Golden Brown

• Diamine Raw Sienna

• Diamine Rustic Brown

• Diamine Sepia

• Hakase Sepia (available only in Japan)

• J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil

• J. Herbin Café Des Îles

• J. Herbin Lie de Thé

• J. Herbin Terre de Feu

• J. Herbin mix by Avetikus**

• Montblanc Carlo Collodi

• Montblanc Sepia (out of production)

• Noodler's (Art Brown) Brooklyn Brawn

• Noodler's Golden Brown

• Noodler's (Swisher) Grizzly

• Noodler's Kiowa Pecan

• Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia

• Noodler's (Swisher) Seminole Sepia

• OMAS Sepia

• Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown

• Pilot Iroshizuku tsukushi

• Pilot Iroshizuku yama-guri

• Platinum Pigment Ink Brun Sepia

• Private Reserve Chocolat

• Private Reserve Copper Burst

• Private Reserve Sepia

• Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

• Stipula Calamo Sepia

• Visconti Brown (aka Sepia)

 

For my testing, I used the following pens, picked to represent a range of nib sizes, flex, age and availability (and also ease of cleaning - 32 inks x 3 pens = 96 cleanings, and I had to be thorough each time to avoid contamination):

 

• Bexley Poseidon Magnum, 18k 1.3mm Bexley stub nib

• Kaweco Sport, steel M nib

• Mabie Todd & Co. Swan 3260, flexible 14k Swan No. 2 nib

 

Finally, I used the following papers to test each ink:

 

• cheapo/no name 20lb. copy paper

• Office Depot "Double A" copy paper, 22lb., 80g/m

• Rhodia No. 18 A4 pad, lined, 80g/m

• Original Crown Mill Classic Laid paper, A5 size, in cream

• 25% rag content paper for swab tests and line tests

 

I'm not a huge fan of swab tests because first, we don't write with Q-Tips and second, the color can look significantly different when flowing from a pen. Still, the swab tests are a good indication of tone and they are bigger and bolder than anything I could produce with a fountain pen, so I have included them for your reference.

 

 

Figure 1: Cotton swab squiggles (25% rag paper)

For some reason, the Hakase Sepia appears lighter in this swab test than it actually is. See the next two images below for a more accurate depiction of its tone.

 

Figure 2: Cotton swab blocks (25% rag paper)

 

 

Figure 3: Cotton swab 1-2-3 pass. The horizontal line swabs for each ink are done with one, two and three passes, top to bottom. I used a premium 25% rag content paper for this part of the test, mostly to avoid bleed through (only Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia and Seminole Sepia bled through, and very minimally). Please don't abuse me for not staying inside the lines - its harder than you think. :embarrassed_smile:

 

 

Figure 4: Line test. Line test for each ink was done using - from top to bottom - the Bexley, Kaweco and Swan pens (once with a light touch using the EF tip of the Swan nib and then with the Swan at moderate flex), again using a premium 25% rag content paper.

Note the feathering above displayed by Noodler's Brooklyn Brawn (slight), Noodler's Grizzly (moderate) and Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia and Seminole Sepia (heavy). No other inks feathered on the 25% rag content paper. These inks also bled through on this paper.

 

 

Figure 5: Swan flex patterns (25% rag paper)

 

 

Figures 6, 7 and 8: Boxes drawn with Bexley stub / Swan flex patterns (Rhodia paper)

Note the feathering above displayed by Noodler's Brooklyn Brawn (slight), Noodler's Grizzly (moderate) and Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia and Seminole Sepia (heavy) No other inks feathered on the Rhodia paper.

 

 

Figures 9 and 10: Smear/Dry times. The smear/dry time test was done on Office Depot "Double A" paper, using in each instance the Kaweco Sport with a steel M nib, at four second intervals. I believe that if this test were done on Rhodia or comparable smooth, "high end" paper the results would have been much different, so if you have further questions about that I refer you to the excellent ink review forum.

 

 

 

The writing samples and wet tests are in a separate thread - Part 2 - due to the number of images and bandwidth issues.

 

In conclusion, I am quite surprised by the dramatic array of tones in inks that are labeled "sepia" and in others generally considered to be within the sepia tones - everything from yellows, greens, reds, browns, greys.

 

______________________________

 

* Special thanks to Sandy1 for her invaluable advice as I struggled to put this comparison review together, and to Avetikus, BiggieD, encephalartos, meghan, Mrs. Goulet Pens, rroossinck and Sam Capote for help with samples of the sepia inks I didn't have - you were incredibly helpful and selfless, and really made this a team effort! If only you could have helped me clean pens.

 

** J. Herbin mix by Avetikus is as follows: 5ml +/- JH Perle Noire; 3ml JH Gris Nuage; and a 30ml bottle of JH Lie de The, all mixed together.

 

such a stellar review - glad this one circled around today - our many new ones will enjoy this review

[Sblakers]

Wow. What a review