Sepia Toned Ink Comparison - 32 Inks

[dcpritch]

This is Part 2 of my comparison review of 32 sepia toned inks. Go here for Part 1, which includes swab tests, line tests, boxes and smear tests. Here are a few of the charts showing all the inks (for more images see Part 1):

 

 

These 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

• 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)

 

Links to Hi-Res (300 dpi) Scans of each ink - click on the name of each ink above to link (shows degree of shading fairly well, but the color on my screen seems to be very slightly off on these).

 

For my testing, I used the following pens:

 

• 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

 

I used the following papers for writing samples with each ink:

 

• cheapo/no name 20lb. copy paper

• Office Depot "Double A" copy paper, 22lb., 80g/m²

• Rhodia No. 18 A4 pad, lined, 80g/m²

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

(Figures 1 - 10 are in Part 1)

 

Figures 11 - 18: Writing samples on Rhodia paper (links - four inks to a page)

• 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

• 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

• 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)

Figures 19 - 26: Writing samples on AA paper (links - four inks to a page)

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

• Diamine Burnt Sienna

• Diamine Golden Brown

• Diamine Rustic Brown

• Diamine Sepia

• Hakase Sepia

• J. Herbin Café Des Îles

• J. Herbin Lie de Thé

• J. Herbin Terre de Feu

• Montblanc Carlo Collodi

• Montblanc Sepia

• Noodler's (Art Brown) Brooklyn Brawn

• Noodler's (Swisher) Grizzly

• Noodler's Kiowa Pecan

• Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia

• OMAS Sepia

• Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown

• Pilot Iroshizuku tsukushi

• Platinum Pigment Ink Brun Sepia

• Private Reserve Chocolat

• Private Reserve Copper Burst

• Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

• Stipula Calamo Sepia

• Visconti Brown (aka Sepia)

 

Figures 27 - 34: Writing samples and water test on cheapo copy paper (on right half, cold tap water was allowed to run steadily over the sheet for about 5 minutes) (links - four inks to a page) The top four on the water test - showing zero to minimal effects from the soaking - are Hakase Sepia, Noodler's Grizzly, Platinum Pigment ink Brun/Sepia, and R&K Sepia. Several others were close seconds.

• 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

• 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

• 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)

 

Figures 35 - 38: Swan writing samples on OCM laid paper. Note: I thought of doing these samples when I got to #8, Hakase Sepia, so the first seven inks didn't get included. (Please don't make fun of my attempts at flex writing. I'm lower than amateur at that, though I do enjoy using flex pens.) (links - eight inks to a page)

• 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

• 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

• 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)

 

______________________________

 

* 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.

Edited December 5, 2011 by dcpritch

[picautomaton]

Excellent reference material. Well done!

[smk]

Wow - superbly done and very very useful for me. I love brown inks and now have a very useful reference. This comparison sets the standard for ink comparisons.

 

Thank you for providing this.

 

Salman

[Bo Bo Olson]

You have demonstrated mule headed stubbornness.

Great organizational skills.

The patience of a Saint.

 

I have five of the inks you reviewed. Odd they had appeared so many in my glassed in 'beer mug' book case. I'm like a kid with a fist full of penny's seeing a 50 cent roll of pennies. What was many suddenly isn't.

 

I have a slight idea of what you went through. I have 17 pens inked with ESSR and have scribbled on some 40 of the 50 papers I have. 2/5ths just a couple of sheets some one was nice enough to ship me; 1/3 are papers I will never buy again.

As soon as two paper samples come in the mail I'll finish up and clean out and put up a lot of pens. I'll be able to 'evaluate' and learn how to photograph Chicken Scratch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

......So which would you rate as similar to which in some sort of 'color wheel'. Not by alphabetical company name, but by 'color'.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

A standing ovation!

 

:clap1: :clap1: :clap1:

 

Bye,

S1

[dcpritch]

Excellent reference material. Well done!

Thanks!

 

Wow - superbly done and very very useful for me. ... This comparison sets the standard for ink comparisons.

 

Salman, that is high praise indeed coming from you, and makes me hopeful it can be useful to others

 

A standing ovation!

 

Thank you very much Sandy, and thanks again for all your excellent suggestions.

[dcpritch]

You have demonstrated mule headed stubbornness.

Great organizational skills.

The patience of a Saint.

 

I would have to say mostly the first one and very little of the second and third.

 

......So which would you rate as similar to which in some sort of 'color wheel'. Not by alphabetical company name, but by 'color'.

 

This is the thing that has had me stuck since I began. There is such a significant variance in tones with these sepia inks, from greys to greens to browns to reds to oranges and finally to yellows, with gaps in transitions between them. I have started and then stopped many times in efforts to categorize the colors, and perhaps the best that could be done is to pick a tone, say reds, and then categorize it that way. I'm not much of an expert in this arena, so perhaps someone else could take a stab at it.

[Rita_K]

David, thank you so much for this outstanding comparison and review. I loved all the information supplied about ink production in cuttlefish and found it interesting that even the definitions didn't agree as to the actual color. I think I liked your son's definition best .

 

This is a thread I will be going back to time and time again.

Your time and dedication to this project truly is appreciated.

[tinta]

David, I'm blown away by your Sepia ink comparison/review. My favourite Sepia, to date, has been the Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown, but now I'm ordering a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi (Horsetail). I was happy to find the writing samples for these two inks next to each other.

A lot of hard work has gone into this.

Many thanks again!

Istvan

[dcpritch]

I've re-scanned and re-uploaded/re-linked all the images, for a more accurate color depiction than was first seen. I think the images now shown are pretty darn close to real life (subject to monitor variances, of course). Sorry for the earlier scans with intense contrast; I'm just learning to use the scanner.

[ToasterPastry]

Wow! <<<----I am marking this for later reference.

[geoduc]

Spectacular! Thank you for all of the time and effort that went into this comparison, David. This is a major contribution.

 

What color are you going to do next? :roflmho:

[dcpritch]

Spectacular! Thank you for all of the time and effort that went into this comparison, David. This is a major contribution.

 

What color are you going to do next? :roflmho:

 

Thanks for the very nice compliment. I was thinking that the inclusion of the Stipula Calamo Sepia would be the perfect segue for your review of olive and dusky greens, of which you are the master. Ready?

[Ada]

This is by far the best comparison I have ever seen on FPN. Thank you for posting it! I particularly appreciate the inclusion of the water tests.

[geoduc]

Spectacular! Thank you for all of the time and effort that went into this comparison, David. This is a major contribution.

 

What color are you going to do next? :roflmho:

 

Thanks for the very nice compliment. I was thinking that the inclusion of the Stipula Calamo Sepia would be the perfect segue for your review of olive and dusky greens, of which you are the master. Ready?

 

You know, that's actually not a bad idea. Let me think about it for a bit. You're going to be a tough act to follow, though.

[zuku]

This is a very useful work you did here, i can appreciate the time and effort it took to complete, a lot of work, and a steady discipline.

Very valuable information, and a very well thought methode to present a wide panorama of materials.

Thank you, I will be using this info a lot.

[Laura N]

These comparisons are absolutely fantastic and very helpful. Thanks for doing this.

[reprieve]

Wow! This is just astoundingly fantastic and useful. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[dcpritch]

Wow! <<<----I am marking this for later reference.

 

How'd you like the vintage Carter's Harvest Brown tucked in there amongst all the modern inks? 70 years old and still hanging tough with the youngsters!

[pen2paper]

Wow! <<<----I am marking this for later reference.

 

How'd you like the vintage Carter's Harvest Brown tucked in there amongst all the modern inks? 70 years old and still hanging tough with the youngsters!

 

saw that too ! earned a "Wow" too

Btw, is your review updatable? saw an advertisement for a new Pilot ink today : )