Ink Review: Montblanc Toffee Brown

[white_lotus]

This is a review of Montblanc's Toffee Brown ink. It's very similar to Visconti Brown/Sepia. A very nice ink.

 

It was used on three different papers with a Belmont pen with a Binderized medium nib. There papers were: HP Laserjet 24lb, Mohawk via Linen 70# text weight, and Moleskine.

 

The Montblanc Toffee Brown is a warm brown and is very similar to the Visconti brown/sepia in tone. In that regard, they are practically indistinguishable. The difference lies with the MB being a bit warmer in color temperature, and being quite a shady ink. It's in the lighter areas where the warmth really comes out.

 

A very fuss-free ink at least in this pen. This ink is not as dark as Sailor Doyou which is like writing with an ebony twig or liquid chocolate. The MB comes in their classic 60 ml bottle. The ink does not stain the interior of the Belmont's clear barrel. Recommended.

 

 

The following pic is a scan with the feature "text enhancement" turned ON. It gives a darker treatment to the ink than in reality. But the text is clearer I think.

 

 

The following pic is a scan with the feature "text enhancement" turned off. It gives a more realistic depiction of the color, hue and tone of the ink.

 

Here are photos from the iPhone, so no color correction, but the value for the ink may be good.

 

On the Laserjet paper.

 

On the Moleskine paper.

 

On the via Linen paper. This is a page in a handmade notebook I made for myself. The black splotches on the right running vertically was from my printing the lines on the page. The printer (since tossed) was giving problems.

 

And a chromatic evaluations. I don't know if the ink is made of a brown, with red and green accents, or if it is solely from dyes of red and green. My guess is the first. I think this ink will sheen given the way I saw it behave, but I don't have papers where that would happen.

 

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for this informative review. I have had this ink in a brown tortoise Pelikan (BB) for at least six months & every time I use it I am pleased at what it does. Looks good, flows beautifully & whether it is the pen or ink I couldn't say but Always starts up & goes. Some may be more unique but I can't imagine any that could do the job better. (Of course now I want to try writing with the "ebony twig" so I guess the Doyou goes on my "list!")

[visvamitra]

Very informative and thorough review. Thank you for taking time to do it. This ink is really amazing.

[seanruss]

Thanks for the review. this ink is my only Montblanc ink. Its a nice brown, not my favorite but a decent ink.

[Pravda]

Great review, thank you.

 

This up until today used to be my favourite for my MB Julius II 888 pen. But does it give me trouble! I know, everyone says it is well behaved but for some reason it acts temperamentally with this pen. Checked the expiration date, still got a couple of years or more dunno what the issue is. Very dry and prone to skip.

[white_lotus]

Perhaps try different paper. One thing I am noticing by working with different papers using the same pen and ink combination is that some papers will give problems like this: hard starts, skips. Switch to different paper, and no problem. Of course, it's possible that it is just the pen and ink combination.

[Pravda]

I think with this particular pen it's more troublesome than others. However, I finally decided to try it with a Montblanc 146 and although it doesn't skip, its very thinner than usual lines. I think I may have landed a bad bottle because I have all the other MB colors and none behave like this one :/

[agentdaffy007]

It's a great ink. One of my favorite. I think with time, the ink might seem to get thicker if the bottle is not closed properly. Mine got thicker than before. I like it thick!

[mhosea]

I don't use brown ink very much, but MB Toffee Brown is my preference. I gave away my other brown inks. It's the easiest to clean out of the brown inks I've used. Diamine Chocolate Brown has a similar appearance but requires more effort to clean out.

[Veltri]

Nice review.

I'm sampling this ink and notice as well that it varies a lot between papers. I prefer it lighter.

[EricaTX]

Nice review. I just bought it and so far works great in my Parker IM Metallic.

[white_lotus]

Thanks!

 

I have noticed that in the same pen on the same paper it did write a bit thinner lines than the Visconti Brown/Sepia. So if you like the color but want it a bit wetter, the Visconti might be an alternative.

[Frank C]

Very thorough review. Now I have to go out to buy a bottle.