Updated Pink & Purple Ink Comparisons

[TerrapinStation]

Thanks.

[Azure Flash]

Hello, my name is Shepard, and this is my favorite post in the Citadel!

 

Decided to play a quick little game of favorites among those samples... some choices based on experiences, others on reviews I've seen, others yet on look alone.

 

http://i.imgur.com/PvPtNuO.png

 

The little color dots helped, but I suspect my choices would change if those samples were written in a broad stub nib!

 

OS Emily Dickinson: I own a bottle. One of the best pinks out there IMO, although it's kind of an almost-purple pink I guess?

J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen: Sampled it. I like the brightness of it, but I think it lacks character.

DeA Heather Violet: Chosen on looks only.

Seitz-Kreuznach Dark Orchid: That ink looks sweet and I want a bottle one day (if it's still obtainable...)

Rose Tendresse: I think I sampled it? I remember finding it very cute.

Solferino: Sampled it. Very very flashy, despite being darker than Rose Cyclamen. Pleasure to write with.

Bouquet d'Antan: Looks alone, there's a place in my heart for all cute, pale, dainty pinks!

Montblanc Pink: Saw a review of it. Out of all the inks I think the scan does this one the least justice... the review I saw of it (Cyber6's) showed it as much more (in my eyes anyway)

Rose Ten- wait a minute... it's in two of your scans?! 1st pic 6th line from bottom and 2nd pic 6th line from bottom!

Iroshizuku Tsutsuji: Sampled it. I remember being very confused by the shade, torn between pink and red. I finally decided it was too red for me.

 

Notable exceptions:

PR Bubblegum: Probably should've included it, after seeing the comparison in Cyber6's review again!

Diamine Hope Pink: Probably should've included that too, after seeing my own ink swabs. This pink shines with the best of them.

Jane Austen: Have a bottle of this, found it quite dry. Maybe I need another pen to appreciate this one. It has a nice dusty muted quality to it though.

Scabiosa: flows well, dries fast, but it was too red and too dark for me

 

Special mention not on Tessy's list:

KWZI Gummiberry: I own a bottle of it. My current #1 favorite ink ever. Juicy, shiny, perfect balance between red and blue for me. LOVE IT.

[Tessy Moon]

Hello, my name is Shepard, and this is my favorite post in the Citadel!

 

Decided to play a quick little game of favorites among those samples... some choices based on experiences, others on reviews I've seen, others yet on look alone.

 

http://i.imgur.com/PvPtNuO.png

 

The little color dots helped, but I suspect my choices would change if those samples were written in a broad stub nib!

 

OS Emily Dickinson: I own a bottle. One of the best pinks out there IMO, although it's kind of an almost-purple pink I guess?

J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen: Sampled it. I like the brightness of it, but I think it lacks character.

DeA Heather Violet: Chosen on looks only.

Seitz-Kreuznach Dark Orchid: That ink looks sweet and I want a bottle one day (if it's still obtainable...)

Rose Tendresse: I think I sampled it? I remember finding it very cute.

Solferino: Sampled it. Very very flashy, despite being darker than Rose Cyclamen. Pleasure to write with.

Bouquet d'Antan: Looks alone, there's a place in my heart for all cute, pale, dainty pinks!

Montblanc Pink: Saw a review of it. Out of all the inks I think the scan does this one the least justice... the review I saw of it (Cyber6's) showed it as much more (in my eyes anyway)

Rose Ten- wait a minute... it's in two of your scans?! 1st pic 6th line from bottom and 2nd pic 6th line from bottom!

Iroshizuku Tsutsuji: Sampled it. I remember being very confused by the shade, torn between pink and red. I finally decided it was too red for me.

 

Notable exceptions:

PR Bubblegum: Probably should've included it, after seeing the comparison in Cyber6's review again!

Diamine Hope Pink: Probably should've included that too, after seeing my own ink swabs. This pink shines with the best of them.

Jane Austen: Have a bottle of this, found it quite dry. Maybe I need another pen to appreciate this one. It has a nice dusty muted quality to it though.

Scabiosa: flows well, dries fast, but it was too red and too dark for me

 

Special mention not on Tessy's list:

KWZI Gummiberry: I own a bottle of it. My current #1 favorite ink ever. Juicy, shiny, perfect balance between red and blue for me. LOVE IT.

 

Hi Shepard! Thank you so much for your comment and sharing your thoughts on these inks! I loved hearing what you had to say!

 

I will try my best to respond to each of your comments...

 

 

The little color dots helped, but I suspect my choices would change if those samples were written in a broad stub nib!

You are probably right! An ink’s appearance and character varies drastically depending on pen, nib and paper. There are some inks I think I know so well, and then try it with a different combination and you discover new things about that ink! I don’t have enough pens (or time to clean them if I had!) to put all these in a broad stub, but I could do a few, say a dozen or so, over the course of a couple weeks and post them here. If you have specific requests for inks you would like to see in a broad stub please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate! I am always up for exchanging letters in snail mail and doing co-razy reviews as well, so if you want to see an ink in person on a particular paper I can do my best to help that way too!

 

OS Emily Dickinson: I own a bottle. One of the best pinks out there IMO, although it's kind of an almost-purple pink I guess?

You are right it is a purple/magenta bright pink. Similar to but less purple then the following: Cactus Fruit Eel, Bougainvillea, Dianthus, DeA Fuchsia, PR Plum, and Rose Cyclamen. It is the most pink of these magenta purple pinks, imo.

 

J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen: Sampled it. I like the brightness of it, but I think it lacks character.

I like it too. Yet I don’t own a bottle. Not sure if it is because I have so many inks in this range already, or because I felt like it was missing that je ne sais quoi.

 

DeA Heather Violet: Chosen on looks only.

I want this ink based on the color. It is such a sweet, lovely pinkish purple/light lilac color. But many De Atramentis inks feather and bleed in my experience, including this one. So I haven’t shelled out for a bottle yet. I would want this pretty ink in a broad nib to show off its prettiness, but that would mean bad feathering and bleed through on most papers (including Rhodia even). <Sigh> Guess they can’t all be winners in every category. (DeA does good on Tomoe River though! Well, everything does good on TR paper! lol)

 

Seitz-Kreuznach Dark Orchid: That ink looks sweet and I want a bottle one day (if it's still obtainable...)

It is a pretty pink leaning purple. It can feather and bleed though. It is available through Amazon. However, I would recommend Monteverde Purple instead. It is almost identical, except MP is slightly more pink leaning than SKDO, and is more readily available. MP has better performance as well.

 

Rose Tendresse: I think I sampled it? I remember finding it very cute.

Again I agree with you. I have the tiny 10ml bottle. I don’t use this ink often but sometimes the mood hits me (usually in the spring) and I have to use it like I’m in love with it, lol. (A great thing about J Herbin inks that come in those tiny bottles! They are so cute and give you just enough to play around and have fun without committing to a larger bottle.)

 

Solferino: Sampled it. Very very flashy, despite being darker than Rose Cyclamen. Pleasure to write with.

I do like Solferino! A bright, eye searing purple, it won’t fly in most work places or serious settings, but for personal use I think it is fun. A pretty well behaved ink as well.

 

Bouquet d'Antan: Looks alone, there's a place in my heart for all cute, pale, dainty pinks!

Hooray! I am not alone! I adore pastel pinks too! Not always practical, but always lovely, Bouquet d’Antan is one ink I do adore in a broad stub and wet pen. It looks lovely on different color papers too, ivory/warm white are great, as well as G Lalo Rose and Lavender papers are all winners in my book!

 

Montblanc Pink: Saw a review of it. Out of all the inks I think the scan does this one the least justice... the review I saw of it (Cyber6's) showed it as much more (in my eyes anyway)

Yes I adore Cyber6’s reviews! She does such an amazing job! Her review of this ink is spot on! Unfortunately, I have an older not so great scanner, and no matter how I try some of the inks just don’t come out looking quite right. It is much harder with a large group of inks to show the true character of each ink; really impossible without good quality scanner and programs. But one ink is much easier to show off!

 

Rose Ten- wait a minute... it's in two of your scans?! 1st pic 6th line from bottom and 2nd pic 6th line from bottom!

Oops! Human error! I repeated a couple inks on accident!

 

Iroshizuku Tsutsuji: Sampled it. I remember being very confused by the shade, torn between pink and red. I finally decided it was too red for me.

There are three different Pilot Iroshizuku pink inks. Tsutsuji (Azalea) is the only one that I like. Momiji is way too red and Kosumosu is too orange for my tastes. But Tsustuji I love. I am planning to get a bottle eventually. It also has gorgeous golden sheen, even in a fine nib on TR or Rhodia.

 

 

Notable exceptions:

 

PR Bubblegum: Probably should've included it, after seeing the comparison in Cyber6's review again!

Yes, Cyber6’s reviews are always spot on! I am not a huge fan of Bubblegum…but my daughter likes it.

 

Diamine Hope Pink: Probably should've included that too, after seeing my own ink swabs. This pink shines with the best of them.

Another one I don’t know why but it just doesn’t “speak” to me. I know it is quite popular though.

 

Jane Austen: Have a bottle of this, found it quite dry. Maybe I need another pen to appreciate this one. It has a nice dusty muted quality to it though.

Try it in an Ahab with a Goulet stub on good paper. You might fall in love like I did. <3

 

Scabiosa: flows well, dries fast, but it was too red and too dark for me

Agreed!

 

Special mention not on Tessy's list:

KWZI Gummiberry: I own a bottle of it. My current #1 favorite ink ever. Juicy, shiny, perfect balance between red and blue for me. LOVE IT.

I have not tried any of the KWZI inks yet. But I do like the pics I have seen online of Gummiberry! Glad to hear you love it! J

[Scribble Monboddo]

Thanks for your inspiration Tessy! I'm about to get up to 88 purples in my comparison project, and I think I'd better take a little break there - but I wouldn't be surprised if I come back to it! It was partly thanks to you and many other contributors here that I found so many to review, so more power to your elbow. I can't for the life of me decide which is my favourite!

[Azure Flash]

I can't for the life of me decide which is my favourite!

 

Can you make a top 5 or more? I've only had personal experience with maybe 10 or 15 purples, I'd be curious to hear thoughts from someone who's tested 88!

[amberleadavis]

Tessy, I love the Divine Pink. It is yummy!

[Ada]

I hadn't seen this thread before -- what a wonderful sampling of pinks and purples! Thank you for taking the time to do it and for posting it.

[fireant]

I hope this is the right place for this question.

I am trying to figure out if Montblanc Pink (see Cyber6's review) became MB Pop Pink or if that is a completely different color. I haven't seen any side by side comparisons so far.

 

My bottle of MB Pink seems looks darker in a vintage flex that I have it in and I really love it. It's long sold out and I saw the Pop Pink and wondered if it was the same (just renamed).

 

I believe they reissued a purple and it has two different names so I wondered if they did the same with Pink and Pop Pink, does anyone know?