De Atramentis - Document Sepia

[yazeh]

This is an excellent sepia ink by De Atramentis. I loved using it over and over again. Very well behaved, easier to clean than blue inks

 

Let's start with the chroma:

Writing Samples:

Photo:

Comparison:

Water test: Left side was dabbed with water. The smudge beside the kitty was there before the watertest

And per usual an art work, part of the Inktober yearly challenge, prompt was Camel:

Paper is a Talens square notebook. 

 

· Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef, Stub/ Kaweco (EF/F/M/B/Stub 1.1), Osmiroid Copperplate nib 

· What I liked: Really well-behaved ink. Very well-behaved ink. Excellent for sketching! And easy to clean!

· What I did not like: Nothing

· What some might not like: It’s a nano pigment ink  

· Shading: Yes, with wider nibs.  

· Ghosting: No. 

· Bleed through: No.

· Flow Rate: Lovely.

· Lubrication: Nice, thought best with European pens. 

· Nib Dry-out: No. 

· Start-up: No. 

· Saturation: Nice. 

· Shading Potential: Only with flex nibs

· Sheen: No.

· Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: No. 

· Nib Creep / “Crud”: Didn’t notice. 

· Staining (pen): No. 

· Clogging: No. 

· Cleaning: Very easy

· Water resistance: Excellent. 

· Availability: 45 ml bottles. 

 

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier  

[LizEF]

Very nice, @yazeh!  This looks more like sepia should, in my imagination, and it's great to hear of a permanent ink that's so well behaved!  Onto my list it has gone.   But the best part is still Sheik Kitty on his camel with Mr. Mouse and his umbrella.   Love that drawing!  (Like the other kitties, too, but there's just something about that drawing.)  Thank you!

[yazeh]

  On 9/9/2023 at 6:33 PM, LizEF said:

Very nice, @yazeh!  This looks more like sepia should, in my imagination, and it's great to hear of a permanent ink that's so well behaved!  Onto my list it has gone.  

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Yes it's such a great feeling when an ink can miraculously behave so well

 

  On 9/9/2023 at 6:33 PM, LizEF said:

 

But the best part is still Sheik Kitty on his camel with Mr. Mouse and his umbrella.   Love that drawing!  (Like the other kitties, too, but there's just something about that drawing.)  Thank you!

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Glad you like the drawing. One can be inspired in the best of places, such as the dentist's office 🤣

 

[LizEF]

  On 9/9/2023 at 7:02 PM, yazeh said:

One can be inspired in the best of places, such as the dentist's office 🤣

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[Sailor Kenshin]

I, too, love the camel illo.  Maybe it's how the shadow falls, or maybe the way Mousie and Kitteh are riding.  
 

I'm also in agreement with @LizEF about the color of this ink.  I like the blackish elements as well.  Maybe the fact that it's a nano pigment would make me hesitate, but that's about the only 'but!'

 

Thanks as ever, @yazeh, for another really special ink review.

[Surlyprof]

Thanks for sharing this.  I've been looking for a good sepia ink and I really like the De Atramentis Document black.  I saw that you listed the Document Sepia as nano pigmented which is like the Document Black.  Do you feel from your water tests that the sepia proving to be pretty waterproof for you?  I was hoping to find a sepia ink for use with watercolors.  This may be the ink I've been seeking if it's holding up as well as your water tests indicate.  I was concerned after seeing a couple of reviews on Amazon (see below).  Like you, Jet Pens had it rated with very high water resistance.  I'm wondering if the Amazon reviewers got a counterfeit ink.

 

Thanks again for such a thorough review with fun, bonus sketches!

 

[lapis]

Great review! One colour I've always loved ([due to the fact that] and/or although) it is a "sepia". I've already found over the years (har, har... who hasn't ) that sepia probably offers the greatest volume of inks which can be "compared" with each other. Are they greyish browns, or are they brownish greys? How much red are we gonna allow?....

 

This is one of my favourite sepias. I have used it for years now and for my own "needs" like to compare it best with FPN's Galileo's Manuscript. (No, that doesn't mean they are or have to be as similar as possible.)

 

Whew

[inkstainedruth]

This does look like a nice ink.  Definitely think I'm going to have to try a sample of it at some point.  So thanks for the review (and, well, not... my husband will be just rolling his eyes...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

  On 9/9/2023 at 7:50 PM, Sailor Kenshin said:

I, too, love the camel illo.  Maybe it's how the shadow falls, or maybe the way Mousie and Kitteh are riding.  

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I think this is one of my better sketches

 

  On 9/9/2023 at 7:50 PM, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

I'm also in agreement with @LizEF about the color of this ink.  I like the blackish elements as well.  Maybe the fact that it's a nano pigment would make me hesitate, but that's about the only 'but!'

Expand  

Very easy to clean and you love cheap pens

 

  On 9/9/2023 at 7:50 PM, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Thanks as ever, @yazeh, for another really special ink review.

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Thank you for your support 🙏

[yazeh]

  On 9/9/2023 at 8:33 PM, Surlyprof said:

Thanks for sharing this.  I've been looking for a good sepia ink and I really like the De Atramentis Document black.  I saw that you listed the Document Sepia as nano pigmented which is like the Document Black.  Do you feel from your water tests that the sepia proving to be pretty waterproof for you?  I was hoping to find a sepia ink for use with watercolors.  This may be the ink I've been seeking if it's holding up as well as your water tests indicate.  I was concerned after seeing a couple of reviews on Amazon (see below).  Like you, Jet Pens had it rated with very high water resistance.  I'm wondering if the Amazon reviewers got a counterfeit ink.

Expand  

In my experience when it's dry, it's dry. I have had the experience with some waterproof inks, when the excess inks are removed. I would recommend to get some samples of both Artist and Document inks. You can also try the other two Browns in the line, Urban Sienna/ Brown. 

The difference between Document and Artist are that the former is forgery proof, the latter, waterproof and lightfast only. 

R&K has also a Document Brown. 

And last but not least, Octopus Write and Draw lines has lots of waterproof/lightfast inks. You might want to look into them Vanness)

  On 9/9/2023 at 8:33 PM, Surlyprof said:

 

Thanks again for such a thorough review with fun, bonus sketches!

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Thanks!

[yazeh]

  On 9/10/2023 at 10:54 AM, lapis said:

Great review!

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🙏

  On 9/10/2023 at 10:54 AM, lapis said:

 

One colour I've always loved ([due to the fact that] and/or although) it is a "sepia". I've already found over the years (har, har... who hasn't ) that sepia probably offers the greatest volume of inks which can be "compared" with each other. Are they greyish browns, or are they brownish greys? How much red are we gonna allow?....

Expand  

Yes they are a very intriguing lot!

  On 9/10/2023 at 10:54 AM, lapis said:

 

This is one of my favourite sepias. I have used it for years now and for my own "needs" like to compare it best with FPN's Galileo's Manuscript. (No, that doesn't mean they are or have to be as similar as possible.)

 

Whew

Expand  

Yep. If they were then same what would we do?

 

[yazeh]

  On 9/10/2023 at 4:39 PM, inkstainedruth said:

This does look like a nice ink.  Definitely think I'm going to have to try a sample of it at some point.  

Expand  

 

  On 9/10/2023 at 4:39 PM, inkstainedruth said:

 

So thanks for the review (and, well, not... my husband will be just rolling his eyes...).

Expand  

Threaten him with bottles instead of samples then

 

[txomsy]

Thanks for the review. I should not get more ink, but it seems like a great option for sketching if one plans to later add shadows with sepia or sanguine pencils/leads. Will have to think of it.

[yazeh]

  On 9/11/2023 at 7:27 AM, txomsy said:

Thanks for the review. I should not get more ink, but it seems like a great option for sketching if one plans to later add shadows with sepia or sanguine pencils/leads. Will have to think of it.

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🙏 Too many inks in a world of abundance

 

[txomsy]

How true!

[Surlyprof]

  On 9/10/2023 at 8:26 PM, yazeh said:

In my experience when it's dry, it's dry. I have had the experience with some waterproof inks, when the excess inks are removed. I would recommend to get some samples of both Artist and Document inks. You can also try the other two Browns in the line, Urban Sienna/ Brown. 

The difference between Document and Artist are that the former is forgery proof, the latter, waterproof and lightfast only. 

R&K has also a Document Brown. 

And last but not least, Octopus Write and Draw lines has lots of waterproof/lightfast inks. You might want to look into them Vanness)

Expand  

This is very helpful.  Thank you.  Time to head down the rabbit hole to order some samples!

[inkstainedruth]

  On 9/10/2023 at 9:15 PM, yazeh said:

 

Threaten him with bottles instead of samples then

 

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Actually, I do have to order ink relatively soon, since he's getting low on his bottle of Namiki Black.  I had ordered a second bottle at one point (for me) but gave it to him because he can't figure out what he did with his bottle.  And thinking that I should go ahead and order two bottles of it, just to be on the safe side.... 

Of course, not every place carries every ink, so I've been putting together a spreadsheet of a bunch of different vendors, seeing who's got what, how much a minimum order will have to be to get free shipping, whether I REALLY should wait on getting another pen (I've gotten 9 since early July and have a 10th one in the mail) and so on....  Which of course has been further complicated by places having sales, and -- in the case of Cult Pens (the place I ordered from most recently, because at the time the prices were best) -- what the exchange rate will be between dollars and pounds on any given day.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth