Monteverde Purple Ink Review
I love writing; not simply the words but the actual act of writing. I have begun using fountain pens this year and I love the way the pen glides across the paper creating beautiful words on the page. As I have been learning about fountain pens, ink and paper, the Fountain Pen Network has been a great resource for me. Since I have benefitted so much from other people’s reviews I thought I would post my own review of one of my favorite inks Monteverde Purple.
Below is my review that I posted on FPN.
Monteverde Purple Ink
I love this beautiful ink! The color is a unique shade of pink and purple united in a lively lilac with a nice variation and shading depending on the pen, nib and paper.
This ink is very well behaved for my needs* and performs reasonably well even on cheap printer paper. There is no bleed through, only a light ghosting on cheap notebook paper. It performs perfectly on good papers such as Rhodia, Clairefontaine and G Lalo.
My favorite thing about this ink (as with all my inks) is the exact color, shade, or hue. Now this color is unique, I have not seen anything else duplicated nor near matches for this color. The closest in color in my opinion, is Noodler’s Tchaikovsky. However, Tchaikovsky is grainy, thick, and is a very difficult ink; I love the color but hate the consistency and flow problems and I cannot stand the grainy texture.
Monteverde Purple is similar in shade as Tchaikovsky; it has that puplish-pink-bright lilac shade that I love. But Monteverde Purple is perfectly well behaved, has great flow, and has a nice smooth texture. This ink is not watery like J Herbin (which sometimes I like) but does not write dry either. It seems to be perfectly balanced and well lubricated without staining my fingers. (Of course this will also vary greatly depending on your pen, feed, nib and writing style.)
I highly recommend Monteverde Purple if you enjoy purple or pink inks. This has become my favorite ink and I cannot resist the lovely lively lilac shade!
This ink tends to start darker purple then move into its lighter purple pink shade as I write. This is especially true in the Artista Crystal.
*My personal preferences regarding inks:
I am a stay at home mom and a writer, so I can write with whatever colors and style ink I like on any paper I choose. I have total freedom in that arena –yay for fun colors!
Also, I do not perform any water tests. I do not like the “water-proof” inks as they are a huge pain to clean out. This is just my personal preference (although I still have some inks that I consider water resistant – as I am reminded every time I go to clean it out of a pen). I know that some people care a lot about water-proof and light steadfastness. Sorry, I am not one of them.
I care inordinately about the exact color, and some people will say this ink and that ink are the same and I can see differences others do not notice. Good flow is important to me too, I don’t like dry writers in pens nor inks. I also prefer broader nibs and stubs.
I hope understanding my ink preferences and peculiarities will help you as you read and take into consideration my reviews and how the inks will fit or not fit your personal preferences.
Ink Review by Tessy Moon
Brand: Monteverde
Name: Purple/Violet
Paper: Rhodia 80 gm
Pen One: Monteverde Artista Crystal
Nib - #5 Medium
Pen Two: Hero 5028 Calligraphy Pen
Nib – 1.1 Stub
Flow: Good; not gushing or watery, not dry; perfect.
Shading: Moderate shading; offers lovely variations depending on nib, paper, etc. Shading is not distracting or over done.
Saturation: Medium; it is not like a Noodler’s ink with an overload of saturation, but it is more saturated then J Herbin inks.
Feathering: None
Show Through: Slight ghosting in broad 1.5 wet nibs (such as the Ahab – which is a really wet writer).
Bleed Through: None
Dry Time: Reasonable
You can find this review here:
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/268303-monteverde-purple-ink-review/
