De Atramentis — Artist Turquoise — Ink Review #51

De Atramentis — Artist Turquoise

 

Ink Review # 51

 

Originally posted on FPN: Mar 20, 2023

 

Ink: Artist Turquoise
Series: Artist
Brand: De Atramentis
Country: Germany
Type: Pigment ink
Availability: 50 ml bottle.
Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno (EF), Lamy Safari (EF, F, M)

Description

As I had samples of both Document and Artist Turquoise, I decided to review them simultaneously.

I cannot recommend this ink for everyday writing. I gave up after testing after nibs.

This can be crowned as the king of ghosting and bleed-through on every single paper I used. Surprisingly, it was almost OK, on Mnemosyne. There was ghosting, and some bleed-through when I doodled on the corner of the page. But I only used a B nib so I don't know how it would have behaved with the other nibs. 

I wondered whether, because it’s an “Artist” ink, it should be used for art and specific papers.

That inspired me to do an experiment. As all Document and Artist series can be mixed, I decided to mix this one with Artist Sepia, which is an extremely dry and an awful ink. The result was magical. I managed to create a shade of green which was pleasant to write with, the ink behaved decently, the colour was pleasing and I was sad when the pen ran dry.

Moral of the story: These inks are best for people who love ink mixing, are adventurous or are artists.

Note on pigment inks: Pigmented fountain pen inks are best used in well-sealed pens that are easy to dismantle. Regular cleaning is advisable, and pen flush may be needed if water alone is not enough.

Chroma

Quite similar to the Document Turquoise ink.

Writing Samples

Rhodia

Quote is by Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco.

Back

Midori

Quote is by Gabor Maté, from his excellent book, The Myth of Normal.

Note how the Lamy EF looks thicker than the F nib.

Back.

Tomoe River 68 gsm

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

Quote is by Aeschylus. 

I've rarely, if ever, seen anything like this on Tomoe River 68 gsm paper.

 Back

Water Test

Left side was held under running water. 

Comparison

Artwork

CANSON Watercolor Paper. 

Ink Mix 

As I mentioned above, I mixed a few drops of Artist Sepia with this ink. 

Scan

Midori

Tomoe River 68 gsm

Photo

Tomoe River 68 gsm, left; Midori, right.

Ink Characteristics

·      What I liked: Ability to mix with other Document/ Artist inks.
·      What I did not like: Too many faults to name.
·      Shading: None.
·      Ghosting: On every single paper. 
·      Bleed through: Same as above.
·      Flow Rate: Waterfall.
·      Lubrication: Excellent.
·      Nib Dry-out: None.
·      Start-up: None.
·      Saturation: Who cares?
·      Shading Potential: You must be kidding me!
·      Sheen: None.
·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: It feathers on cheap paper.
·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: A bit.
·      Staining (pen): I don’t know. I won’t be using it for long, thankfully.
·      Clogging: No.
·      Cleaning: It’s a pigment ink. It was relatively easy to clean. But I had it for less than a week in my pens.
·      Water resistance: Excellent.

 

Feel free to share your experience, feedback, or any other comments. The more the merrier. 😊