Tintenlabor Azur Noir — Ink Review #190 (Discontinued)
Tintenlabor Azur Noir
Ink Review # 190
Originally posted on FPN: June 18, 2025
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🧾 Description
Ink: Tintenlabor Azur Noir
Available: Discontinued.
Pens Used: Pilot Elite EF gold nib, Lamy (EF/F/M/B/ Stub 1.1), Ahab with a FPR ultra-flex nib.
Tintenlabor is a Swiss ink company specializing in Iron Gall inks. What differentiates this brand from others is that it discloses the iron content.
This ink has 6 g/L iron content.
The samples were sent to me by the Ink-Meister, David.
Azur Noir is the final Tintenlabor blue iron gall ink in this series, many of whose inks have since been reformulated, renamed, or discontinued.
As of now, Tintenlabor produces a multitude of blue-blacks but none of them exceed 4 g/L iron content.
Unlike the other reviewed inks, the wet ink is blue-black; however, with time, it will oxidize to black with a tinge of blue. This was most challenging to control with Ahab.
The ink leaves a blackish iron residue in the converter and section and is best used with pens that can be dismantled.
Ink ghosted on cheap, thin paper with some nibs, but of the four blues, this and Violet Blue seem best for cheap, thin copy paper (your mileage might vary).
Essri and Diamine Registrars are still the best for cheap paper.
For iron gall inks, avoid ammonia-based pen cleaners. Instead, add a small pinch of pure ascorbic acid to the cleaning water, let the pen parts soak, and then rinse thoroughly. Avoid vinegar when possible. An ultrasonic cleaner can help loosen stubborn deposits.
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🧪 Chroma
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✍️ Writing Samples (scan)
JEF stands for Japanese EF nib.
Rhodia /Iroful
Midori /Tomoe River 68 gsm
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📸 Photo
Photos were taken 14 days after the scan.
Hammermill, Rhodia /Iroful
Midori /Tomoe River 68 gsm
🔍 Comparison
A full page of 4 Tintenlabor blue inks.
Comparison of ghosting and bleed-through of 6 iron gall inks
💧 Water Test
🎨 Artwork
She Who Wears the Storm
Tintenlabor Azur Noir/Violet Blue, Talens Mixed Media Sketchbook Paper.
Boxer pup
Kitty and pup
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- What I Liked: Color. Wetness
- What I Did Not Like: It could be temperamental with Ahab. With other pens, it was great.
- What Some Might Not Like: IG high-maintenance ink.
- Writing Experience: Excellent.
- Pros: Wet, well-lubricated, lovely dark colour.
- Cons: Pain to clean. You’ll have ghosting on cheap paper.
🧷 Ink Characteristics
- Shading: Lovely.
- Ghosting: Unfortunately, yes, on cheap, thin copy paper.
- Bleed Through: If you insist on writing with a wet pen on the above paper.
- Flow Rate: Wet.
- Lubrication: Lovely.
- Nib Dry-out: If left long enough uncapped, it might need some coaxing to write with.
- Start-up: It was excellent on all pens, except Ahab.
- Saturation: Dark and profound.
- Sheen: Did not notice.
- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Did not notice.
- Nib Creep / Crud: Yes, on Ahab.
- Staining (Pen): There’ll be a black iron residue.
- Clogging: No.
- Cleaning: See cleaning note above.
- Water Resistance: Excellent.
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💬 Closing
At one point, iron gall fatigue set in, and I found myself wondering—what’s the point of so many variations of blue iron gall inks? It wasn’t until I laid out a full page of the four inks that I understood: each ink oxidizes differently. Some deepen to charcoal; others reveal strands of navy or hints of midnight blue in the black.
That’s also why I’ve decided to review Essri and Diamine Registrars next—to continue this journey. I hope you won’t mind a few more blue-blacks along the way, as they are not created equal. 😄
No fountain pens were harmed in preparing this review. 😉
Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier. 😊
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