It’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to write for the blog. Amazing Ana (as I shall now call her) has been running things on the blog all alone for quite a while and has been amazing! So let me try to catch up with all the things that have piled up in the last couple of months.
The pen show circuit has not faired well this year, due to factors outside of anyone’s control. But that was not the plan. Especially for the North American portion of Sailor. This group had a great idea in store. The idea was to have a special ink for various states plus an ink for the 2020 pen show season.
Unfortunately for both Sailor of North America and for the rest of the pen show world, only the first few pen shows were able to happen in 2020 and only one of those was attended by Sailor. At the Baltimore Pen Show, I grabbed a bottle of the Pen Show 2020 ink, the Sailor California ink, and the Sailor Colorado ink. Here I will be showing off Colorado, but California and Pen Show 202o will be reviewed soon!
Sailor Colorado. Purple. There is no way this could be more perfect for an ink fanatic who lives in Colorado who adores purple ink.
Although it is a bit difficult to see in the photo above, Colorado is blessed with a green sheen. Not an overpowering sheen, but just enough to be seen even in writing.
Each bottle of Sailor Colorado includes a card with a short description of the inspiration behind the ink – in this case, Colorado’s state flower, the columbine. However, it could well have been inspired by our purple mountains majesty. Or by the favorite color of someone who lives there… Maybe! You never know!
Above, the green sheen is a bit more evident and is a good sample of how Colorado looks in ordinary writing. This is not a super sheening ink, but one that shows a bit of sheen in writing – enough to make non-fountain pen users take a second look.
Akkerman #13 Simplisties Violet is lighter than Colorado, but very close to the same color. I found Colorado to be a bit on the dry side for a Sailor ink, but still easy to clean out of a pen. Dry time was average at about 15 seconds. I was happy to note that there was no smearing as I find with many sheening inks. One fountain pen friendly paper there was no bleeding or feathering either.
I highly recommend Sailor Colorado, although I may be biased by the name and the color (not to mention the sheen and lack of smearing). The price per mL is on the high end ($1 per mL), but for those who love purple inks or those who love Sailor inks, Sailor Colorado is a winner.
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
- Ink: Sailor Colorado (20mL, $20)
DISCLAIMER: All of the items in this review were purchased by me. Except for the Col-o-ring which was provided to me by a wonderful person who pays me to write blogs by keeping me supplied with Col-o-rings. Please see the About page for more details.
As one who used to live in Colorado and now lives in California, I bought this ink as soon as I could. I agree with all your comments.
“Colorado” means red in Spanish. It is a pity it is not a red ink.