In Art of the Day

Colored Pen Artist: Kristin Nohe Juchs

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Colored Pen Artist: Kristin Nohe Juchs

Kristin Nohe Juchs is one half of the Etsy shop, Yellow Paper House that has been creating and supplying a rainbow of refills for Traveler’s Notebooks and other elastic-band notebook systems as well as Junque Journals and more. But Kristin is more than a notebook maker, she is an incredibly talented artist as well and she has been doing beautiful pen illustrations using gel pens and rollerballs in a mixed color, cross-hatching technique that is vivid and mesmerizing.

As soon as I saw her amazing drawings I hoped that she would make it available for purchase. She is selling a variety of vinyl stickers featuring her art in her own shop starting at $3.50 per sticker with shipping in the US included in the price. I bought a bunch of stickers to embellish my laptop, water bottle and notebooks.

I hope she will start offering her art as prints and on other merchandise. It’s stunning. Which one is your favorite?

In Paper Review

Notebook Review: Pen + Gear Gameboy Notebook

Author AnaPosted on 12 Comments
Notebook Review: Pen + Gear Gameboy Notebook

I had an unusual little visit to a nearby Wal-Mart this weekend and browsed through the back-to-school aisles. Much of the merchandise was standard back-to-school fare including massive packs of cheap wooden pencils, huge reams of 3-ring notebook paper and packs of multi-colored pens.

There were a couple little gems though including the Pen + Gear Gaming Journal ($7.50) that looks like a vintage gameboy.  The cover is made from translucent yellow plastic with die cuts that highlight the silver foil on the soft cover.

Inside are three colored paper sections with 40 sheets each in aqua blue, lemon yellow and fluorescent orange. Each section features a different phrase in the lower corner: Keep Calm, Game On and Level Up.

Each page is also perforated for easy removal.

I did my initial writing sample with a Platinum Carbon Pen and to my great surprise, the paper seemed to take the ink well.

In further writing samples, I tried a variety of pens that I might use with a notebook like this: gel, pencils, markers and felt tips as well as fountain pens all with similar results.

To my surprise, when I flipped the page over, their was very little showthrough or bleed through. There was a bit of bleed through with the Pentel Dual Metallic gel pens but they are quite a specialty pen.

I did a close-up image to see the few little dots from fountain pen tests.

Overall, this notebook is actually pretty good and ridiculously fun. I hope that I can find another notebook that will fit into the yellow cover so that I can re-use it after the colored paper journal is filled.

I was delighted to find a little treasure in the back-to-school section.

Bonus Review: Mead Five Star College Ruled Composition Notebook

I also picked up a Mead Five Star Composition Notebook ($2.50). It’s college-ruled with a plastic flexible cover. I have always loved the size and form-factor of a composition notebook but, unfortunately, since these notebooks are exclusively targeted to school age kids, the driving factor is often price over quality.

When I saw the pretty marble-look cover in pastel colors with metallic gold paint flecks, I had high hopes that the quality of the notebook would be above average.

The notebook includes 100 pages and QR-style codes in each corner that will allow pages to be scanned with the Five Star App. Notes can then be synced to Google Drive to access them anywhere from any device.

With standard writing tests, none of the pens bled or feathered but the show-through and bleed-through was ridiculous.

From the reverse, the paper looks so see-through as to be tissue rather than actual paper stock.

I’m very disappointed in the paper quality. Why do we do this to children? Why do we give them sub-par materials and expect to succeed?

Sadly, I find this notebook is seriously unacceptable. Mead, “High quality paper”? My ass. Give this composition notebook a hard pass.

Pens used in the writing samples for both notebooks.

DISCLAIMER:  Some items in this post were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Review: Platinum Chou Kuro

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 6 Comments
Ink Review: Platinum Chou Kuro

What is the blackest ink on the market right now? Platinum Carbon Black? Montblanc Permanent Black? Platinum recently advertised an ink that is significantly darker than Carbon Black. Platinum Chou Kuro.

The potential downside of Chou Kuro is the ease of cleaning. The first edition of this ink comes with its own converter and a bottle of “Cleaning Water”. Closer inspection shows that the water is purified or distilled water, not a cleaning solution.

The bottles of Carbon Black ink and Chou Kuro ink are the same, although I believe the Chou Kuro ink is darker even in the bottle. I could be imagining this, though!

This is is definitely a dark black. No trace of grey, blue, purple, any color other than pure black. Please note that the ink name is misspelled on the swatch below!

Another note – I have not included water resistance test with this review. Why not? Because there was nothing to show! Both Platinum Carbon Black and Platinum Chou Kuro are pigmented water proof inks. They both win the test because once these inks are on paper, they won’t move.

And the comparison. Platinum Carbon Black shows a slight reflection of light in my swatch above – more of a shiny surface than any kind of actual sheen. Personally, I believe Montblanc Permanent Black is the darkest after Chou Kuro.

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Midori Cotton paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Cosmo Air Light 83gsm paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Midori MD paper:

Platinum Carbon Black and Chou Kuro on Tomoe River (TR7) 52gsm paper:

The cost is currently high with Platinum Chou Kuro. The 50mL bottle set comes with a price tag of $60, although this includes the “Cleaning Water” (250mL) and a Platinum converter (usually around $11).

I have heard rumors that this ink will be available in the future as an individual bottle, but the information has not yet been confirmed. Does the matte surface and darker color make this ink worth twice the cost of Carbon Black?

Please check back for the follow up post when I try to clean Chou Kuro out of my pen…

 

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me because I can’t seem to say no to new ink and for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature, Ink Review

Ink Review: PenLux Mo Inks

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 3 Comments
Ink Review: PenLux Mo Inks

Today I have a set of three inks that I recently found at a pen show – Penlux Mo inks, Amber, Pine, and Rouge. These can be difficult to find out in the wild. However, when your eyes are open to new opportunities, the ink possibilities are exciting!

My favorite feature of the Penlux line is the boxes. Each box is cut from a single piece of cardstock and folded in such a way that no glue is necessary.

Ok, I was wrong. My favorite feature of the Penlux ink line is the colors. They are fabulous! The three inks I have here are in the vintage line of the Mo inks.

Penlux Mo Pine is incredibly close to Sailor Rikyu-cha. to the point that it seems likely that Penlux may have been utilizing Sailor’s ink manufacturing skills when producing Pine.

I also love the changes in Pine on various papers. Tomoe River paper brings out a subtle coppery sheen.

Penlux Mo Pine on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper shows off the yellow and brown undertones.

Penlux Mo Pine on Midori MD paper:

Pine looks like a completely different ink on Cosmo Air Light paper. The shading here is amazing.

Penlux Mo Pine on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Amber has a lovely combination of rusty orange and brown, again with plenty of shading.

The shading seems more pronounced on Tomoe River paper with a hint of greenish sheen.

Penlux Mo Amber on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

Midori MD paper has shading but some of the depth of the color is flattened out.

Penlux Mo Amber on Midori MD paper:

On Cosmo Air Light paper, I saw a touch of feathering in some of the writing. Here, the ink looks a bit dusty as well.

Penlux Mo Amber on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Penlux Mo Rouge is not a color I usually reach for. But as part of the set of vintage colors, I couldn’t pass it up.

Tomoe River paper shows more of the blue undertones for a burgundy ink with green-gold sheen.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Tomoe River (TR7) 52 gsm paper:

On Midori MD paper, Rouge has a dusty and faded appearance.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Midori MD paper:

The change in Rouge on Cosmo Air Light paper is dramatic – the blue undertones dominate the color for more of a grape purple.

Penlux Mo Rouge on Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper:

Do you have a favorite from this trio of inks? Have you found rare or beloved inks in strange locations?

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In Link Love

Link Love: 89 Answers to 21 Questions

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments
Link Love: 89 Answers to 21 Questions

This week is filled with more answers to #21penquestions, nib knowledge, love for Clairefontaine paper, a review of the Pacific Northwest Pen Show (that name is really long. It needs an abbreviation. Maybe Pac No Ps? Maybe we should workshop that a bit?) and quite a few tech-related posts.

Many folks are headed to DC this weekend or in throes of preparation for the SF Pen Show which is exciting. And for others, its just a couple weeks until back-to-school. Whatever this month has in store for you, may it be paperfull!

Links of the Week:

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Tech:

Other Interesting Things:

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In Paper Review

Ink Swatch Art: Colorverse Colorspace Hubble-C Swatch Art Card

Author Laura CameronPosted on 2 Comments

We also know some folks who create ink swatches so beautifully they could be considered art. Well Colorverse has tried to make some “out of this world” space art with their new Colorverse Colorspace Swatch Art Cards ($6-7 for 30 cards). Printed on Colorverse’s 200 gsm Nebula Paper, these cards reveal cool space themed designs when you apply ink. Each card measures 3.75″ x 5.75″ (9.5cm x 14.5cm)

I had a pack of the Hubble C Swatch Art Cards. This pack contains 2 designs. I went ahead and swatched inks based on the inks I swatched with the Wearingeul cards, just for comparison’s sake, although I think telescopes and planets on the Colorverse cards make them sort of incomparable?

These are really cool and could be used as wall or bulletin board art, postcards or more. But are they useable as swatches? That’s the only area where I’m not sure these cards shine. One of the best things about color swatch cards are that they can be used to inventory what inks you have in your collection, or what new inks look like. I use both my Col-o-Ring and Col-o-Dex cards because they are portable and can be stored either on a ring or in a Rolodex. They’ve accompanied me to pen shows when I’m considering purchasing new inks. I’m just not quite sure what to do with these larger cards. Photo album? Send as postcards to friends?

The cards do seem to show the inks somewhat accurately, as the comparisons to Wearingeul and Col-o-ring/Col-o-dex show. However, Robert Oster’s Fire & Ice is entirely missing any hint of red on the Colorverse Ink Card. The other issue I have is that, as you can see, ink washing causes the cards to curl. This could potentially be fixed with a long session under a heavy book though!

What do you think? Could you find a place for these in your swatching materials?

DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

In feature

Eye Candy: Sailor Manyo Dual Shading Mini Sets

Author AnaPosted on Leave a comment
Eye Candy: Sailor Manyo Dual Shading Mini Sets

While working at the Dromgoole’s table in St. Louis, I was able to score both of the Sailor Manyo Limited Edition Dual Shading sets (4 each with 20ml bottles, $60).

Set #1 is a brighter assortment and includes  Haha, Nekoyanagi, Sakura, Nadeshiko.

I swatched each bottle on Col-o-ring paper and then used a 1″ circle punch to cut the swatches and glue onto the top of the lids.

It’s easy to see the range of colors in Set #1 when you view the cap swatches from above.

The Set #2 is a bit more muted and includes Ayame, Hinoki, Fuji, and Koke.

On the Col-o-ring cap swatches, there is a bit more diversity in the colors of Set #2 but it’s definitely a more wintery feeling palette.

I have debated endlessly with myself which set I like more and I can’t decide. Which set is your favorite?

Besides being a great option to get several inks in one kit, the bottles are smaller than the regular Manyo line (each bottle is 50ml) so its also great if you prefer smaller bottles of ink.

Unfortunately, Dromgoole’s is currently sold out of these sets, hence the eye candy post rather than a full review. These sets are an overseas exclusive so when they sell out they are gone! Full-sized bottles of the Manyo inks are still available for $24 each (50ml) and some other online pen retailers may still have them in stock so if you want to get your hands on these, I recommend googling ASAP. They won’t last long.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Dromgooles for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.