Tag Archives: ink

Review – Papermate Inkjoy Green, Pink, Orange, and Light Blue

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In a previous entry I looked at the more standard Papermate Inkjoy colors, now it’s time for the less standard colors, like light blue, pink, orange, and green.

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The light blue is a sky-colored blue. It is the hardest to read of any of the Inkjoy colors, though it is still fairly visible when not cluttered. It has a very natural feel and is very sky-like. It is very neutral anyway. It doesn’t look like a color that takes a stance, if that makes any sense. It’d make a nice color for both drawing and work.

Next pink, which thankfully isn’t a very aggressive pink. It’s definitely not hot, it’s more of a magenta color, but not quite. It is not a very natural color, though, as it doesn’t look like a rock or a flower. Might be good for a personal thing, or some corrections or something similar.

Third is orange, which I must say looks almost exactly like Pilot G-2 Orange, which I have previously reviewed. Subtle, but not very useful, perhaps flowers or the fruit, but it could be work-friendly, if you’re in a less formal office setting.

Finally green, which is a quite deep, more forest color. A very natural and neutral color. Again a fine informal office color, and a nice forest or swamp color. Though very limited in its natural colors. One of the least useful, but most usable, colors in the set.

Overall these four colors are unintrusive and subtle, with various office and home applications, but very little artistic applications save a few specific places.

Review – Papermate Inkjoy Black, Red, Blue, and Purple

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In my tradition (now) of taking a look at the uses of standard office supplies in art, I’ll be looking at the Papermate Inkjoy pens and their different colors. Today will be the standard colors of black, red, blue, and purple.

Not Entirely Representative

Not Entirely Representative

Papermate tends to make standard colors, and their black is no exception. One of the deeper Papermate blacks, the Inkjoy black is nice and constant, though is a bit blue-greyish. Not quite black, but very good for a ballpoint pen.

The red is also fairly standard. It’s light, but not light enough to say it’s pinkish. It is very subdued and pleasant, not as aggressive as most reds, making it a bit more natural.

The blue is very deep, but not very saturated. In low light it still looks blue, but one wouldn’t mistake it for a sky blue. Again, like the red, the low saturation makes it look less aggressive than some other hues. It’s got a very nice, watery feel to it.

And finally the purple, which again is deep but not saturated. It is unmistakably purple but not very aggressive. Unlike the others, though, this leads to a less natural look as most natural purples are deep and aggressive or light and flowery. This one is in between, which means it would be at home on your papers but not in artwork.

Overall, Papermate did a good job with these colors for the workplace. They definitely weren’t designed for art, though they could be worked in. Not superb but good enough. We’ll see what the next four have in store.

Review – Bic Disposable Fountain Pen Black

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If you’re an artist or would like to become one you’ve probably heard that ballpoints are not a good art instrument. While this is not the case, there certainly are better ones. Fountain pens are generally accepted to give a better writing performance than ballpoints. And the Bic disposable fountain pen seeks to combine the smoothness of one with the convenience of the other.

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The body of the pen is a smooth torpedo in the classic fountain pen shape, though a little smaller. The cap has an easy-to-use clip attached solidly to the top that is both sturdy and tight. There is a partial ink window and logos along the otherwise silver-colored barrel, nothing else. Taking off the cap and looking at the (grip) section, the feed(er) is viewable though a clear tube. The section is much thicker than a ballpoint and easy to grip, though it may become slippery and has no lip at the end. The nib (tip) is steel and ground to a medium point. It is unspectacular looking.

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As for writing, it is very good. Most of the money you pay likely went into the nib and it shows. The pen writes smooth and effortlessly for the most part, but can be prone to feedback. The flow of the ink is good and it keeps up well. Speaking of the ink, it is surprisingly black, and unsurprisingly not waterproof. This ink will feather easily and take a moment to dry. I also don’t recommend using cheap paper, as the ink will bleed thorough, though not as bad as many bottled inks. There is a massive supply of the ink, though, so you won’t have to worry about this pen breaking your wallet particularly.

For a cheap pen ($2-4 a pen), this is a very nice one with a lot of okay ink. It writes well and draws the same. If you’re looking to experiment with fountain pens in your art or writing, and would prefer a slightly larger pen, this is certainly one to look up.

 

Edit: I have done a Video Review Here that highlights some major problems with the pen.

 

Review – Speedball Super Black Ink

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Let’s get to inks. If you’re drawing you might want to try out some India inks. I’ve already taken a look at Higgins India inks, but today I’ll be looking at Speedball Super Black. The ink comes in a plastic half-cone container, that is fine for dipping as it is very wide. It is very full though and can be easily spilled at first, so be careful. The cap has a foil lining that isn’t very good and ink gets on the rim and underneath it constantly, so be careful when opening and closing as there may be ink where it isn’t supposed to be.

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Now on to the ink itself. It is black, and when I say black I mean black. It has virtually no greying even when applied in the finest or broadest of nibs or brushes. It goes on black, and it dries black. Though it is a warm black with a hint of yellow brown when applied very thin. It does dry fairly quickly, though not the fastest, and it doesn’t feather on any paper I’ve used, even in large amounts. It doesn’t bleed through the page, but it does have some show through and page buckling in larger dollops, so it should only be applied in one coat. It is quite water-proof as in it doesn’t even move when water is applied to it, though that is because it contains shellac which can clog up pens and brushes if not washed out properly. They recommend ammonia for that but soapy water applied right after use should do the trick if nothing else. It can also be diluted for washes etc, but because it is heavily pigmented this is not the optimal ink for the purpose as it could go bad quickly.

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Overall if you want a BLACK drawing ink and can handle the problems pigmented ink presents this is a fairly cheap ink that may just be exactly what you’re looking for.