Dominant Industry Takasago Fountain Pen Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

The Dominant Industry Takasago Notebook is one of those notebooks that makes you want to write in it. Notebooks like this are practically a cure for writer's block, because you can't look at these empty pages without wanting to fill them up.

This notebook is made with paper specifically formulated for fountain pens, with superior ability to show off sheen and shading, prevent bleeding and feathering, and showing off all the best qualities of liquid inks. Notably, this paper does all that while solving the dry-time issue that many coated papers have. While it still takes a moment for the liquid inks to dry, it does so much faster than with other fountain pen friendly papers, like Tomoe River.

Apart from the dry time, this paper reminds me a lot of the old Tomoe River paper. Like TR, this paper is part of an old tradition. Made in a 110-year-old mill, it's a legacy recipe that has taken a lifetime to perfect.

The one issue some users might find fault with is the ghosting. I declare this paper extremely haunted. Just about all writing shows through the page, even pencil. I can even see my fingers through it when I'm turning the page. That doesn't bother me--I still use both sides, but some folks hate that, so it's worth mentioning.

This A5 notebook has 86 sheets of 87.9 gsm white paper. This version is blank, but lined and grid pages are also available. The cover is cardstock textured to look like pebble leather. The cover also has a fold-over on both the front and back, which can be used to tuck notes into or folded over pages to serve as a bookmark. The binding allows the notebook to lay flat easily with no training.

Overall, it's a good construction, good quality, and a pleasure to write in. It does have a slightly high price tag of around $25. Back in the olden days, you could get 200 A5 sheets of Tomoe River paper bound in a lovely linen cover for that cost. But that's not the norm anymore, and this is still a decent amount of very good paper. While the cardstock cover may not be as fancy as some other materials, it makes it lightweight, flexible, and easy to use. It's the perfect format for a trip journal or class notebook, or for a commonplace book. The blank pages may also appeal to artists.

(Brad purchased this notebook from Smruti Pens at regular price at the 2023 Orlando Pen Show.)

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Dominant Industry Citrus Yellow Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's been quite a long time since I've used a yellow ink. Yellows aren't something you can use every day due to how light they appear on the page. But, when you find the right opportunity to use a nice yellow ink, it never fails to brighten your day.

I've recently been using Citrus Yellow from Dominant Industry, which is a bright yellow with little hints of green and orange if the light hits it just right. The bright color is accented by a mild sheen that makes the ink appear like it's still a bit wet. In all, it makes for a really special and fun ink to use.

While the main color in this ink is a bright yellow, you can also detect small hints of orange and green under the surface. This allows the ink to have a shading effect that gives it just enough character to differentiate it from a standard highlighting ink.

When writing with this ink, it appears extremely light — so light that it's pretty difficult to read. But as the ink dries, the color darkens a bit and exposes some of the other undertones of green and orange. Bear in mind, I don't really see any true green or orange in this ink — just yellow shades that lean toward green and orange. Either way, the dried ink is easy to read and has a happy, bright character that pops off the page. It's the opposite of gloomy.

Being my first ink from Dominant Industry, I was curious to see how it would behave in my pens. Delightfully, this ink works like a champ. There's plenty of lubrication to allow the nib to glide effortlessly across the page. The ink has no trouble starting after a break, and I can't detect any feathering or bleeding. It also washes out really easily — likely due to the light color.

One area that this ink really drags is when it comes to drying. It dries really slowly. In my testing (and in my super dry office where it's currently about 30% relative humidity), it took between 20 and 35 seconds for this ink to dry to the point where it wouldn't smudge when I ran my finger across it. That's definitely long enough to stop and consider before deciding to use this ink in certain circumstances.

Another minor downside to this ink is the bottle. While it's a beautiful and unique shape, the opening is quite small. You won't have any problem with most pens, but large nibs or large sections might have some trouble clearing the opening enough to draw up ink. If this is the case for you, Dominant Industry has included a small pipette in the box, or you can use your own syringe or bottle if needed.

Dry time aside, I've been really pleased with Citrus Yellow and look forward to trying other inks from Dominant Industry. A 25ml bottle of this boutique ink from South Korea will run $17. This is a fair price for the small shop and imported market — not to mention the high standard of quality. Can't wait to see what else they have to offer!

(I purchased this ink from Yoseka Stationery at full price for review purposes.)

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Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Dominant Industry Lake Ink Review

Is this the best looking ink bottle on the market? Is this the best performing ink on the market? Dominant Industry has a good chance of going 2-for-2 in those categories.

Glass ink bottles interest me greatly. Why? They shouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I mean, you aren’t writing with the bottle - are you? The liquid inside is what matters, but I would be lying if a cool storage vessel for ink didn’t make a difference in what I think about the brand. That said, a good ink can come in a basic bottle. A bad ink can come in a Faberge Egg and will still be a bad ink.

Fortunately, Dominant Industry Lake is one of the more enjoyable inks I’ve tested in quite some time.

When they first made their splash, it was for wild-looking dip nib only inks like Hologram. While that ink looks amazing and I’ll probably test some down the line, what I was most anxious to test were their standard fountain pen inks.

I grabbed a few bottles for the review crew, and kept No. 115 Lake for myself to try out. It has been a great experience so far.

It could be that I hit the pen and nib perfecta for this ink, allowing it to perform so wonderfully. I used a new Faber-Castell Ambition, with a steel Medium nib. The ink flows perfectly from this nib, even on the more absorbent Story Supply Thick Plot notebook the writing sample was done on.

I guess all good inks are consistent, but this perfect from start to finish? That’s not always how it goes. Lake behaved exactly the same, letter to letter, line to line. It has medium wetness, a small amount of shading, and only sheen if you let it pool up on the page. Dry time is fantastic on Clairefontaine Triomphe, checking in at just over 10 seconds on my finger swipe. On Tomoe River that dry time doubled, but that is better than most on that paper.

What I want to do now is test out Lake in a finer nib pen. The way the ink flows in this Faber-Castell makes me think it will perform just as well in some of my Japanese fine nibs. And the color is strong enough to be able to handle the narrower width of the lines.

The made-for-Instagram bottles drew me in. The ink performance kept me around. And I want more Dominant Industry inks, for both reasons.

You can pick up the fountain pen compatible versions of Dominant Industry inks at Yoseka Stationery for $17.00 for a 25 ml bottle. A little pricey, but not remotely out of line. I look forward to seeing how the other colors I purchased test out. I have high hopes after my first go.

(I purchased this ink from Yoseka Stationery at full retail price.)

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Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!