Pilot Iroshizuku To-ro Fountain Pen Ink Review

Pilot has been actively updating the full Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink lineup over the past few years by removing underperforming colors, and adding new shades to fill in the gaps. Their choices have been questionable these past few rounds, but they nailed the newest three additions that launched in Fall 2024.

The newest shades are the Wintery-Blue Rikka, the deep Purple-Red-Black Syun-gyo, and the one I’m discussing today, the Warm Lantern Yellow-Orange of To-ro. Universally, these have been well-received, although did they really need another Blue? Rikka is fine, but I believe the least interesting of the bunch. Syun-go seems to lead the sales and usage charts - anecdotally, at least. To-ro, well, that’s a Brad ink, so let’s get into it.

Several years ago, as part of Pilot’s 100th Anniversary celebration, they launched an ink called Daikokuten, which quickly became one of my favorites. I classify it as a Yellow ink, and it is shockingly legible. I had been waiting to see if Pilot would bring it, or something similar, to the main Iroshizuku lineup, and instantly wondered if To-ro was it.

Not exactly, but To-ro may be better for more people with shades of Orange mixed with Yellow. A comparison swatche shows the differences:

To-ro is clearly more Orange on the page, but not as Orange as Pilot’s other options in the lineup, Yu-yake and Fuyu-gaki. I think Yu-yake is closer to a standard shade of Orange, and Fuyu-gaki is the Red-Orange option. To-ro leans more yellow, and has an interesting vibrancy about it, making it perfectly legible on the page, even with my small handwriting.

Like all other Iroshizuku inks I’ve tried, the performance is right down the middle. They have great flow, good color, average dry time, moderate shading, and almost no sheen. In short, they are a Goldilocks performer. Price-wise, at $28.50 for 50 ml, they creep over into the expensive side of the ledger, but I think that’s fair for the quality. The bottle design is top-notch, as well.

Given all that, how does To-ro rate among the new three inks? I still think Syun-gyo is the best - and most popular - of the new colors, for good reason. It is the most different shade, and most usable on the page. To-ro is a good addition to the lineup, but with it, we are now teetering on the edge of maximum Oranges for a 24 ink collection. Will Pilot continue to discontinue underperforming inks and create new ones? I wouldn’t be surprised, but I’m not sure this is an every year thing unless they grow the SKU count of the Iroshizuku lineup.

To-ro is an ink that is right up my alley, and a good switch up from the hotter Oranges I frequently use. It clears the light shade barrier by a good margin, and is easily readable on the page. I see this being a frequent refill option for many of my pens, and I can’t wait to see where it lands next.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc 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 another week, so that means I'm on my continued green kick. I'm personally loving all the green I've been subjecting myself to, and I don't see any signs of this recent obsession dying anytime soon. This week, I'm looking at Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc.

Tick Tock Croc is a cool toned forest green with a little teal that shows through in the shading. Part of Wearingeul's Peter and Wendy collection, this ink takes inspiration from Peter Pan and the namesake crocodile villain.

I've had a great track record with Wearingeul inks in the past, but this ink marks my first slight issue. After inking a pen and cleaning up the nib and section, the pen wouldn't write despite having plenty of ink loaded in the feed. Touching a paper towel to an area around the feed would pull lots of ink, but the ink just wasn't making it down to the tip of the nib. I emptied the pen and refilled it, and the problem didn't persist. I've never had an issue like that before, so it could just be a fluke. At any rate, this ink is a touch on the dry side. The TWSBI 1.1mm stub that I used for the writing sample is typically a very wet and soft-feeling nib due to the large surface and good flow. With this ink, the nib feels a tiny bit scratchy. The flow is still great, and it can keep up with a fast pace, but it just feels a little dry. Not a problem, but something to consider if you plan on using this with a pen that you know to be on the dry flow side as well. Might not be a good combination!

But, the dry flow translates to pretty fast dry times on the page. In most cases, the ink is basically smudge-proof after 15 seconds if you're using a medium nib or smaller. With this large 1.1mm TWSBI nib, the ink is dry at 20 seconds. Not bad!

Since this ink is taking inspiration from something that is dark green (at least in the Disney adaptation) and lives in the water, I love seeing both of these portrayed in the actual ink colors. The dominant color is a forest green, and there are teal shades that peek through in the lighter areas of the ink. The shading is subtle in variation, but still easy to see on the page with any size nib. In general, this is fantastic green shade with delightful teal and cold green accents that come out through the ink shading.

One thing that the marketing material mentions is that this ink also has a red sheening characteristic. Technically, this is true, but it's incredibly difficult to demonstrate. I tried many different swabs on different paper using different instruments, and I just wasn't able to bring out the sheen in a way that is easy to see. In the cases I could detect some slight sheen with my naked eyes, I couldn't capture with a camera. And, when I was able to pick out some sheening, it was more of a dark purple instead of red, which blended in with the dark green easily. For practical purposes, you can just ignore the red sheening aspect of this ink's marketing information. It's there, but not easy to reproduce. There are plenty of other green inks that create obvious red sheening with zero effort.

Overall, Tick Tock Croc is a beautiful forest green ink with lovely teal undertones that add a lot of character to an otherwise plain color. The quick dry time is also big plus, but just be aware that it might make your pen feel a bit scratchy.

You can pick this ink up from Vanness for $22 for the 30ml bottle, or you can also grab a small 4ml sample for a few bucks instead. One cool thing to note about the bottle is that is features a holographic sticker on the front that changes between the standard logo and name to a graphic of a crocodile coming out of the water with its mouth wide open. Very cool! Not something that will influence anyone's decision to buy the ink, but it's definitely a fun surprise.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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A Trio of 2025 Chicago Pen Show Inks

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

One of my favorite things to get at a concert, show, event, or shop, is something that reminds me of the occasion, whether it’s a t-shirt, bag, or sticker that makes me remember that event. In the case of pen shows, it’s no surprise that I am a sucker for show-exclusive inks!

At the 2025 Chicago Pen Show, I bought several bottles of ink, but 3 of them were specifically made for this show! The first one is the official show ink, Windy City Blue, made by Colorverse to celebrate the show’s 45th anniversary. The second one is Papier Plume Lake Michigan Springtime. And last, but not least, is Anderillium’s Chicago River Green.

Note: I add swatches to similar color family inks in both the Hobonichi Weeks and 68 gsm Tomoe River notebook. Unlike the Col-O-Ring swatch card comparisons, the Weeks and TR swatches might not be that close to the ink in question.

L to R: Colorverse Chicago Pen Show 45th Anniversary Windy City Blue, Papier Plume Lake Michigan Springtime, Anderillium Chicago River Green.

Despite the box and bottle’s lighter blue color, the Windy City Blue is more of a darker blue-leaning teal.

You can see a hint of red/purple sheen in wetter parts of the swatch and writing sample.

Swatch/writing sample of Windy City Blue on 2022 Hobonichi Weeks, which has slightly cream-colored paper, along with Anderillium Indigo Bunting Blue, Montblanc Leo Tolstoy, Montblanc StarWalker Blue Planet.

Swatch/writing sample on 68 gsm Tomoe River Endless Recorder notebook. Accidentally added an “s” to the ink name, oops.

Inks similar to Windy City Blue: Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris, Robert Oster Lake of Fire is the closest match, Van Dieman’s Hanging Lake, New Brew Space, and Robert Oster Great Southern Ocean are also close but a touch too blue.

I’m eager to put Windy City Blue in either the Sailor x Cult Pens Pro Gear Slim, Midnight Sky Blue or the Leonardo x Figboot on Pens Momento Zero, Carolina Midnight.

I love that Papier Plume dips their ink bottle caps in wax and then stamps the top.

My swatches of Papier Plume Lake Michigan Springtime look fairly green but I’ve seen some swatches where it has more teal to it. I double checked with some friends who agreed that theirs is also more green in real person but looks a bit more teal in photos.

First/only swatch/writing sample of Lake Michigan Springtime in the Hobonichi Weeks. This looks more teal than on the Col-O-Ring cards.

A green leaning teal on TR 68, but still fairly green.

Inks similar to Lake Michigan Springtime: Waterman Harmonious Green, Jacques Herbin Vert Metropolitain, Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc, Diamine Velvet Emerald, Iroshizuku Sui-gyoku (this and the Diamine are a touch too blue), Diplomat Deep Green (a bit too dark.)

The Kaweco x GoldSpot Pens Sport, Transparent Turquoise (which is way more of a teal than turquoise), and the greenish parts of the Aurora Optima, Azzurra are both good matches for Lake Michigan Springtime.

Anderillium Chicago River Green is a pleasantly bright, spring green ink.

Chicago River Green in the Hobonichi Weeks along with Pennonia x Inkdependence Hens & Chicks and Anderillium Green Kingfisher Green.

Inks similar to Chicago River Green: Diamine Appletini (too yellow), Papier Plume 2019 SF Pen Show Marina Green, Robert Oster Envy (both of which are close but still too yellow), Organics Studio Frog Green Shimmer, Diamine Merry & Bright (the closest), Van Dieman’s Wasabi (second closest.)

Anderillium Chicago River Green would look great in the Taccia Spotlight Forest Eye or the Kaweco x Cult Pens Apple Green.

Even though I can find similarly colored matches for all 3 inks, I still love having them as souvenirs of this year’s Chicago Pen Show. The inks cost $15-20 per bottle and are a great way to remember a fun pen show. If you didn’t get a chance to snag them, you can reach out to Roger Wooten, (show organizer) to see if they are willing to sell/ship the Colorverse ink. You can order Anderillium Chicago River Green from Atlas Stationers. Papier Plume is currently sold out of Lake Michigan Springtime but you can add it to your wishlist in case they decide to make more.

(Disclaimer: All 3 inks were purchased by me at the show at regular price.)