The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 278 - I Failed You, Myke

I did some shopping, and share the results with the listeners. Not gonna lie, this was a pretty good batch of pens I’ve acquired in the past month. We also revise some of Lamy’s recent issues, and get ready for our big Field Notes event.

Show Notes & Download Links

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Uni-Ball Signo DX Twelve New Colors 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.)

I don't know that I necessarily need to review the Uni-Ball Signo DX--it's fairly universally loved amongst pen addicts and the general population alike. Both Jeff and Brad have waxed poetic on its many virtues--a great build, consistent flow, smooth writing. It's practical, reliable, and fun. But it just got more fun, because there are twelve new colors and I need for you to be excited about this with me.

Prussian Blue is a beautiful (but totally office appropriate) bright navy color. It doesn't feel like the standard blue, but has a little extra zing to it.

Blue Green is a fresh aqua color, a necessity for any pen assortment.

Apple Green is an essential acid color. Despite its lightness, it is readable--which is good, because I want to use it forever.

Dark Grey may be my new favorite. It's classy and moody at the same time. In some lights, it almost has a blue-black quality to it.

Grey is pale, but readable, and almost silvery.

Purple is a spunky color—more like a Lisa Frank magenta shade than a true purple.

Lilac follows in purple's footsteps. It's bright and fun.

Light pink is neon cotton candy perfection.

Brown is more of a dark mustard color. Much more nuanced than the name implies.

Khaki is a rich caramel. It looks more like food than pants, to me.

Beige is a lovely creamy ivory. Difficult to see on white paper.

Yellow is a very bright shade. One that, if seen in nature, probably indicates neurotoxins.

These cheerful colors are landing perfectly in time with cooler weather and grey skies. They're a great addition to the existing lineup of colors, and you can get them in either a set of twelve, or individually as open stock. As a bundle, I'd call this the unicorns and ponies pack. I do wish the names of the colors were a bit more true or descriptive. The names themselves don't give a very good indication of what to expect from the colors. But you can definitely expect the great performance that the Signo is known for.

The ink is very saturated but doesn't feel dry. It's the best behaved gel ink I've used. There's no skipping or globs or smearing. It's waterproof, fade-resistant, and feathering-resistant. There are enough colors in this line, now, that they may have inched to the top of my personal list of favorite coloring pens. Because now my unicorns will look true to life.

The pens run at $2.84 apiece, or $34 for the 12-pack. That's about average for a nice gel pen, and definitely worth it. The fine lines, viscous ink, and saturated colors all help contribute to a little extra longevity for the cartridges. Still, I may run them dry out of sheer enthusiasm sooner rather than later.

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

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Diamine Blood Orange Ink Review

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

Diamine Blood Orange, part of a collection of inks released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Diamine, is a stellar red-orange that hits a great balance between bright orange and murky blood.

When you buy an ink from Diamine, you can be sure that it will perform well and be easy to clean. The same is true of Blood Orange.

The first thing you probably noticed about this ink is the color. When you hear the words "blood orange," a wide array of colors come to mind. With this ink, I think Diamine has hit the perfect balance between all the colors that come to mind in this combination. It's a medium blood red mixed with just enough bright orange to make the ink pop. It's a great color, but probably not work-friendly. It's perfect for Halloween, though.

Like all Diamine inks I've used, the flow is great. It starts immediately and doesn't have any issues with skipping or starting. In the pens I've tried with this ink, it hits the middle of the road in terms of ink flow. One of the pens I tried is a dry writer, and this ink did just fine with lubricating the nib and providing enough ink to form consistent and reliable lines.

I haven't noticed any feathering when using broad nibs and good paper (by good I mean anything 80gsm or higher), but it does start to feather a bit on cheap copy paper. Being an orange-red, the show-through is also minimal. In most cases, you can't see any ghosting or ink spots on the back side of the page.

One of my favorite features of any ink is the shading, and this ink doesn't disappoint. It's not a dramatic amount of shading, but it's enough to move from a light red-orange to a darker blood-orange color. The fading back and forth is really pretty, and I enjoy it a lot. It's very similar to Diamine Ancient Copper in terms of shading, but lighter and with more orange tones.

Overall, I'm really impressed by Blood Orange and have enjoyed using it in a variety of pens. It looks great in broad or specialty nibs, but the character still shows through in small nibs. If the color appeals to you, I highly recommend picking this up.

You can order this ink in a special 40ml bottle or a 20-pack of cartridges.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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