Scribo Blue Capri and Arancio di Sicilia Inks: A Review

Today I'm reviewing two summery Scribo inks: Blue Capri and Arancio di Sicilia.

Blue Capri

Blue Capri is a bright, turquoise-blue ink with good shading and a bit of magenta sheen.

On Rhodia Dot Grid paper the ink offers good saturation, some shading (especially in broader nibs), and a fast dry time. It is not waterproof.

Chromatography reveals slight variations in tone from light turquoise to medium turquoise.

I did a longer writing sample using the Fenestro EF fountain pen (reviewed here) on Tomoe River Paper. The ink flowed well and is bright and readable. Even with an EF nib, some shading is noticeable if you look closely.

On MD Cotton Paper with a ruling pen, the ink dazzles. It's nicely saturated, with shading, lovely pooling, and that magenta sheen.

Compared with my other turquoise inks, Blue Capri is closest to TWSBI Sky Blue, although Blue Capri is slightly more saturated. Iroshizuku Ama Iro is a cooler turquoise. Robert Oster Tranquility is greener and Fire & Ice is darker.

Blue Capri is a beautiful turquoise ink, reminiscent of sparkling Italian waters.

Arancio di Sicilia

Arancio di Sicilia is a vivid orange ink with excellent shading and some pink sheen.

The ink is saturated with deep reddish-orange tones and good shading (especially in flex nibs). The ink took some time to dry, but that's likely because I tested it with my flex nib. It is not waterproof.

The Chromatography displayed pale pink, peach, and deeper orange tones.

The Ruling Pen brought out the best of this ink on MD Cotton Paper. It is bright orange ranging from deep sunset tones to lighter pink-orange. The shading is excellent and pink sheen shows up where the ink pools.

For my longer writing test, I used Cosmo Air Light paper. The pink tones of the ink are enhanced on this paper. Shading is also good. It's an orange that is deep enough to read easily, but complex enough that it doesn't jar your eyes.

Although I have several orange inks, none of them are as beautiful as Arancio di Sicilia, in my opinion. TWSBI Orange is closest in terms of hue, but it is more of a burnt orange whereas Arancio is brighter.

Arancio di Sicilia just became my favorite orange ink. It looks like how a fresh, juicy orange tastes. I'm definitely going to order a full bottle of this color.

You can purchase both inks from Vanness Pens. Blue Capri is $3.50 for a 4ml sample and $35.00 for a 90ml bottle. Arancio di Sicilia is priced the same.

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

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The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 467 - You Had One Job

Upon return, there it sat. Teasing me, as if to say “This is where I belong.”

I was on vacation this week, but that didn’t stop me from recording. I was completely prepared, or so I thought right up until it was time to go live. But Myke and I powered through, because there was important stationery business to discuss.

Show Notes & Download Links

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Nebula by Colorverse A5 Premium 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 check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

My first impression of this Nebula Premium Notebook by Colorverse was “Why do I need another hardbound, pleather, elastic closure, A5 notebook?" I have six different brands of nearly identical notebooks on a shelf right next to me--so what was going to make this one stand out from the crowd? It turns out there are a few standout things about this notebook. It's a good one. It's not filling a gap in the market or anything, but it is offering some choices of features that I enjoy and appreciate.

It has a very firm cover bound in faux leather with a smooth texture to it. My notebook is a lovely shade of lavender blue, but there are a variety of colors available. It has rounded corners and sturdy endpapers prettily decorated with stars and constellations, and the inside back cover has a generous gusseted pocket. One cool feature is that, instead of a ribbon bookmark, this notebook comes with two magnetic flap bookmarks that can be used beyond the life of this notebook alone. I love magnetic bookmarks, so this delighted me. Ribbons are nice, too, but they get caught in case zippers, fray, and get ink stains. The magnets are a huge upgrade, in my opinion. The binding is sewn and the notebook lies open flat with no trouble.

Between the covers are 192 pages of 90gsm, "ink-proof" white paper. Mine is lined, though blank paper is also available, and maybe preferable, as the blank notebook comes with some very cool writing guides in unique formats, including boxes and lines for ink swatching.

But could you swatch in this notebook? Yep. The paper is impressive. When I first felt it, it had the crisp, textured feel of paper that usually feathers and bleeds, so I was expecting at least some degree of failure, but it did not do either of those things in any measure. I suppose a notebook made by an ink company would know how to make their paper truly "ink-proof" as they claim. My skepticism was short-lived.

The slightly fibrous texture of the paper makes it great for pencils and standard pens alike. It's not fibrous enough to be snaggy with sharp tips, but it offers enough friction that it gives good control even with smooth, broad writers and glassy nibs. There was not a single feather to be seen, and nothing bled through--not even the fineliner Sharpie. Not even where I literally poured ink on the page. There was some ghosting with the latter two, but hardly any show-through at all for regular writing. Given Colorverse's affinity for outer space, I can only assume this is some kind of alien technology.

With the matte, textured surface of the paper, I did not expect to see much shading or sheening, but both definitely made an appearance. Sheen was a little rarer, only really showing where the ink pooled, but it's definitely there in wetter inks and nibs. Personally, I prefer the way ink looks on more smooth, coated papers, but one major benefit of this paper is dry time, which was surprisingly fast, depending on the ink and nib. In fact, this notebook is now high on my list of ones I'd recommend to left-handed pen addicts.

The Nebula Premium notebooks sell for $20, which puts it on equal footing, price-wise, with most of the notebooks it so closely resembles. Did the market need another clone A5 notebook? No. Is there room for everyone at the table? Yes, and Colorverse has definitely brought some nice treats here to the notebook potluck.

(Goldspot 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.

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