Laban Greek Mythology Ink in Apollo Orange: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Laban Ink is made in Taiwan by the Laban Pen Company. This is their first ink series and it is named after five Greek gods from mythology: Poseidon, Apollo, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Demeter. Each god represents different characteristics. For example, Apollo represents healing. The color of the ink depicts Apollo as the sun:

I bring light and warmth, The color of the sun — Bold and true.

Apollo Orange is a bright pinkish orange with excellent shading but no sheen.

Chromatography reveals lots of pink, peach, and bright yellow.

On Rhodia Dot Pad paper, the ink offers good saturation and some shading, although in fine nibs the ink is less visible. The ink is wet and takes about a minute to dry if you're using a flex nib or a wide nib. It is not waterproof.

The ink's best character is displayed in wide nibs. You can see beautiful shading and pooling on the MD Cotton Paper with a ruling pen.

For my longer writing sample, I used my Musubi Cosmo Air Light Notebook (reviewed here) and a TWSBI stub nib. The paper definitely brings out the pink tones of the ink, and when you look closely you can see the excellent shading.

Compared with my other orange inks, Laban Apollo Orange is closest to Iroshizuku Yu-Yake, but Apollo is darker. It is not as bright an orange as Scribo Arancio di Sicilia, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. And it is much pinker than TWSBI Orange.

I love wet inks and I was especially pleased at how Apollo Orange behaved in my TWSBI stub nib. It's a beautiful orange reminiscent of a pale sunset.

You can purchase a 50ml bottle of Laban Apollo Orange from Goldspot Pens for $20.00.

(Goldspot Pens provided Laban Apollo Orange to Pen Addict free of charge for review.)

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 470 - Fibers in the Groove

Big episode this week, as I break down my time with the Drillog, share details of the Pen Addict Ajoto, sort out what TWSBI is up to with the Swipe, and try to stay on the good side of the Ruler Mafia.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code PENADDICT at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

Pen Chalet: Click the ‘podcast’ link at the top of the website and enter the password ‘penaddict’ for this week’s special offer, and to get your code for 10% off.

Hightide Clip Ruler 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!)

I love tools that have more than one function, especially simple ones. Readers and writers need bookmarks, planners and artists need rulers, and everyone needs a good paperclip from time to time. This thin strip of aluminum serves so many needs.

While the Hightide Clip Ruler isn't a new concept, this is a well-designed execution of a clip-ruler-bookmark. The aluminum is thin but sturdy. The ruler markings go all the way to the edge of the ruler for easy measuring. The clip has a slight swoop at the end for easy sliding onto pages, and it clips with just the right amount of grip. It doesn't fall out or slide around, but it's easy to slide on or remove without scraping the paper. It narrows slightly also.

The finish is nice and smooth, so it works great as a straight-edge. The clip does get in the way of the pen or pencil slightly when using it as a straight-edge for drawing lines, so it only works along the 10cm length where the markings are. As a ruler, it has cm and half-cm on one side and cm and mm on the other. There are no inch markings, so it may not work for you if that's your preferred unit of measurement.

It does make a good bookmark, though I found the fold at the top of the clip to be a bit thick. That works great if you're using it to clip pages together, but it does create a gap that leaves marks on your paper if you're only clipping it over a page or three. It also leaves a lump in your book. It works much better if you clip it over a larger clump of pages, to fill the available space in the clip.

The $9 price tag does feel a little high for a plain clip ruler. There are similar products available for much less, and much fancier ones for only slightly more. But if you don't want fancy, and the plainness is part of the appeal, this is a good quality piece.

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

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