This is the sixth and last in this batch of reviews, for Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown.

For a description of the bottle and box, please see the review of Diamine Crimson ink and for the Cult Pens variants please the review of Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink. In this case there were no small labels on the box or the bottle cap. The sole supplier is Cult Pens and the ink is low priced.

The test pen in this case was a black Pilot MR with a medium nib.

Water resistance was minimal yet again. Only faint lines were left under running water and lines were obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was very easy. The drying time was around 45 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Nothing wrong with the performance of this ink, and I can confirm now that I have long since recovered from the cold I had – there is only a very faint chemical smell. I’m just not a fan of the colour. The scan looks darker than in reality.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Feathering is severe on this paper.

Yellow Post-It

Not too bad on this paper though.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Unusually this is better than the Ryman Memo Block.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A fairly true representation of the very dark brown, leaning very slightly towards red.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Brown – Conclusion

The performance overall is okay, with some reservations on the Ryman Memo Block paper, so worth a try if you like the colour. I’m very fussy about brown inks, and this isn’t one of my favourites, but I don’t actively dislike it.

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After taking the long way round via 1986, this is the fifth in this batch of ink reviews, for Cult Pens Deep Dark Green.

For a description of the bottle and box, please see the review of Diamine Crimson ink and for the Cult Pens variants please the review of Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink. In this case there were no small labels on the box or the bottle cap. The sole supplier is Cult Pens and the ink is low priced.

The test pen in this case was a green Pilot Prera with a medium nib.

Water resistance was minimal again, only faint lines were left under running water and lines were obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was mostly easy but I did need to use an ultrasonic cleaner for the grip section. This may be due to the design of the pen as the problem area seem to be the metal ring which is a feature of the Pilot Prera. The drying time was around 50 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The scan makes the ink look close to black but in reality its a very dark green with a hint of grey. I like it.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Again this looks almost black in the scan rather than the dark green it is on the paper. Feathering is more of an issue here.

Yellow Post-It

This scan is more true to life, and performance is okay on this paper.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

The scanner is fooled again – even thought in reality it looks almost grey, there is still a stronger hint of green in the original.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This is the most accurate representation of the colour of the ink. The hint of grey and the shading is apparent.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Green – Conclusion

I don’t usually like inks with a hint of grey, but I’m happy to make an exception in this case. Another one in the series which would be useful as an unusual note-taking ink.

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This is the fourth in this batch of ink reviews, for Cult Pens Deep Dark Orange.

For a description of the bottle and box, please see the review of Diamine Crimson ink and for the Cult Pens variants please the review of Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink. In this case there were small labels on both the box and the bottle cap. The sole supplier is Cult Pens and the ink is low priced.

The test pen in this case was a yellow Pilot Prera with a medium nib.

Water resistance was minimal again, only very faint lines were left under running water and lines were obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy and the drying time was around 45 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The scan shows the attractive deep brownish-orange colour which really pops off the page. The slight restriction in the flow was really only noticeable in comparison to the other inks in this series.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Decent results on this paper despite the feathering.

Yellow Post-It

Perhaps the slightly drier flow contributed to the patchy overage, but the results were still acceptable.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Feeling dry on this paper but the end results are still okay.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows the range of shading possible although the darker shading is only likely to be achieved with a wet pen. No sheen is visible in this case.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Orange – Conclusion

The brightest colour in this series is also possibly the most attractive of all and the most suitable for markup. Although all the Deep Dark inks are meant to be appropriate for business use this is the least sober of all the inks so may not suit note-taking in a business setting. I’ll leave the reader to be the best judge of that.

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This is the third in this series of ink reviews, for Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple.

For a description of the bottle and box, please see the review of Diamine Crimson ink and for the Cult Pens variants please the review of Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink. In this case there were no labels on the box or the bottle cap. The sole supplier is Cult Pens and the ink is low priced.

The test pen in this instance was the Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost non-existent – only a few faint lines were left under running water and water droplets completely obliterated the lines. Cleaning was easy and the drying time for Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple was one of the lowest for this series at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

On this paper performance is good and the ink dries to an attractive dark purple, which I described in the notes as aubergine but blackberry or blackcurrant purple would be equally appropriate.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still okay on this paper and the spread doesn’t dilute the colour much.

Yellow Post-It

This paper gives a good contrast and really brings out the purple.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This is a good result on this challenging paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The shading comes out here, as does a green sheen which is not evident in the writing samples.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple – Conclusion

This is the best overall performer so far in this series on the most challenging papers. I also like the colour, but maybe not as much as Deep Dark Red or Deep Dark Blue. A really good ink.

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This is the second in the series of Cult Pens Deep Dark ink reviews, this time for Cult Pens Deep Dark Red.

There’s not a lot to add to my previous descriptions of the standard Cult Pens box and bottle given in the the Diamine Crimson Ink Review or the Cult Pens variants described in the Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue Ink Review other than in this case the box and bottle cap don’t have the silver ink name sticker, so the only place the ink is actually identified is on the front label of the bottle. The supplier is Cult Pens and again the ink is low priced. This batch of reviews will get very repetitive very quickly.

The test pen with Cult Pens Deep Dark Red was the Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib.

Water resistance was negligible leaving only faint grey lines, and water drops obliterated the lines completely. Cleaning was easy. Drying time was one of the best for the series at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

No quibbles about the performance of this ink on good paper. The notes describe this as a brownish red but on reflection I would call it more of a rich chestnut brown – very nice.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

This is probably the weakest of the writing samples on what is turning out to be one of the most challenging papers at the moment. The spread has diluted the colour almost to a wine red.

Yellow Post-It

This isn’t too bad, the coverage is quite variable though.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Sorry for cutting off the left hand side. The spread again led to a more wine red colour, but the results are okay.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows some of the shading possible as well as a green sheen which didn’t appear in the writing samples.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Red – Conclusion

The more I look at this ink the more attractive it appears to me. The drying time and ease of cleaning are obvious advantages and I would consider it to be more suitable for general note-taking than markup. Although it’s reminiscent of one of my favourite inks, Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses, I can’t see it replacing the Noodler’s ink in my affections, at least not yet.

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This is the first in this batch of ink reviews, which will focus on the Cult Pens Deep Dark series. This review is for Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink.

The Cult Pens Deep Dark series of inks are manufactured by Diamine in the UK – even if this wasn’t mentioned on the Cult Pens Website it would be obvious for the bottle and box which are exactly the same as those described in the review of Diamine Crimson ink. No surprise either that Cult Pens is the sole supplier of these inks, hence the direct link. For the avoidance of doubt, I bought the inks, they were not supplied for the purposes of this review. They all cost a shade under £6.00, the typical price for standard 80ml bottles of Diamine inks, so I would class these as low priced.

The only differences between the standard Diamine 80ml bottle and this example relate to the labeling. The normal front label has been replaced with a bespoke one showing the name of the ink. The Diamine logo is also present. There’s an additional label on the back of the bottle (not present on standard inks) which gives the volume of ink. the country of origin, a link to the Cult Pens website and the slogan “The write stuff”. Both of these labels look like small shipping labels, which may have been printed and added later, and haven’t been tailored to the arched side of the bottle, unlike the standard Diamine labels. The silver label on the cap which is normally the only indication of the ink in the bottle is missing in this case, although there is one on the box. This is inconsistent across the series – some have one or the other, neither or both. The label on the box obviously makes it possible to determine which ink it is without opening the box.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot MR Silver with a medium nib.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue showed negligible water resistance, leaving a few faint blue lines when held under running water, and lines were obliterated by water droplets. Cleaning was very easy, and the drying time was around a minute (the longest for this series of inks).

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink looks almost black in this scan – it’s only in the lighter shading that the blue colour can be seen. I wrote that that the blue looks “steely” but to clarify I mean that it’s reminiscent of the range of blue colours produced by tempering.

By Zaereth – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19914298

The Cult Pens website also indicates that the ink has hints of purple, which I can see now it’s been pointed it out, but possibly wouldn’t have otherwise.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Barely a hint of blue left in this scan.

Yellow Post-It

Interestingly the yellow seems to bring out the contrasting purple here.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

The spread brings out the blue here.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Very dark here, and there’s even a reddish sheen towards the bottom of the swab. This didn’t appear in any of the writings samples though. It would be interesting the try this ink with a very wet pen to see if it does appear in normal use, but the drying time could then be an issue.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue – Conclusion

I do like this ink and it’s one of my preferred blue-blacks. Despite my comments in the Rhodia Dot Pad sample, this ink does hold some surprises regarding the colour, but on different papers ranging from almost black (with a red sheen), dark grey to purplish blue. The ink itself is a good performer overall, albeit with the slightly longer drying time, and to use my stock phrase again – more water resistance would be welcome.

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