Caran d’Ache released their new line of inks, known as Chromatics Inkredible, replacing their once loved Colors of the Earth series. The new line features a unique slanted bottle and retails for a whopping $35 a 50mL bottle.
This ink has caused a bit of discussion online over the dichotomy between the price and performance. This ink is one of the most expensive inks available, second to only Louis Vuitton inks. As well, the quality of this ink does not differentiate it in any major way from other cheaper inks, especially the Pilot Iroshizuku line. However, this ink works very well as just an ink.
The new bottle is hexagonal-shaped and is cut molded to a slant. This makes filling the pen a lot easier, especially as the ink level gets low. If you do not want the bottle slanted, you can keep it in it’s cardboard sleeve which keeps it upright. The bottle also features a very hefty metal cap, one of the few manufactures that have one.
There is a nice, wide lip to the bottle, allowing even my thickest pen to fit very comfortably.
Here is a preview of the writing sample of the ink. This was done on HP 28lb Copy Paper, which has a decent amount of ink resistance, but not the best. It is a step below Rhodia and Clairfontaine, but is also much cheaper.
The swab of the ink shows it to be a nice solid green ink that has a strong blue component. The ink is still definitely green, but blue can be seen through the undertones. Paper chromatography confirms this, with green being dominant, followed closely by blue, then a trace amount of yellow.
The ink behaves quite well, even on this not-as-stunning paper. There is little to no feathering, very little show-through, and small spots of bleed through. The ink is wet and has a decent amount of lubrication, but nothing outstanding either. The ink is water resistant to wet smears, but does wash off completely with drips of water. The ink dries in around 13 seconds on this paper, but goes to about 20 seconds on Rhodia.
###Pros
Very pretty color with lovely undertones
Well behaved on Rhodia and Clairfontaine, and adequate on cheaper papers
Unique and functional bottle
###Cons
Very expensive
Nothing helps to differentiate it from other inks
Washes away with water
All in all, I would recommend this ink if you are absolutely fond of the color and the depth of the color. However, the price tag appears unreasonably high for what you are getting.
###50mL bottle for $35