(Sample provided to me free of charge from a very generous FPN member.)
Noodler’s is quite famous among fountain pen enthusiasts for their huge line of ink colors and amazing ink properties. Some inks are completely water resistant and others glow under U.V. light just to name a few cool ones. One of the lines that Noodler’s has released is the Baystate line.
An ink that gets a really popular rap in the Baystate line is Noodler’s Baystate Blue. However, it’s lesser known cousin, Baystate Cape Cod Cranberry is also a stunning ink with an amazingly bright and popping color.
This is a very bright and popping pink color that is quite hard to capture on camera. It can be described as a hot bubblegum color but slightly darker. It’s rare to find a pink that jumps right off the page like this one.
This review was done completely with a Pilot Parallel 1.5mm on HP 32lb Premium Choice Laser paper.
Similar to other inks in the Baystate lineup, this one has a minor tendency to feather on this paper. The feathering issue is much worse of Rhodia and Clairfontaine, but is fine on Tomoe River. This may be an issue for some, who swear Rhodia paper. There is only very minor bleed-through on this paper, but again, it is much more serious on Rhodia paper. There is only a tiny bit of shading present in the ink, because of how saturated the color is.
Being a Baystate ink, Cape Cod Cranberry tends to stain converters if left in them for extended periods of time. However, the stain can be removed by using one of Noodler’s lubricated Eel inks, or by flushing the pen with a bit of isopropyl alcohol diluted with water. Personally, I would not put this color in a demonstrator, unless you plan on keeping the color in there permanently.
Here is a water test of this ink. The color is billed as “bulletproof” which is Noodler’s term for water-resistant. The test was done with drops of water left on the page for 20 seconds then wiped away with a tissue. After 20 full seconds, the lines on the page barely budged, even though there was some color smearing present.
I have mentioned before that this color is very similar to the Montblanc Pink Ink which was released in the February of 2015. This ink is a very tiny bit darker than the Montblanc, but is almost a perfect match. If you are looking for this color but without the issues of a Baystate ink, I would suggest checking out the MB Pink Ink before it is discontinued.
Considering how bright and flashy this ink is (coupled with feathering and bleeding issues), I would reserve this color for personal letters and journal writing. Its permanence makes it a good fit for documents which you would want to preserve, such as diaries and personal memos.
This ink is available in 3oz. bottles for $12.