Colorverse Life on Mars Ink is part of Colorverse Ink Company’s Season 5 series. Known as “The Red Planet” series, it offers several pairs of inks containing two bottles (65 ml. and 15 ml.). The pairs feature complementary colors, a common Colorverse ink “seasons” or ink series setup. Todays’ Pen Chalet ink review features Life on Mars, the 15ml bottle of ink in Colorverse’s Red Planet ink set. Colorverse paired the 15ml Life on Mars ink with Martian Ink in the accompanying 65 ml. bottle.

Colorverse’s Martian ink is vibrant red-orange; much the same as many envision when they imagine Mars. The smaller, yet equally as impressive, Life on Mars ink, is a muted shade of blue-grey. The Life on Mars ink color inspires thoughts of what shades an early evening Martian sky might reflect. Pen Chalet decided Colorverse’s color pairing in this Red Planet series was a success. The two colors compliment each other nicely. Colorverse Life on Mars ink shows up well on paper, even though we consider the blue-grey color relatively muted. It also has some other nice characteristics. We’ll discuss them each in detail below.

Colorverse continues to stimulate our imaginations with thoughts of mankind’s future. The Red Planet series of ink inspires us to contemplate space, the moon-landing event more than 50 years ago, and the next frontier in space travel. Colorverse Life on Mars ink is the 72nd color produced by Colorverse in its ever-increasing ink universe.

Continue reading for a chance to win the bottle of Colorverse Life on Mars ink Pen Chalet used for this review.

Colorverse Life on Mars Ink Review

We found the following traits during our review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink that you may find helpful when picking your next ink color:

Testing Factors

We used a J. Herbin glass dip pen on Rhodia dot pad paper for Pen Chalet’s review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink. The dip pen has a tip that is comparable to a fine-medium fountain pen nib.

Bottle Sizes

Colorverse’s unique, interesting bottles are one of the most compelling features of their ink. Colorverse Life on Mars ink comes in the small 15 ml. glass Colorverse bottle, part of a two-bottle set, alongside a 65 ml. bottle of a complementary ink Colorverse named Martian. Each ink bottle has a nub protruding from the bottom like a comet flying through space. Colorverse packages their ink nicely with built-in protective qualities. It even comes with some Colorverse ink “swag” that we think you’ll find interesting and fun.

Cost

The Colorverse Life on Mars ink set, which also includes Colorverse Martian ink, retails in the USA for $36.00 but is currently on sale at Pen Chalet for $30.00. The price, combined with the combination of two inks makes this fall into a reasonable mid-range price for fountain pen ink. In fact, all the Colorverse Red Planet ink sets are a reasonable mid-range price ink choice when considering the cost of the set includes two bottles of ink!

Dry Time

During our review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink, we found a dry time of approximately 6-7 seconds. The quick dry time makes Life on Mars an everyday ink option. Please note that different pens, nibs, papers, and writing styles will produce different results.

Bleed Through

During Pen Chalet’s review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink, normal use resulted in no bleeding. However, during our cotton swab test, we did notice a small amount of bleed-through, but only during the most saturated parts of the test.

Feathering

We found no feathering at all during our review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink during normal use on Rhodia dot pad paper. During the water test we conducted, we did notice a very slight amount of feathering and line distortion.

Water Test

During our review of Colorverse Life on Mars ink, we conducted a water test. During the water test, we run a soaking wet cotton swab over an ink sample after it dries for more than 3 minutes. Our results were better than average for non-waterproof ink. We saw only light color smearing and a slight amount of line distortion and feathering.

Shading

Colorverse Life on Mars ink has a nice amount of shading traits, from a dark blue-grey to a light muted grey color. Of course, this all depends on your writing style, nib, and penmanship.

Conclusions about Colorverse Life on Mars ink

Colorverse Life on Mars ink is an unusual muted blue-grey color reminiscent of the horizon at dusk. Life on Mars has a nice quick dry time, shades well and holds up well under a water mishap. Although the price is on the high side, when considering you get two bottles of complementary ink imported directly from Korea, this set falls mid-range on the price spectrum. Although man has not walked on Mars yet (except in the movies) our imagination can get us there using Colorverse Life on Mars ink. Happy writing from Korea and Mars!

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