We’re going Italian this week with a NEW ink sold exclusively at Pen Chalet, check out the Pineider Red ink review! And, of course, the bottle of ink used for this week’s ink review will also be up for grabs in the weekly giveaway. Let’s get this ink review party started with a little bit of background info on the ink maker, Pineider. 

All About the Ink Maker: Pineider

Pineider is a historic Italian company that opened as a stationery store in Florence, Italy back in 1774. They were first known for creating exclusive (and very exceptional) stationery. In the years since, they have expanded their product line, and they now offer: pens, stationery, ink, ink wells, and a snorkel filler.

Pineider fountain pen inks are already available in Europe, but now they’re available in the USA (but only at PenChalet.com). If you can’t already tell, Pen Chalet is a proud authorized retailer of all Pineider products.

Pineider Fountain Pen Inks Now Available in the US: Exclusively at PenChalet.com

Pineider fountain pen inks are made in Italy and come in six classic fountain pen ink colors: Black, Blue, Green, Red, Sepia, and Turquoise. Since their arrival, we’ve posted ink reviews of Pineider Green ink and Pineider Blue ink. This week, we’ll be bringing you the Pineider Green ink review.

This Week’s Featured Ink: Pineider Red (Rosso) Ink

Pineider Red (Rosso) ink is a light red color that has a hint of pink peeking through. This is not a fire engine red, but more of a dusty candy red. While this is a bit of a lighter red ink color, it shows up well on paper. 

It’s Time: Pineider Red Ink Review

This week we put Pineider Red ink through our standard ink review tests…check the image below to see a visual of the Pineider Red ink review results. And read on for a summary and our final conclusions about this week’s ink. 

***In a rush? Experiencing a decided lack of patience? Not in the mood to read? Well, never fear, we’ll forgive you if you skip the full review and just jump directly to the bottom so you can enter to win the bottle of ink used for this week’s review. You can always come back and read the full review later. 

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):

We used a French-made J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen (with a tip comparable to a medium-fine fountain pen nib) and french-made Rhodia dot pad paper.

{In the photo of this week’s ink showing an “ink splat”, you can see how the Pineider Red ink performs on another popular, fountain pen safe paper, Clairefontaine Triomphe).

{If you’re interested in seeing how this week’s ink performs on the Col-o-ring Ink Tester by The Well Appointed Desk, you can catch the quick weekly ink review prep video we post to Tik Tok or Instagram Reels each week. You’ll get to see as we create an ink splat, and show off the ink using a qtip as well as a dip pen. You can find @penchalet on Tik Tok and Instagram}.

Let’s talk about the Pineider Ink Bottle:

Pineider fountain pen ink comes in a large squared 75 ml. (2.5 oz.) capacity bottle, with a medium sized, ribbed lid for easy opening. The Pineider packaging is simple and effective.

How Much Does Pineider Fountain Pen Ink Cost?

Pineider Red ink is a very reasonably priced ink for the large quantity of Italian-made fountain pen ink. Remember to check for the latest discount prices on your favorite pens and fountain pen inks at PenChalet.com.

How Did This Week’s Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?

We conducted a 1-dip test with Pineider Red ink using a J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen and Rhodia dot pad paper. (For the 1-Dip Test, we dip the pen in ink once for each of three different writing samples. The three writing samples include: “S,” “X,” and scribble lines. The test looks for how well the ink performs on paper by showing if the pen runs out of ink before completing a full line). Pineider Red ink easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples with medium saturation.

How Fast Does the Pineider Red Ink Dry?

Pineider Red ink showed a dry time of about 6-7 seconds with medium saturation; which is reasonably quick. We’ recommend this ink for any application.

Does Pineider’s Red Ink Bleed Through?

We saw absolutely no bleeding during normal use of Pineider Red ink. We did see an almost imperceptible bleed through during the heavy saturated cotton swab test.

Was There Any Feathering While Using Pineider Red Ink?

We saw no feathering during normal use, but we did see some slight feathering during the water test (more info on the water test coming up next).

How Does the Ink Stand Up to Water?

For the water test, we let an ink sample dry for about 3 minutes before running a wet cotton swab over the sample. This week’s ink isn’t waterproof, and we very light color smearing, but the lines were still very legible. We saw almost no additional feathering during the water test.

What About Shading & Sheening Traits?

During our Pineider Red ink review, we saw some really nice shading traits (if you have a nib that allows ink flow variation like a stub or italic). We saw a dark red color, as well as a variety of lighter red and pink shades.

Final Conclusion on this Week’s Featured Pineider Ink:

Pineider Red fountain pen ink is very reasonably priced. Especially when you consider that you’re purchasing a large, 75ml bottle of ink manufactured in Italy. We really liked the clear, neat packaging, simple color labeling, and medium-sized, easy open lid. The ink is a beautiful red-pink color, and holds it own in the Pineider ink lineup (including 6 basic everyday ink color options). It’s also useful that Pineider red ink showed a very reasonable dry time so it can join the other Pineider inks we’ve reviewed as a recommended everyday ink choice. Happy writing from Florence, Italy!

*UPDATE: Pineider fountain pen inks are no longer a US Exclusive product at PenChalet.com as of July 2021, but they are still available, and still an excellent choice for fountain pen fans.

Enter to Win a Pineider Fountain Pen Ink:

Enter to win the actual bottle of Pineider Red fountain pen ink that Pen Chalet used in this week’s ink review: