Robert Oster Elfs Cap ink is one of four Limited Edition fountain pen inks in the prolific Australian company’s 2020 holiday ink series! At Pen Chalet, we enjoy a great partnership with Robert Oster, and love that you can see the dedication to both quality and creativity in the popular inks. Between the Signature Ink Series and the Robert Oster Shake N’ Shimmy ink series, we carry almost 150 fountain pen ink colors by Robert Oster.

All About the Ink Maker: Robert Oster

Now and then, Robert Oster creates Limited Edition inks. Last week, we released a Limited Edition exclusive ink called Antelope Canyon (which enjoyed instant and wild popularity). If you haven’t officially joined the Antelope Canyon ink fan club yet, check back on Fountain Pen Day for a special promotion…

This week’s featured ink is another Limited Edition Robert Oster ink from a set of 4 inks released just in time for the 2020 holiday season! The Limited Edition Robert Oster 2020 Holiday inks include:

• Elfs Cap
• Silent Nite
• Santa’s Hangover
• Chocolate Pudding

This week we’re reviewing Elf’s Cap from the Limited Edition Robert Oster 2020 Holiday ink series.

Featured Ink: Robert Oster Elfs Cap

Robert Oster Elfs Cap fountain pen ink is a bright, vibrant green color – one that seems to accurately represent what most people envision when thinking of a Christmas Elf’s pointed hat or “cap.” The brilliant green shows up well on paper and is a fun addition for anyone looking for green fountain pen ink for holiday notes, holiday cards, projects, etc. But don’t forget, this is a Limited Edition fountain pen ink, so if you’re interested in having a bottle of your own, get it now before they’re gone.

*** Now, in a perfect world, you’d all read the full review start to finish, but we don’t live in a perfect world, and we know some of you just dropped in to enter to win the bottle of ink used for this week’s giveaway and get on about your day. We’ll allow it. Skip down to the bottom of the review to find the link to enter to win the bottle used for the review.

It’s Time: Limited Edition Elfs Cap Ink Review

This week we put Robert Oster’s LE Elfs Cap fountain pen ink through our standard ink review tests. Read on to see what we found out!

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) on Rhodia dot pad paper during the fountain pen ink review.

What Ink Bottle Does Robert Oster Use?

Robert Oster Elfs Cap ink comes in their standard 50 ml. PET environmentally friendly plastic bottle with a leak-proof cap. Each bottle is identical. A simple white printed label printed shows and states the color of the ink. The Regular Edition ink lids are black (while the Shake’ N’ Shimmy ink lids are silver). Robert Oster inks use no additional packaging, which keeps the cost down (and cuts back on unnecessary waste).

How Much Does Elfs Cap Ink Cost?

Elfs Cap fountain pen ink comes at a reasonable, mid-range price for a 50 ml. bottle. Check for the latest discounted price at PenChalet.com.

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

We conducted a 1-dip test with 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 writing samples, “S,” “X,” and scribble lines to see how well the pen performs). Elfs Cap very easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples with lots of ink to spare.

How Fast Does this Week’s Ink Dry?

This Limited Edition fountain pen ink showed a dry time of about 6-8 seconds with medium saturation, which is a reasonable dry time that makes it suitable for everyday use.

Does Elfs Cap Ink Bleed Through?

We saw no bleeding during normal use. And we only saw very slight bleeding during the heavy saturated cotton swab test, but only at the wettest point.

Was There Any Feathering While Using Robert Oster Elfs Cap Ink?

We saw no feathering during normal use on Rhodia paper. We did notice some slight feathering during the water test (typical with any non-waterproof ink).

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. Again, Robert Oster’s Elfs Cap ink isn’t waterproof, so it’s not surprising that we saw some light color smearing – it’s pretty typical. The lines were still clear and legible with some very slight distortion, feathering, and fading.

Does Robert Oster Elfs Cap Ink Have Good Shading Traits?

This week’s ink showed nice shading possibilities (if you’re using the right fountain pen nib and depending on your penmanship).

Final Conclusion on Robert Oster Elfs Cap Ink:

Elfs Cap is a bright, vivid holiday green ink color made by a well-regarded (and prolific) Australian ink company, Robert Oster. Robert Oster inks come at a reasonable price for a 50 ml. ink bottle and have a reasonable dry time (6-7 seconds). In addition to offering an excellent array of ink colors, and a reputation for inks you can rely on to perform, Robert Oster also goes out of their way to decrease their carbon footprint with PET plastic ink bottles and minimal packaging, which we appreciate. Elfs Cap ink is also a Limited Edition, so get all four in the set to commemorate the 2020 holiday season before they’re gone. Happy Holidays from Down Under!

Enter to Win Robert Oster Elfs Cap Ink:

Enter to win the actual bottle of Robert Oster Elfs Cap ink that Pen Chalet used in this week’s ink review: