This week we’re bringing you a Sailor California Ink review. This week’s featured ink is from the new Sailor USA 50 State ink series. Each of the inks in Sailor’s 50 states ink series is inspired by and named after one of the 50 states in the United States of America. California fountain pen ink is one of the first two inks Sailor released from the 50 states ink series along with Colorado fountain pen ink.
All About the Ink Maker: Sailor
Most of us already know and love Sailor. Currently offering over 68 colors of fountain pen inks using ITF Technology (European Ink Treatment Formula). So, in addition to being safe for all fountain pens, Sailor inks’ ITF technology significantly improves ink flow quality and lengthens the time an inked fountain pen can stay uncapped without drying out. The technology lubricates the pen’s feeding system to protect it against clogging.
For this week’s ink review and giveaway, we’ll focus on an ink from Sailor’s USA 50 State Series. The 50 States series is one of 6 Sailor Ink Series available in the USA:
- USA 50 States Ink Series
- Manyo Ink Series
- Jentle Ink Series
- Basic Ink Series
- Shikiori Ink Series
- Pigmented Ink Series
- Highlighter Ink (part of the Jentle Series)
All About the Ink Series: Sailor USA 50 State Ink Series
This week’s ink, Sailor California fountain pen ink, is one of 2 new inks in the USA 50 States ink series. Inks in the USA 50 States ink series are made in Japan and each presents a unique color attributable to the state serving as the ink’s namesake. Sailor’s USA 50 State ink series includes:
- California (this week’s featured ink)
- Colorado
And, of course, 48 more inks coming soon for the other 48 states in the USA.
Pen Chalet is a proud, authorized retailer of Sailor products with a full range of Sailor fountain pens and fountain pen inks. Find your next Sailor product at Pen Chalet. This week’s featured fountain pen ink, Sailor California ink from the USA 50 States ink series, is in stock now at Pen Chalet in limited supply!
All About This Week’s Chosen Ink: Sailor California Ink
Sailor’s California ink is part of Sailor’s USA 50 States ink series. California fountain pen ink is a beautiful, deep, blue teal color reminiscent of the waves of the Pacific that frequent California’s gorgeous coastline. California ink shows up well with medium saturation.
*** Don’t stop now. Keep reading for a chance to win the bottle of Sailor California fountain pen ink used for this week’s Pen Chalet Ink Review. (Or if patience is not one of your virtues, scroll down to the bottom. You’ll find the link to enter this week’s giveaway. We won’t even be disappointed in your behavior. Not very disappointed anyway).
It’s Time: Sailor USA 50 States California Ink Review
This week we got up close and personal with California ink from Sailor’s USA 50 States ink series. You’ll find that we ran all our regular tests and gathered all the details you’ll need to decide if this is an ink you need to add to your collection. Keep reading to get the full ink review.
Ink Review Testing Factors (because we’re very scientific):
This week we reviewed Sailor California fountain pen ink. While completing the review, we used a J Herbin spiral glass dip pen (which has a tip similar to a medium-fine fountain pen nib) on French-made Rhodia dot pad paper. We list products we used during our weekly ink reviews here because different papers and nib sizes may produce different results. Remember that as you consider our review the conclusions we draw about this week’s fountain pen ink.
What Sort of Ink Bottle Does Sailor Use?
Sailor California ink comes the standard small, square 20 ml. Sailor ink bottle. (You may have seen it used before for one of Sailor’s Shikiori inks). As typical with Sailor fountain pen inks, USA 50 States ink series packaging offers a nice presentation. The ink bottles are heavy-weighted and include a simple label naming the name of the ink/state that inspired the ink.
How Much Does Sailor California Ink Cost?
Sailor California ink is a higher end priced ink considering that it comes in a 20 ml. bottle. If you’re looking for a better price on this high quality, fountain pen ink, consider checking out the discounted pricing available at Pen Chalet.
How Did California Ink Respond During the 1 Dip Test?
We put Sailor’s California fountain pen ink to the test with our newest standard review rest: the 1 Dip Test. We use this test to see how far one dip can write on paper (dipping the pen in ink only once). Sailor’s California ink very easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples with ink to spare. (We used one dip per writing sample). Writing samples included: S, X, and scribble lines (see the photograph of the samples above).
How Fast Does Sailor California Ink Dry?
Sailor California fountain pen ink had a longer dry time than we expected, approximately 15-20 seconds with medium to high saturation. It’s definitely a longer dry time than we like to see for an everyday home-office ink.
Does Sailor California Ink Bleed Through?
We saw no bleeding during normal use of Sailor’s California fountain pen ink. We noticed only a very slight amount of bleeding during the heavy saturated cotton swab test (and only a slight amount at the wettest points).
Was There Any Feathering?
We saw no feathering during normal use and some slight additional feathering during the water test.
How Does Sailor California Ink Stand Up to Water?
This week’s ink is not meant to be waterproof, but we put every weekly ink to the water test regardless. Our weekly ink review’s water test consists of letting the ink sample dry for about three minutes before running a wet cotton swab over the sample. During the water test of Sailor’s California ink we saw heavy color smearing only, which is typical for a dark color. The lines were still legible, but with some slight distortion.
Does California Fountain Pen Ink Have Good Shading Traits?
Sailor California ink has some slight possibly shading traits if you use a nib that allows ink flow variation (like a stub or italic nib). While we were testing, the lines were pretty consistent though, without a lot of shading. Very dark inks with medium to high saturation tend to produce minimal shading traits. But shading traits depend heavily on what type of nib you are working with, and your handwriting.
Final Conclusion on Sailor California Ink:
This week’s high-performance fountain pen ink is a higher range priced fountain pen ink by well-known Sailor Pen Company. Safe for use with all fountain pens, Sailor California ink is one of the first two ink colors released in the company’s USA 50 States ink series. Inks in Sailor’s USA 50 States ink series come in small, square, 20 ml. ink bottles. Inspired by the Pacific blue that lines California’s coastline and the waves that crash along its shores, Sailor California ink is a nice, dark, teal blue color with a longer dry time than you may expect at 15-20 seconds.
This collectible ink is one of only two that Sailor released so far in their USA 50 States ink series. Inks in this series are bound to become hard to find collector’s items, so ink lovers should start now if they eventually want to include all 50 states in their fountain pen ink collection.
Happy writing from Japan!
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Teal is one of my favourite colours ans Sailor quality is wonderful so YES, I’d love to add this to my ink collection.
Pretty color and what an amazing idea! 50 different colors? Cant wait to see Texas!
This is a cool idea! I would love to win this and can’t wait to see my state!
So pretty! I want to see Michigan next!
I love this color, finally a teal I can get behind!
Amazing color and giveaway!
The Color reminds me of the song Going to California by Led Zeppelin
Beautiful teal shade and California was quite predictable. It reminds me of Lamy Pacific. I wonder what shade would represent Hawaii 5-O.
Again I have to say, Teal is one of my favorite colors, in all it’s varieties, and avian representatives.
I am really starting to like teals. This one is nice.
This color looks lovely! My favorite ink is Jacques Herbin Emerald of Chivor. It’s such a stunning green!
I love teal and I used to live on the coast of southern California. So i’d love this isk
I’ve never used a sailor ink before :O and I LOVE the darker colours
Fingers crossed! Lovely ink
While I love teal, I find this ink, without character…..That is not an ink I wish to win 🙂
Teal is my favorite ink color! I love it!
Can’t wait to see all of the states. They should do some sort of inkvent type calendar… kind of like collecting all 50 state quarters but with sample inks.
That’s a lovely color, I want to see what they have in store for the other states.
Love this color and can’t wait to see the rest of the 50 states!
I use a lot of teal and turquoise! Would love to see the Aurora 100th Year series!
I really like the color, but there’s already a lot of teals out there. The dry time is a little long too. Wouldn’t mind giving it a try though since it’s Sailor! Can’t wait to see all the states!
That’s a really nice teal ink
I’m becoming a big fan of teal inks, and this is no exception! I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the inks in the state series!
Looks great! Love real and turquoise inks!
I have never considered teal ink before… but this has caught my eye!
I only have a sparkley teal ink. It would be good to have something a little less in your face
Looks good. Dont know much about shading and more complicated parts of ink, but it looks really pretty.