For this week’s ink review, we’re checking out Sailor USA 50 States Series Texas fountain pen ink. That’s a mouthful. Let’s start over. Earlier this year (2020), Sailor released a new ink series, the USA 50 States ink series. This exciting ink series will eventually include 50 fountain pen inks, each of which will be a unique color inspired by or attributable to the state the ink is named after. Sailor already released Colorado fountain pen ink and California fountain pen ink, but they recently released two more: Texas ink and New York ink. Today, you can read all about Sailor Texas ink. Plus, after you read the full ink review, you can enter to win the bottle of ink we used during the review. 

All About the Ink Maker: Sailor

This week’s ink is made by well known and loved Sailor Ink Company. With Sailor’s wide variety of ink colors (over 68 different fountain pen ink colors), it’s not hard to find an ink you need to add to your collection. Sailor is also known for using ITF Technology (European Ink Treatment Formula) to improve ink flow quality and allow fountain pen users to leave their inked fountain pen uncapped longer without the pen drying out. It also acts as a lubricant for the fountain pen’s feeding system to help prevent clogging. 

For this week’s ink review and giveaway, we’re looking at another 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 States Ink Series

This week’s ink, Sailor Texas fountain pen ink, is one of 2 new inks recently released from the USA 50 States ink series (there are now four total available in this Sailor 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:

• Colorado 
• California
• New York
• Texas (this week’s featured ink)

And, of course, 46 more inks coming soon for the other 46 states in the USA. Pen Chalet is a proud, authorized retailer of Sailor products. We carry a full range of Sailor fountain pens and fountain pen inks. This week’s featured fountain pen ink, Sailor Texas ink from the USA 50 States ink series, is in stock now at Pen Chalet and ready to ship! 

All About This Week’s Chosen Ink: Sailor Texas Ink

What do you think of when you think of Texas? Looking at Sailor’s Texas fountain pen ink, we imagine that when they closed their eyes to think of the great state of Texas, they were thinking of the wide-open spaces – dusty, desert landscapes dotted with cattle and horses, as well as the accouterments that go along with the “out west” image: saddles, belts, boots, etc. Sailor’s vision of Texas comes to life in a nice, brown ink color with medium saturation. It’s not too dark, and it’s not too light, and it has plenty of shading traits.

*** Are you a full review reader? We’re about to dive into the nitty-gritty details of this week’s review tests. If you’re not a full review reader, you can skip to the bottom to enter to win the bottle of ink used in this week’s ink review. Just don’t forget to come back and read the rest of the review later if you’re interested in Sailor Texas ink. 

It’s Time: Sailor USA 50 States Texas Ink

This week we put Sailor Texas fountain pen ink through our standard ink review tests. And here’s what happened.

Read the full Sailor USA 50 States Texas Ink Review.

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):

We list the “other” products and accessories used during weekly ink reviews in this section before we start looking at the test results. We completed this week’s review of Sailor Texas fountain pen ink with a French-made J Herbin spiral glass dip pen (with a tip similar to a medium-fine fountain pen nib) on Rhodia dot pad paper. Using different papers or different nib sizes may produce different results, but knowing what we were working with allows you to create a starting point.

What Sort of Ink Bottle Does Sailor Use?

Sailor Texas ink comes in the standard 20 ml. Sailor ink bottle. The small, square bottle is the same one used for Sailor Shikiori fountain pen inks. Sailor packaging has a solid overall presentation. We like the heavy-weighted ink bottle and the simple label that names the state (doubling as the ink color name). 

How Much Does Sailor USA 50 Ink Cost?

Sailor USA 50 ink is on the higher-priced end of the spectrum for fountain pen inks considering the 20 ml. ink bottle size, but you can find discounted pricing at Pen Chalet.

How Did Sailor Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?

We used the 1-dip test to see how far the ink can write on paper with “1 dip.” We dipped our J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen in Sailor Texas ink once for each writing sample shown above (“S,” “X,” and scribble lines). This week’s ink easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples and had ink to spare. 

How Fast Does the Sailor USA 50 Ink Dry?

During our review, Sailor Texas fountain pen ink had a dry time of approximately 10-11 seconds with medium to high saturation. The dry time was a bit longer than we expected. 

Does Sailor Texas Ink Bleed Through?’

We saw absolutely no bleeding during normal use of Sailor’s Texas ink on Rhodia dot pad paper. Surprisingly, we only saw a very slight amount of bleeding during the heavily saturated cotton swab test (and that very slight amount of bleed was only at the wettest points). For a medium to high saturation ink, that’s impressive.  

Was There Any Feathering While Using Texas Ink?

We saw no feathering during normal use of Sailor Texas ink, but there was some slight additional feathering during the water test. 

How Does Sailor USA 50 Ink Stand Up to Water?

Sailor Texas ink is not a waterproof ink, but we always include a water test. (For the water test, we let an ink sample dry for about 3 minutes before running a wet cotton swab over the sample). With Sailor Texas ink, we saw light color smearing, but it was definitely lighter than we expected for this dark of an ink color. The lines were legible, but with some slight distortion (see image above). 

Does Sailor Texas Ink Have Good Shading Traits?

With the right nib and penmanship, Sailor Texas ink offers the potential for nice shading. If you’re hoping for shading traits, it’s a good idea to start with a nib that allows ink flow variation like a stub or italic nib. We saw a nice, deep, dark brown at the wettest points all the way to a light brown-orange shade (reminiscent of some classic leather products you might find cowboys using to rustle up cattle or break some wild horses out in that dusty, desert Texas landscape).  

Final Conclusion on Sailor USA 50 States Texas Ink:

This week’s featured ink, Sailor USA 50 States Texas ink, is higher priced fountain pen ink (considering the size of the bottle). Inspired by Texas state, the lovely brown ink color offers a nice, wide range of browns (through shading). Made by well-loved Sailor Ink Company, the USA 50 States Ink Series inks is a high-performance ink safe for fountain pens, and comes in their smaller, 20 ml. ink bottle. Sailor Texas ink has a reasonable dry time (although a smidge longer than we expected), but we’d still consider it appropriate for everyday use. Remember that the inks in this ink series are collectible, so start now if you eventually want to have all 50 states in the ink series. Happy writing from Texas via Japan!   

Enter to Win Sailor Texas Ink:

Enter to win the actual bottle of Sailor Texas ink that Pen Chalet used in this week’s ink review:

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