Ink Review - FPN Tulipe Noire

Here goes the first review of the week. I've got three planned so be sure to stay tuned for the rest of them!

Dumas Tulipe Noire is a specialty ink made for The Fountain Pen Network by Noodlers. This is a standard Noodlers ink, and is priced at their usual $12.00 a bottle for 3 oz., which I find extremely reasonable.

As far as I can tell, this ink is currently NOT available for order, but will hopefully be soon. Sales of this ink are managed by FPN admin, and thus are not always regular or predictable. Hopefully a new system will soon be implemented and this ink will become easier to purchase. When it is, I will be sure to link to it in this review.

Now, let's jump right in with the overview:

Overview:

FPN Tulipe Noire is an ink I'd normally not try, as I'm usually one for very vibrant/saturated colors. However, this ink was a sample sent to me by a good friend, so I decided I most certainly ought to give it a fair chance.

The results were surprisingly good! Tulipe Noire has torn-down some stereotypes that I had about subdued inks, and I think it's for the better.

Written review:

Ink Review: FPN Tulipe Noire

Pen and Nib:  TWSBI 540 - F nib

Color: Chalky magenta, if that makes sense. :)

Dry time: Between 5 and 10 seconds! Very good.

Smear when dry: NO

Shading: Yes, a slight amount. Very pretty looking too...

Lubrication: Decent - seems good to me.

Bleedthrough: Very tiny amount. Might be more in a larger nib.

Feathering: None really, except on cheap papers.

Scanned writing sample:

Overall my thoughts of Tulipe Noire are very positive. I think this ink may find a place in my permanent collection. The subdued tones are very formal, yet they're not boring like using plain old black ink. There is something about the deep magenta/wine-colored look that I really love.

As said in my comments about the color - it's almost "chalky" looking. The only other ink I've personally tried like this was Noodlers Luxury Blue, an ink that I really did not like.

The chalky look gives this ink a great texture however, and really adds to the effect/impression it makes. This ink would be perfect for letters and cards.

I think this ink is definitely worth purchasing a sample. Again, there are unfortunately none available right now as far as I know. But if you come across the chance to get a bottle (second hand on FPN perhaps), I would recommend you do so.

Eventually I'd like to post an addition to this review, showing a writing sample using a pen with a larger nib. I think the F nib may not quite fully show the beauty of this ink when scanned. We'll see. :)

Well, that pretty much wraps up my review of FPN Tulipe Noire!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you. Have you ever used Tulipe Noire? What did you think of it?

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Regards,

Tyler Dahl