Rohrer and Klingner Ink Review

Massdrop kindly sent me 12 Rohrer & Klingner inks to test. 8 standard Schreibtinte writing inks, 2 containing iron gall and 4 Super5 waterproof inks.

Cassia – A solid even/flat purple colour that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out evenly with no other hidden colours. Reacts with the bleach and eventually turns white with blue. A deep rich purple colour when used for writing.

Pernambuco – A solid even/flat red colour that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out evenly with no other hidden colours. Reacts with the bleach and eventually turns white gold. A deep rich red colour when used for writing.

Solferino –  A solid even/flat rich crimson colour that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out evenly with no other hidden colours. Reacts with the bleach and eventually turns white. A deep crimson colour when used for writing.

Magenta –  A solid even/flat rich magenta colour that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out evenly with no other hidden colours. Reluctanctly reacts with the bleach and eventually turns white. A deep magenta colour when used for writing.

Royal Blue –  A solid even/flat rich royal blue colour that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out evenly with no other hidden colours. Reacts with the bleach and eventually turns white gold. A deep royal blue colour when used for writing.

Viridian Green –  A thick dark rich blue/green that bleeds easily when added to water and washes out forest greens and bright peacock blues in the breakdown areas. Took a while to react with the bleach eventually turning white gold. A deep green colour when used for writing.

Salix –  Stunning. This one of the 2 inks containing iron gall. A thick dark blue/grey ink that bleeds in a peculiar way when added to water. Take a look. Reacts with bleach turning gold. A deep rich blue/grey when used for writing. Really liked this. Exciting.

Scabiosa –  Stunning. This the other one of the 2 inks containing iron gall. A thick dark burgundy ink that bleeds in a peculiar way when added to water. Take a look. Reluctance to react with bleach. A deep rich burgundy when used for writing. Really liked this. Exciting.

Darmstaat –  This is a waterproof Super 5 ink and so the pigment floats on top of the water wash before settling and drying. No hidden colours. No reaction with bleach. A dark cool black when used for writing.

Frankfurt –  This is a waterproof Super 5 ink and so the pigment floats on top of the water wash before settling and drying. No hidden colours. No reaction with bleach. A dark warm black when used for writing.

Delhi –  This is a waterproof Super 5 ink and so the pigment floats on top of the water wash before settling and drying. No hidden colours. No reaction with bleach. A dark orange when used for writing.

Dublin –  This is a waterproof Super 5 ink and so the pigment floats on top of the water wash before settling and drying. No hidden colours. No reaction with bleach. A deep olive when used for writing.

All of the Schreibtinte inks apart from the Viridian Green, appear to be made up of one colour with no blends. These are good quality inks and very stable. The iron gall inks are fascinating and I will be sure to revisit these. Purely from a creative angle, they are not as dynamic as other brands, but for calligraphy and fountain pen usage they are historically proven.

Inks kindly supplied by Massdrop.

All samples on Bockingford 200lb rough watercolour stock.