MonteverdeBottle Ink, 30ml, Raven-Noir (G309VN)

Loved it! I picked three shades overall from the same brand and they’re all perfectly pigmented and a joy to use with fountain pens.

Dense ink, great color, worth the wait.

This is a wet ink, meaning it flows easier than most other inks, puts down more ink than "dry" inks, draws a thicker line, will take a bit longer (a few seconds) to dry, and has an easier time bleeding on cheap paper.This is RED, like red nail polish red. Deeper (not darker) red than coke can red, but not shiny. I want a sports car painted with this red; the pictures don't get the shade right. I really like this shade of red, most other reds are darker towards maroon or lighter towards pink. This writes in intense red and it stays the same color red when it dries. I cannot say enough good things about this red!My normal ink is Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue which is a dry ink. As soon as I switched to Ruby Red, i noticed right away that the ink flowed faster. My EF nib lets me write on cheap paper; with the Pelikan ink that was true, with this Monteverde Ruby Red ink, I can still write on cheap paper but it writes like a FINE nib. My EF thin lines are definitely thicker. Paper is good enough that is still isn't bleeding but I've got concerns using this with a medium nib pen would be too much for the cheap paper I use (generic A5 spiral dotted notebook w/ 100gsm paper, about $5-6 on amazon). Your experience may vary depending how cheap you went on paper :)On my monitor, the pictures of Ruby Red seems a bit orangish (same for google image searches for this ink) almost looking like a mango orange. There is definitely no orange when writing w/ a FP. A cartridge rollerball like the Herbin is lighter shade of the same red simply because its so stingy with the amount it puts down. The Frixion red leaning towards a pinkish hue, the rollerball is red but not as intense, and the FP red is intense. This is a deep red, not a dark red. Think candy apple red, without the shine. Think the color of a crayola red crayon (the actual crayon, not the color it makes on the paper).Like I said, I want a sports car in this color...

Monteverde did a good job with the formulation of this ink. It actually has a good ruby color. To get more pop of the color the usual applies of fountain pen friendly paper, clean pen, etc. Solid middle of the spectrum in regards to wet/dry. Well behaved in all the pens I tried it in. Personally my preference is towards the darker reds and while this is a good color overall it's still a touch to translucent when dry. If that makes any sense.Overall good ink.

When it comes to fountain pens, the ultimate ink for me is black, and the paper white, for classic clarity of my writing. Some think black ink is boring, and that black ink is black ink. They're quite wrong. Appreciation of the variety in black inks requires a much more discerning eye that can detect the nuances of each ink. Granted, it's not one of the glittery shimmery inks (although there are blackish inks available with glittery flecks), nor is it a flashy color. It's rock solid classic black. It stands tall on the page. It makes a statement.Raven Noir is my first Monteverde ink, and my twenty-third black ink. Yep, 23rd. I have been writing with fountain pens for quite a while. I have extensive samples of them all, on various paper, and using pens with various nib widths. For comparison and consistency, I use a 6mm poster nib on a dip pen, so I can readily examine the qualities of each ink, on HP Premium 32 lb. paper, and usually samples also on the exceptional Rhodia, Calirefontaine and Tomoe River papers.Now, ravens are my favorite bird, and I love watching them. Noir is my favorite film genre, and I love watching them. How could I pass up an in called Raven Noir? Yep, I bought it based on its name. I stayed for its beauty and performance. It has become one of my favorite inks.I use mostly broad, stub and italic nibs. Most of my writing with this ink has been on a broad #6 nib. It's a wet one, and shows off whatever ink is running down it. The ink itself is medium to dry. Monteverde inks contain lubricants, and it flowed flawlessly for me. There is no shading. There is only the slightest sheen, and only on the Tomoe River paper. It won't be noticeable in most cases. The drying time was impressive for such a wet broad nib: 7 seconds on HP Premium 32 lb, 20 seconds on Rhodia 21.3 lb, and 60 seconds on Tomoe River. I have not experienced smearing or smudging. Raven Noir feathers on copier paper, moderate feathering on HP Premium 32 lb, but no feathering on Rhodia or Tomoe River. Monteverde claims that the lubricants make for extended cap-off time, and it's true. I don't have to worry about taking a little time before I start writing again. The writing performance was very satisfactory; the kind of ink that makes you want to just keep writing and writing.How does it stack up against my other 22 black inks? In terms of blackness, it's in the top seven or so. It's not as black black as the infamous black blacks, such as Noodler's Heart of Darkness, Noodler's Black, or DeAtramentis Document Black. In terms of how opaque it is, it's somewhere in the middle of the pack. There is a very slight purplish tint, and chromatography showed a fascinating and complex layering of colors: green, blue, blue-gray, brown and even a pink.I love this ink, and that says a lot, as I'm quite picky about my inks. It will stay in my black ink rotation. I'll also be checking out more Monteverde inks.

It's good ink. Works well. But it's not really purple: it's more lavender. I shall continue my search for a robust and royal purple.

This was my first green bottled ink and what a way to dive into this color. Normally I'm more of a purple, magenta or turquoise ink fan but I decided to step out of my comfort zone. The olivine is a gorgeous color, just like the gemstone it's named for. It looks great in my converted Platinum Preppy and glides over my Clairefontaine paper. Love it.