(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
There might be something wrong with me, because I can't stop trying turquoise inks to save my life. There's just something about the bright blue shade with hints of green and happiness that I can't get enough of. The latest in this obsession? Callifolio Bleu Pacifique.
Callifolio is made by l'Artisan Pastellier in France, and feature a wide array of colors and properties. With over 30 inks on offer, it's hard to narrow down the list.
Bleu Pacifique is inspired by the calm blue of the Pacific ocean on its best days. It's a light shade of the turquoise family, but still stunning. While not waterproof, this ink still has many positive attributes that make it a solid contender in the wide world of turquoise blue inks.
Depending on the nib you use with this ink, dry time can be pretty fast. In my testing with this EF TWSBI nib, it typically dries completely in about 8 - 12 seconds. That's fast, but it's a small nib. In other nibs, it takes around 15 - 20 seconds to fully dry. Still, not bad at all.
Perhaps my favorite thing about this ink (besides the color) is the shading properties. Like the body of water it's named after, it shifts between a light blue green and a darker blue with only a hint of green under the surface. The entire range of shades is beautiful, and I never get tired of looking at it and watching it morph between the strokes.
The ink flows really well, although it is a bit dry. In the short list of pens I've used with this ink, it wasn't a problem, but those pens are known to have fairly good flow to begin with. Only keep this in mind if you intend to use this in a pen that has known flow problems or tends to write on the dry side.
One area where this ink does not excel is when it comes to less than premium papers. If you use this in a standard Field Notes paper or anything similar (or worse), you can expect some significant bleeding, feathering, and show-through. Even in the EF nib on the TWSBI, this ink feathered like a river in my Field Notes book. But, anything with a coating on the paper or with better GSM will hold up spectacularly well with this ink. As such, I would only recommend this if you intend to use it with papers like Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Leuchtturm, Tomoe River, etc.
Cleaning out this ink is as simple as it should be. No complaints, hitches, or issues.
At the end of the day, I don't need any more turquoise inks in my collection, but I'm really glad I added this one. It's similar to everything else in the turquoise spectrum, but it still shades differently, has a lighter tone, drier flow, and fairly quick dry time compared to the others I have. It's a fantastic ink, and I highly recommend it if you're in the market for a great turquoise ink.
JetPens now stocks all 36 Callifolio inks, including Callifolio Bleu Pacifique, of course.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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