(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Monteverde USA recently introduced a whole new line of ink colors, all with their ITF (Ink Treatment Formula) technology. I chose several colors to review, the first of which is Yosemite Green.
The 30ml bottle comes in a clear, flexible plastic box that includes a card explaining the ITF technology in their ink. It states that the ink improves ink flow, extends time with the cap off, lubricates the feed system, and improves dry time.
I tested the ink in my vintage Visconti Manhattan with a medium nib. My ink tests revealed that the ink is a yellow-green with a slightly bluish tint. The ink is wet and flows quite nicely in my medium nib. The ink is not waterproof and exhibits no odor.
I honestly did not notice any difference in ink flow or lubrication with this ink as opposed to other inks I use regularly. It also seemed to have dry times comparable with other inks, such as Robert Oster. I don’t leave my caps off when I’m not writing, especially on my older pens, so I did not test the claim that the ink allows extended time with the cap off.
Chromatography shows that the ink has strong yellow, green, and blue shades in it.
The blue offsets the yellow for a rather unique shade. I compared Yosemite Green with my other green inks and none of them was a match.
The ink exhibits a gorgeous maroon sheen in ink splats.
And the same sheen and good shading comes out nicely in broad nibs. And, at least on Tomoe River Paper, I noticed some sheen even with my medium nib (not pictured).
I honestly didn’t know what to expect with Monteverde inks, but I’m impressed with Yosemite Green. It’s a really nice green with hints of blue and it works well in both narrow and wide nibs, though broader nibs bring out the shading and sheen more.
You can purchase Monteverde inks from JetPens for $8.00 (30 ml bottle).
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
