(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
As far as orange inks go, I'm still dipping my toes into the orange pool. I don't always want an orange ink at the ready, but it's undeniable fun to have a couple of orange inks in the collection. Just like most things, I think my collection is destined to grow as I keep finding more orange inks that fill that orange void I didn't know I had.
Kaweco recently released a new slew of inks, and Sunrise Orange was one of them. Available in bottles and cartridges, this is a mellow orange that falls somewhere in between neon glow-in-the-dark orange and Diamine Ancient Copper. It has plenty of mellow brown and rust notes that tone down the bright orange, yellow, and red primaries. It's definitely an orange ink, but it's more subdued than what I'm used to. Most orange inks are fluorescent, in-your-face, non-apologetic flashes that pop off the page. With Sunrise Orange, you have an ink that almost passes the "office safe" test. Regardless, it's a gorgeous ink and I've really enjoyed using it this year.
Most inks that make it into my "favorite" lists have a fair amount of shading, and Sunrise Orange is no exception. Given the dramatic difference between the rust/brown base and the orange/yellow/red high end, it's no surprise that this ink has some fantastic shading properties. Even in a fine or extra fine nib, this ink shades well. As the nib gets larger, the shading gets more dramatic. Needless to say, it adds a lot of character to an ink that otherwise might be easy to skip.
Like other Kaweco inks, it doesn't have any noticeable issues with bleeding or feathering. It's a really well-behaved ink, and that's just what I'd expect from Kaweco. Cleaning is easy, it plays nicely with all types of nibs and papers, and has great flow/lubrication. One thing you won't find in this ink is a resistance to water, but that shouldn't be surprising.
Reliability also isn't a concern with this ink. It starts with no problems, even after being capped for a few days. If you leave the pen sitting on your desk for a few minutes, the ink flow returns with minimal effort and waiting. I haven't noticed this ink causing any skipping or flow issues in my pens, and it cleans out easily.
The only real downside to this ink is the dry time. It takes quite a while to dry in some cases. In the fine nib I've been using lately, it takes a good 30-35 seconds for the ink to dry completely in the heavier areas. Sure, the areas where the ink is light (lighter strokes) don't take more than 15 seconds to dry, but you have to watch out for the microscopic pools of ink to dry before running your hand over it. This is definitely a concern for left-handed writers, as well as anyone who tends to close a notebook quickly after jotting down some notes. The latter example would leave orange blots on the opposite page of the notebook. It's a minor complaint, but something to consider if dry time is important to you.
Apart from that, this is an incredible ink! The color is unique and fun, it shades like a rockstar, and it adds excitement to the page. Kaweco Sunrise Orange is available in a 30ml bottle or international short cartridges (packs of 6), so it's bound to work with any pen you fancy.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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