Inkvent 2025 - Day 5

Today Diamine and Slackvent took the round, as the Colorvent ink was too dark for my tastes.

Swatches

Colorverse

With a name like The Void, it was clear the ink was going to be really dark. When I first swatched it, it looked like black with a brown or gold sheen, but seeing the scan, it appears to be a really dark blue or blue-purple. It's also pretty wet compared to the previous inks, so perhaps this is a sheening ink? Either way, not for me.

Diamine

The very bright gold label on the bottle for this ink piqued my interest from the start. I didn't know what Marie Rose referred to, but I was happy to see it was a standard ink. Upon swatching, it looks like a peachy golden color. The scan looks a little bit flat compared to how it looks in real life. I'm not normally a fan of peachy colors, but this one looks nice with the yellow (and brown?) tones. Apparently Marie Rose is a British sauce, like a fry or burger sauce. And the color of the ink mimics the sauce color, which at its simplest could be mayo and ketchup.

Slackvent

I shouldn't be declaring "winners" for each day; it's just my preference. I will say that I was most grateful for today's Slackvent sample, because Pilot Ina-ho is discontinued, and therefore a generous gift. Upon first swatching, Ina-ho kind of reminded me of a golden wheat color, with a tinge of green, not quite dark enough to be "swampy", but leaning in that direction. It is actually meant to be like the color of golden "rice ears" (from the Well-Appointed Desk review). It definitely matches up with my "odd inks" preference. There are several inks that people have mentioned look close to Ina-ho, and even recipes of Iroshizuku inks to reproduce an Ina-ho lookalike, like this. While it's not a match for my Lavender Fog Pilot Custom 74, I think it'll be a good complementary color to try with its soft-fine nib.

Previously: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

Which was your preference from today? Have you ever tried Pilot Ina-ho? Do you have another discontinued ink you'd share with others in a sample swap, despite its scarcity? Let's discuss here, or catch me on Mastodon or Bluesky.