Ferris Wheel Press Steeped Umber
Ink Review #39
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
With the finer nibs, Steeped Umber was a mostly solid color. You might notice small traces of shading, but it was overall unnoticeable on all of the test pages. As the nib size goes up, you’ll begin noticing a soft, almost milky gradient between varied shades of brown. I find that the darker tones often overpower the lighter elements of the shading in this ink, which contributes to its milky appearance. Wetter nibs will facilitate that further, and you may start to notice some black edging around the letters. Drier nibs will make the color come through lighter, but personally, I find that this ink doesn’t have adequate lubrication to use comfortably in drier-tuned nibs.
Ink splat
Ink droplets
Performance on paper:
Steeped Umber mostly performed well. I didn’t experience any bleed-through or feathering on most of the test pages, though there was some minor bleeding on the Kokuyo. While testing the dry times in the Leuchtturm notebook, I experienced some minor feathering with the architect nib. I’m not sure what caused this. The behavior wasn’t typical and it shouldn’t represent the inks performance as a whole. Steeped Umber should perform well on most fountain pen-friendly papers.
The dry times were average. The finer nibs seemed to dry faster than normal, and I found that the dry times were noticeably better on the Maruman and Kokuyo papers. There was one case on Tomoe River paper where the dry time extended past the 30-second mark, but the overall dry times were still more than adequate.
The water resistance is interesting. It has some color retention, but it also leaves behind grey shadows of whatever was written. When water hits the ink, it creates a brown cloud over the writing, but the legibility may have actually been better if the color had washed away more.
Some of the Bleed-through on the Kokuyo paper, as well as the feathering I experienced during the tests on Leuchtturm.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
Steeped umber behaved well. It has a medium-dry flow, but I never experienced any issues with hard starts, skips, or stops during my tests. I think the lubrication of the ink could be better, but the writing experience is still adequate. If you want a slightly better writing experience though, maybe use this ink with a wetter pen.
The cleaning process was easy and painless. The ink washed away with a few basic flushes, and there wasn’t any lingering color in the nib units or the piston.
Value/cost per ml:
The standard price for Steeped Umber at the time of writing is $22 (from US retailers) for a 38ml bottle putting this ink at $0.58 per ml.
The bottle/packaging:
Both the box and bottle look fantastic. It comes in the standard Ferris Wheel Press flat bottle with a brass cap and an outer box with some beautiful artwork. Unfortunately, it’s not as practical as it is beautiful. The bottle feels unstable and the neck is extremely narrow. The brass cap also makes the bottle top heavy and even more prone to tipping over if it’s disturbed. I strongly recommend using something to stabilize the bottle when filling.
Score: 60.5/70
Price per ml: 5/10
Performance in a pen: 8.5/10
Performance on paper: 8.5/10
Color saturation: 5.5/10
Sheening: 0/10
Shading: 4.5/10
Dry time: 8.5/10
Water resistance: 5/10
Ease of cleaning: 8.5/10
Bottle form: 5/5
Bottle function: 1.5/5
*Only 70 of the 100 available points are required for an outstanding score.My personal thoughts…
Umber can refer to a variety of different shades that compose Earth’s natural pigment. The word is fairly open-ended on its own, but I think “steeped” is a great way to describe this color. It’s a brown that carries just a hint of warmth without appearing too dark or “burnt.” It makes for a balanced brown that I think would work well in just about any season. That does mean that Steeped Umber can come across as a fairly basic brown at first glance, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and it still makes for a pleasant color that I like all the same.
Written in a Leuchtturm1917 notebook with an Opus Picnic <F>
More images/info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 7 nib units including a Needlepoint grind, EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm stub, and an Architect grind. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same medium wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook
A 68gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook
A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook
A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook