Caran d'Ache

Colours: Saffron, Grand Canyon, Sunset, Storm, Blue Night, Blue Sky, Caribbean Sea, Amazon, Carbon

Caran D'Ache InkI have had limited opportunity to try their ink and or opportunity to try their new line of colours. One of the members of the Vancouver Pen Club is a big fan of Amazon - a very interesting green, and I must admit, that is a very appealing green.

The ink has a high price point and comes in a very small bottle.

With the high price you are paying for the bottle. While the bottle is very attractive, I do have issues with its shape and size.

There is a substantial weight to the bottle. It is a pleasure to hold in your hand. But, it is simply too small for a pen with a large nib.

Your first fills will be fine, but from then, your would want the multi- sided Waterman ink bottle that safely sits on its side and allows you to fill up as the level of ink goes down.

in 2012 I came across a store in Rome, not far from the apartment we were renting, that was selling the ink for 10E - a great price, about $12.80 CDN. Considering the ink sells for about $25 CDN a bottle in Canada, this was my chance.

. Unfortunately, the colour I choose, Blue Night, was a big disappointment. It was a weak blule-black that did not have enough strength in tone for my liking. Writing-wise, the ink was okay but I must admit I junked the bottle and never really gave it a full try out.

Caran d'Ache Ink

  • Amazon - (Green) - described by some as a bright green with no yellow or blue tones. Good flow and good concentrated colour. Marcel wrote me to say that it has a "flow that brings a pen alive." Glenn Clark at one time tested this ink and gave it a 3.2 pH level. The image to the right shows a sample of the ink, very nice green. At one of our Vancouver Pen Club meetings I had the opportunity to try writing with a pen loaded with Amazon Green. Nice colour I must admit.

  • Caren D'Ache Blue Black Night - (Dark Blue Black) - In the Feb/Mar 2007 issue of Stylus, Greg Clark tested this ink and found it to be excellent in terms of water resistance and have a 5.5.pH level.

    In 2012 I bought a bottle when I was in Rome. I was pleased with the price, a real bargain in terms of price compared to what the ink costs in North America, but I did not like the colour. So the ink but a disappointment. Far too light for my liking I found it to be a "dry" ink. Some times the Blue-Black inks actually have a green undertone. But not with this ink. The ink dries closer to a dark gray.

  • Sky - (Blue) - this is described as a medium royal blue.
  • Grand Canyon - (Brown) this is said to be a rich dark brown without the red tones that often are found in the brown ink. A little less depth in colour tone.
  • Carbon - (Black) - this is the black for the Caran d'Ache line. Black ink typically has some colour tone and this one has shades of dark purple.
  • Caribbean Sea - (Turquoise) its bright, but will disappear if you spill water on it.
  • Saffron - (Orange) this is being described as a colour that jumps off the page, maybe a bit strong for a full page of text. (Thanks Marcel). Greg Clark's water test found this to all but disappeared when placed in water.
  • Storm - (Violette) - kind of like a burgundy wine colour but as the sample in the image above/right shows, it is really a purple tone with black/gray. I have only had the opportunity to do some limited writing with the ink, so I can't really say that I have tested this colour, but, from what I saw, I liked it.