Ink Flight #100 Reveal, May 2025

For the 100th and final Ink Flight, we tour the United States with Sailor's "50 States" Inks. Each fountain pen ink in this collection draws inspiration from state trees, birds, flowers, minerals, and other natural features.

Despite adopting names of the United States, Sailor fountain pen inks are made in Japan under the supervision of an ink master (no kidding). Although this month's flight is but a small sampling of the (nearly) 50 inks in this collection, the inks we sent show a brilliant range of ink colors with exciting properties we discuss in detail below.

May 2025 Ink Flight Box #100 Color Selection

Sailor New Jersey
This ink reflects the bright, joyful yellow color displayed by the NJ state bird - the goldfinch. In case you haven't noticed, every Ink Flight package came from InkJournal's home state of New Jersey.

Sailor South Dakota
A unique light, purplish-pink color reminiscent of the iconic state mineral and gemstone, rose quartz.

Sailor Wisconsin
This color mirrors the blue-violet hue of Wisconsin's official state flower - the wood violet.

Sailor Georgia
This mossy green color brings to mind the amphibious creatures, lily pads, and cattails in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Sailor Delaware
Inspired by the vibrant magenta state flower, the Peach Blossom. This saturated pink ink has plenty of greenish-gold sheen.

Sailor Oklahoma
This blushing color recalls the sweetly fragrant Oklahoma rose.

Sailor Vermont
This hue is reminiscent of Vermont's deep green sugar maple forests, known for their maple syrup.

Tasting Notes:

When we first started the Ink Flight monthly box over 8 years ago, we couldn't imagine doing 100 consecutive boxes. I mean, just how many different pen and ink companies would actually work with us? Wouldn't we run out of different inks to sample? Would subscribers find the value in receiving this box every month?

It was Ink Flight #29 when I finally felt like we were succeeding. In June of 2019, we were able to obtain Sailor inks for the first time. Sailor usually doesn't work with any retailer unless they carry the full lineup of pens. We were incredibly thankful they made an exception based on the reputation of the growing Ink Flight Box. At that point, our customers and brands were showing confidence in our mission.

So, we felt like it was appropriate to end the streak with Sailor inks. The Ink Flight has always been about exploring the world's newest and best fountain pen ink. Sailor's 50 states inks pays homage to each state of the USA with inks themed after state birds, flowers, minerals, and other distinguishing features. So, we get to explore a new range of Sailor inks and learn a little more about the USA - where InkJournal and a majority of our subscribers call home.

 
In true Sailor fashion, this Flight includes inks with a diverse range of properties. New Jersey (our home state) and South Dakota are light, undersaturated inks with shading. Wisconsin is also a strong shader with medium saturation, and a noticeable blue undertone. Vermont and Delaware are brighter, bolder inks that shade with sheen (especially Delaware). Oklahoma and Georgia are the richest, darkest inks of the samples and can appear a different color depending on the paper you use.

Box Extras: Sailor Compass Fude de Mannen Pen, Rhodiarama Pencil Case, Midori Memo Pad, and more!

Sailor Compass Fude de Mannen Fountain Pen
Designed to imitate the stroke of a brush, the Sailor Compass Fude nib has an upturned point to create dramatic line variation in drawing or calligraphy. The Fude nib can have different line widths depending on the pen's angle to the page. Use Sailor ink cartridges or the included converter to fill the pen with this month's ink samples.

Rhodiarama Pencil Case
Store an everyday carry of pens, pencils, and creative accouterments in the Italian faux leather pencil box from Rhodia. These stylish boxes open like a desk valet tray and have a snap-on handle strap to attach to a bag.

Midori Grain 5" x 3" Memo Pad
This spiral-bound, reporter pad has both lined and blank pages (100 total sheets) with a cover made from recycled leather.

Decorate your ink journal pages and snail mail with the "Inky Dreams" Ink Bottle Washi Tape illustrated by Ana from the Well-Appointed Desk. And, for the final Inktopus Ink Flight sticker, we raise a glass to Inktoberfest with a festive lederhosen octopus made by Vanessa Langton - @vanessa_langton on IG.

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Well, that's the end of the monthly Ink Flights. Yet, it doesn't mean that we won't continue them at a later date. If you'd like to be notified if we start them back up again, please feel free to contact us via e-mail and we'll add you to our list of interested inky people.

Also, it might be possible we have previous Ink Flight boxes available to purchase without committing to a subscription. 

If you'd like to check out the contents of previous Ink Flight boxes, check out the archive here.