Ink Flight #56, September 2021

As an ink enthusiast, one gets excited about a new collection of inks from a great brand as if it was a new season of great TV show. Such was the case when Taccia announced the second series of the Ukiyo-e ink collection. 

Designed by Taccia in California and manufactured by Nakabayashi Co., in Japan, this 2nd edition Ukiyo-e ink collection honors the contributions of traditional, 17th Century Japanese artists, Hiroshige and Utamaro. Hiroshige's paintings usually feature flowers, birds, and natural landscapes as subject matter. Utamaro is best known for his masterful portraits of beautiful women.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Fountain Pen Inks

Here's a rundown of September 2021's Ink Flight Colors:

Taccia Ukiyo-e Utamaro Umemurasaki
A smoky, complex beige-brown that has warm undertones. The more I wrote with this ink, the more I realized it's a soft, dusky pink color. Similar to KWZ Brown Pink and Robert Oster Dusky Pink.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Utamaro Benizakura
This fiery red ink has highlights of golden sheen, especially on Tomoe River Paper. It doesn't shade like the other colors in this series, but it does put on a nice show of sheen.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Utamaro Aomurasaki
This deep blue-black color has a rich slate tone. The color reminds me of a melted grape ice popsicle.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Hiroshige Asahanada
Soft and peaceful, this light blue ink shades well. This sky blue has a muted, pastel feel.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Hiroshige Ruri
This bold indigo blue ink exhibits some reddish sheen with some shading.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Hiroshige Nakamurasaki
This dusky, plum purple ink is moderately saturated and has smoky shading.

Taccia Ukiyo-e Hiroshige Ainezu
This teal-gray ink has slight green undertones and a black sheen.

Tasting Notes: We've dipped Taccia inks twice before with great satisfaction. The first Ukiyo-e collection netted one of my most favorite, underrated inks in Saibimidori. Which is the blue ribbon winner of this month's Flight? I love the complexity and uniqueness of the brown-pink Umemurasaki. The light blue-black of Ainezu is an unusual ink that could be a safe-for-work color. Ruri is a bold ink with sheen, which is always a crowdpleaser. Yet, I am attracted to the bold, sheen-iness of the red Benizakura. It screams fall foliage at the peak of autumn's glory.

Ink Flight 56 extras

Box Extras: Peter Pauper Press Envelope Addressing Guides + Clairefontaine Triomphe White Envelopes

Upgrade your snail mail by neatly addressing cards, invitations, and letters using the 4-pack of stencil guides from Peter Pauper Press. The durable, clear plastic stencils cover 5 common envelope sizes.

The stencil rulings help align and center the address information on the envelope. First, trace the lines lightly in pencil. Write the address in pen (with fancy calligraphy, if you please), then erase the pencil lines when you're finished. 

To complement the envelope guides, the Ink Flight Box included a pack of Clairefontaine peel and seal envelopes. Made in France with white 90gsm paper, these envelopes are ready for your penned letters. The DL-Sized envelope can accommodate an A4-sized sheet of paper folded into thirds. The envelopes are PEFC-certified, indicating that the paper comes from certified sustainably managed forests.

For this month's sticker, I saw the quote, "Write without fear. Edit without mercy" on an internet meme and decided to include it as a motivational reminder for us all. I used a customized, radial-cut Pilot Parallel pen with two different color inks to get the gradient effect in the rough lettering style.

Let's chat about this Flight

We invite you to join hundreds of kindred spirits in the Ink Flight Lounge Facebook Group to talk about this month's Flight Box. Likes? Dislikes? Favorite pairings? We'd love to read what you thought about the contents of this box. If you don't have/do Facebook, please feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Previous Ink Flights (Ink Flight #1 - Noodler's, Ink Flight #2 - Robert Oster Signature, Ink Flight #3 - KWZ, Ink Flight #4 - J. Herbin, Ink Flight #5 - P.W. Akkerman, Ink Flight #6 - Papier Plume, Ink Flight #7 - Platinum Mix-Free, Ink Flight #8 - Franklin-Christoph, Ink Flight #9 - Organics Studio, Ink Flight #10 - Monteverde, Ink Flight #11 - Krishna, Ink Flight #12 - Caran d'Ache, Ink Flight #13 - Rohrer & KlingnerInk Flight #14 - Blackstone, Ink Flight #15 - Colorverse, Ink Flight #16 - De Atramentis, Ink Flight #17 - Aurora & Montegrappa, Ink Flight #18 - Krishna, KWZ, Papier Plume, Ink Flight #19 - Diamine, Ink Flight #20 - J. Herbin, Ink Flight #21 - Robert Oster Signature 80's Collection, Ink Flight #22 - 3 Oysters, Ink Flight #23 - InkJournal Holiday Blend, Ink Flight #24 - Taccia, Ink Flight #25 - Kyoto TAG, Ink Flight #26 - Kaweco, Ink Flight #27 - April Fool's Surprise, Ink Flight #28 - Pelikan, Ink Flight #29 - Sailor, Ink Flight #30 - Straits Pen Honest Inks, Ink Flight #31 - Colorverse, Season 5, Ink Flight #32 - Inks by Vinta, Ink Flight #33 - Troublemaker, Ink Flight #34 - Monteverde Sweet Life, Ink Flight #35 - Taccia Inks Pt. 2, Ink Flight #36 - Sailor Manyo, Ink Flight #37 - P.W. Akkerman, Ink Flight #38 - Waterman, Ink Flight #39 - April Fool's Suprise II, Ink Flight #40 - Lamy, Ink Flight #41 - KWZ, Pt.2, Ink Flight #42 - Robert Oster, Pt. 3, Ink Flight #43 - Pure Pens, Ink Flight #44 - Kiwi Inks, Ink Flight #45 - Sailor Manyo, Pt. 2, Ink Flight #46 - Colorverse Ink Project, Ink Flight #47 - Van Dieman's Ink, Ink Flight #48 - L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio, Ink Flight #49 - Pennonia, Ink Flight #50 - Jacques Herbin Essentials, Ink Flight #51 - April Fool's Surprise III, Ink Flight #52 - Colorverse, Season 7, Ink Flight #53 - Private Reserve, Ink Flight #54 - Graf von Faber-Castell, Ink Flight #55 - Stipula)