Ink Flight #82 Reveal, November 2023

Although Pennonia offers 41 ink colors in its standard lineup, owner Máté Bikfalvi has a portfolio of over 200. The "Ink Laboratory" is a way to share these fun experiments and reduce waste. For the names, the letter references the type of color (L=violet, for example) and the number is sequential (the higher the number, the more recent the color).

We've featured Pennonia inks previously in Ink Flights #49 and #64. The story of Máté's evolution into a fountain pen ink maker follows a common thread to many of our hobby's most esteemed artisans. In 2018 making ink began as an extension of Máté's interest in fountain pens. In 2020, Máté wrote a new chapter with a line of handmade, quality fountain pen inks. The inks are inspired by his personal life, Hungarian language, tradition, and popular culture.

If you must have a bottle of any color in this month's box, you'll have to contact Pennonia to see if they have more in the Laboratory.

November 2023 Ink Flight Box #82 Color Selection

Pennonia Ink Laboratory K-010
Máté says this is one of the more popular Ink Laboratory colors that straddles either a blue or green with chroma-shading. Here's the notes that Máté shared on this color: "It's technically a teal so it can be either blue or green depending on who you ask. This will likely never make it into standard production because one of the components is a dye which has been superseded by another one with superior solubility."

Pennonia Ink Laboratory L-017
A strong candidate for the standard line-up, this bold, blueish-violet is one of the richest inks in this set. According to Máté, this ink is, "truly the good (dye)stuff."

Pennonia Ink Laboratory L-018
Created exclusively for a Hungarian pen-turner, this berry-like purple color has a juicy flow.

Pennonia Ink Laboratory P-006
One of the first reds Máté created in the laboratory, this light, pinkish-red darkens around the edges. "It was made at the time when I started to experiment with different combinations to create a more nuanced color," Máté writes.

Pennonia Ink Laboratory S-011
This muted, darker orange has strong shading with undertones of yellow. Máté  comments, "Speaking of shading, the ink has pretty good shading which I absolutely love, more so than any other effect."

Pennonia Ink Laboratory Z-005
This zesty, bubbly green ink has lively shading. This is also another ink that was previously an exclusive with another retail brand.

Pennonia Ink Laboratory Z-015
This lightly-saturated, muted green has undertones of brown, giving this ink a complex character. Máté comments, "It has brownish undertones which I believe gives it a bit of a character and is absolutely one of the candidates for the next update of standard line-up."

Tasting notes:
I appreciate the subtle elegance of Pennonia inks. These inks don't shimmer or exhibit wild sheen. Yet, they have something special about them. One of Máté's favorite properties is shading and I can see that in this selection of colors. They all shade nicely with just a hint of undertones that make each ink fun to use and see on paper.

Box Extras: Rhodiarama A5 Webnotepad

What's the story?

Tell tales both real and imagined on the reporter-style Rhodia Webnotepad. The colorful, leatherette hardcover opens flat or can be folded over while you jot, dream, or muse away on the fountain pen-friendly 90gsm ivory brushed vellum paper.

This Rhodia Webnotepad has the size and the volume for your most ambitious ideas. Even if you want to test every pen and ink in your collection, the 96 A5-sized lined sheets can handle it. Every page is microperforated for easy removal to organize your work.

Have you ever had a happy accident with ink? Embrace the "joy of writing" with the Bob Ross-style Inktopus sticker, courtesy of our pen pal, Vanessa Langton (Instagram: @vanessa_langton)

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If you're interested in joining our next Ink Flight box, go here to see if we have available spots open for next month's shipment. If we don't, please email us so we can add you to our wait list.

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.