An Introduction to the Sailor Ink Studio
Since we opened our online store almost a year ago (can you believe it has been that long already?), we’ve been bringing in more products than ever before. We are so excited to announce the latest addition to the Phidon lineup: the Sailor Ink Studio!
Throughout its long history, Sailor has produced over 20,000 colours as part of their special Ink Studio events. Now, the Japanese fountain pen and ink maker has curated 100 of its best colours as part of the Ink Studio series for global audiences outside of Japan. These inks exhibit stunning shading and depth of tone, and they range from soft pastels to rich, deep jewel tones. Whether for writing or drawing, the Ink Studio range is sure to delight all fountain pen lovers.
Sailor inks are known for their saturation and interesting colour-changing properties, and the Ink Studio is no different. Each colour in the collection is expertly crafted by Sailor's inkmeisters, and each blend is expertly made by mixing dye particles, giving the inks unique characteristics (such as sheen and shading). Like a lot of fountain pen ink, this means that the ink is not waterproof, but it makes it safe for all fountain pens! Each of the Sailor Studios come in a 20 ml bottle.
Finding Your Perfect Colours
We understand, finding the perfect shade can be difficult! Whether you’re matching your ink to your fountain pen or you’re just trying to find that perfect shade of pastel purple (try 150!), the Sailor Ink Studio is a great place to start — and finish — your search.
Since there are 100 colours in the collection, you'll want to make sure you’re searching in the right place! Unlike most other brands, the names of the inks aren’t words that denote their colours (like Graf von Faber Castell Garnet Red or Diamine Evergreen, for instance).
Instead, each colour has a number, matching its specific blending code, instead of a name. We’ve sorted the inks on our website into categories by the last two numbers in the names of each ink. You'll notice that the colours are sorted into colour families:
x20s are Grey Inks
x30s are Pink, Red, Mauve, and Purple Inks
x40s are Blue Inks
x50s are Purple Inks
x60s are Green Inks
x70s are Yellow, Orange, and Peach Inks
x80s are Brown Inks
The first digit signifies the darkness and intensity of the ink, while the last two digits identify the colour range itself. For example, 131, 237, and 731 are all colours in the pink colour range. 131 would be the lightest shade of the three, 731 would be the darkest, and 237 is somewhere between them. The exception to this number rule are the inks beginning with 0xx. These inks are near-black colours!
Staff Picks
We're still working on ink swatches for all of the Sailor Ink Studio lineup, but we just had to share some of our favourite colours! If you’re not looking for something in particular, these are the inks that we recommend for something unique to add to your collection.
Sailor Ink Studio x20s
If you’re looking to get started with a grey ink, we can’t recommend 123 enough! We think 123 should be a staple in any fountain pen enthusiast’s collection because of its unique shading and pooling properties: it is a solid, light, cool grey, but where it pools you’ll get shades of pinky-purple and teal! Similarly, 224 is a softer grey on the surface, but the ink has shades of mint blue and mauve where it pools! These inks are great for making a statement, and they will preform best on coated, fountain pen friendly paper like Tomoe River.
Sailor Ink Studio x30s
It’s no secret that some of our staff members are pink aficionados! 237 is a great choice for an inviting, traditional pink. This ink is fairly solid and reliable, but you might get some shading with a broader nib on high-quality paper! If you’d prefer something brighter, 731 is a knock-your-socks-off bright pink that you’ll be able to see from across the room! This is our top choice for really making a statement with your pinks.
Sailor Ink Studio x40s
There are so many great shades of blue ink in the Ink Studio lineup, so it’s hard to only pick a few! For turquoise blues, 140 and 143 are both great choices because of their bright, saturated, true colours. If you’re looking for a blue ink with some of the pooling properties we’ve been talking about, 243 is probably the best choice for you. It has hues of purple and pink where it pools, but it is otherwise a soft baby blue. For a true, traditional blue on the darker end of the blue series, we love 743, and we think that 941 is a fantastic teal option.
Sailor Ink Studio x50s
Specific shades of purple can be some of the hardest colours to find in fountain pen ink, especially pastel options! For that reason, our first purple staff pick is 150, a lovely light purple. As a bonus, 150 looks more magenta where it pools, and it even has shades of blue around the edges. Another unique option is 252, a purple-grey that reveals shades of green and pink.
Sailor Ink Studio x60s
To start off the green staff picks, who doesn’t love a beautiful soft mint green? 162 fits that description perfectly — and it even has the pink ink pooling properties we love so much. For a deeper mint green, verging on teal, we recommend 264. Finally, if you’re looking for a truly unique shade of green, 462 has a flat green tone but reveals mint, pink, and grey where it pools!
Sailor Ink Studio x70s
173, 273, and 670 are our favourite picks for the x70s colour collection. 173, on the lighter end of the spectrum, is such a pretty peach that it just screams happy summer days. In contrast, 670 is a more subdued yellow, which is reminiscent of crunchy autumn leaves. In the middle, we love 273 for its sepia tones that remind us of academia and the writing on vintage photographs. Together, they make for a trio of inks that you can use and enjoy all year through.
Sailor Ink Studio x80s
The x80s collection of brown inks is a bit smaller than many of the other colour groups, but it doesn’t make it any less mighty! Our top pick for a brown Studio Ink is 280, a natural, grassy green-brown. This is a colour we haven’t seen in any other brand or lineup, and we think it would be perfect for drawing landscapes or to include in a gardening journal.
We expect the first round of the Sailor Ink Studio inks to go fast, so make sure you're following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to hear about restocks as soon as they are available!
Which Sailor Ink Studio colour are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!