MonteverdeBottle Ink, 30ml, Raven-Noir (G309VN)

When it comes to fountain pens, the ultimate ink for me is black, and the paper white, for classic clarity of my writing. Some think black ink is boring, and that black ink is black ink. They're quite wrong. Appreciation of the variety in black inks requires a much more discerning eye that can detect the nuances of each ink. Granted, it's not one of the glittery shimmery inks (although there are blackish inks available with glittery flecks), nor is it a flashy color. It's rock solid classic black. It stands tall on the page. It makes a statement.Raven Noir is my first Monteverde ink, and my twenty-third black ink. Yep, 23rd. I have been writing with fountain pens for quite a while. I have extensive samples of them all, on various paper, and using pens with various nib widths. For comparison and consistency, I use a 6mm poster nib on a dip pen, so I can readily examine the qualities of each ink, on HP Premium 32 lb. paper, and usually samples also on the exceptional Rhodia, Calirefontaine and Tomoe River papers.Now, ravens are my favorite bird, and I love watching them. Noir is my favorite film genre, and I love watching them. How could I pass up an in called Raven Noir? Yep, I bought it based on its name. I stayed for its beauty and performance. It has become one of my favorite inks.I use mostly broad, stub and italic nibs. Most of my writing with this ink has been on a broad #6 nib. It's a wet one, and shows off whatever ink is running down it. The ink itself is medium to dry. Monteverde inks contain lubricants, and it flowed flawlessly for me. There is no shading. There is only the slightest sheen, and only on the Tomoe River paper. It won't be noticeable in most cases. The drying time was impressive for such a wet broad nib: 7 seconds on HP Premium 32 lb, 20 seconds on Rhodia 21.3 lb, and 60 seconds on Tomoe River. I have not experienced smearing or smudging. Raven Noir feathers on copier paper, moderate feathering on HP Premium 32 lb, but no feathering on Rhodia or Tomoe River. Monteverde claims that the lubricants make for extended cap-off time, and it's true. I don't have to worry about taking a little time before I start writing again. The writing performance was very satisfactory; the kind of ink that makes you want to just keep writing and writing.How does it stack up against my other 22 black inks? In terms of blackness, it's in the top seven or so. It's not as black black as the infamous black blacks, such as Noodler's Heart of Darkness, Noodler's Black, or DeAtramentis Document Black. In terms of how opaque it is, it's somewhere in the middle of the pack. There is a very slight purplish tint, and chromatography showed a fascinating and complex layering of colors: green, blue, blue-gray, brown and even a pink.I love this ink, and that says a lot, as I'm quite picky about my inks. It will stay in my black ink rotation. I'll also be checking out more Monteverde inks.

This ink has a rich color easy to read. It is quite fluid and well behaved in pen.

The color of Monteverde Copper Noir is a beautiful deep burnt orange. It's slightly less dark than Diamine Ancient Copper and is perfect for the sketching I do with my fountain pens. It has the vintage aged feeling I love in my ink drawings.

There is not as much black shading as I had hoped for, however the ink is a really nice color and it is very well behaved in my pens. It has a pretty wet flow. It is a good value at the price.

This is my first Monteverde ink. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I took a chance and I'm glad I did! I've since purchased a couple more Monteverde inks.Smoke Noir is a medium-grey with high saturation. There may be a slight brown tone in there, but this is a true grey. When wet, it looks like a watered-down black...but wait a minute! It dries to a gorgeous grey. On quality white paper (Optik, for example) it has an almost silvery sheen.It's dark enough to be useful for taking notes, journaling, and even in an office setting, but I think I would stick with broader nibs for this -- I'm currently using a Lamy 2000 medium nib, which is pretty fat and juicy. The combination of ink and nib is silky smooth and very pleasant to write with. No significant feathering or bleed-through on cheap notebook or copy paper, although the color is a little darker (still nice, though).I haven't tested this personally, but some reviewers say it is somewhat permanent once dry. This isn't a quality I was looking for when purchasing this ink, but it is a welcome characteristic if true.

Superior quality, works well in all my fountain pens, smooth flowing and now clogging, absolutely beautiful colors and a joy to write with. Great price for 90ml bottles.

On some online samples it looked almost teal, IRL the hint of blue is minimal, especially in handwriting with a fine nib. More of just really dark green. I like it, it's close enough to black that text doesn't look like it's accented with a color, but not so dark it's hard to tell it's green. Kinda on the edge between being pretty much black and being obviously green.Function wise- good: flows well, dries fast, doesn't get smeared with highlighters.

I'm obsessed with the Pilot Varsity, the throwaway pen. I was going to order more when I found a video on how to refill them. Then I started hunting for ink.Right away I discovered complaints on some ink reviews about either the ink not being black enough or the ink not drying fast, or not being fluid enough or too fluid. I wanted to find the blackest of the black, which would dry quickly and be as fluid as Pilot Varsity stock ink. This is a close match.Of the Monteverde inks I considered this Raven Noir vs the Document Black and found through image search that Noir was going to be distinctly darker. After loading it into the Varsity, I can definitely attest to it's darkness. It's black black, although next to Pilot stock ink it's not quite as dark. But you really have to put them side by side to notice. When you do, you see the Raven Noir is just slightly grey in comparison.I love the way Raven Noir ink flows though and it seems to dry just as quickly as the Varsity ink. I'm definitely not sending it back but I may look for a blacker black next time. Perhaps I'll try the Monteverde Document Black.