Ink Review #109: Robert Oster Berry d'Arche

I've really started to love purple inks. I think they are great for fall, as they're basically the honorary Halloween color. I really enjoy Robert Oster inks so far, so let's take a look at Robert Oster Berry d'Arche. This ink is exclusive to Vanness Pens.

The color...

Berry d'Arche is a dark purple with shading.

This ink doesn't sheen. It does, however, switch colors when pooled. If you lay a lot of ink down, it looks black instead of purple, which is cool, it's just not sheen.

Dry time: 22 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: Medium shading, no sheen

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for RSS): Robert Oster Claret, Robert Oster Berry d'Arche, and Robert Oster Black Violet. Click here to see all of the Robert Oster ink swabs together. Claret is more of a blue-violet, and Berry d'Ache has more red in it.

Sailor Jentle Shigure, De Atramentis Black Currant, and Diamine Damson. Click here to see all of the purple inks together.

Longer writing:

I started off with a Pilot 912 FA and then switched to a broad Vanishing Point. I didn't have any real flow issues, just a little bit of railroading (but I think that's mostly the pen's fault).

Overall, I really like this ink. I love that it has some good shading, and that it looks black when used in a very wet nib. At this point, I've reviewed enough Robert Oster inks to say that you really can't go wrong with any of his inks.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.