Ink Review: Fumisome Chlorophyll

Chrolophyll is a light pastel ink from Fumisome under Stationery TAG (the company behind Kyo-no-oto and Kyo-Iro) – though I’m not exactly sure how the corporate structure works. I was generously given a sample of this for review by my friend Aileen. Many Thanks! Fumisome started in November last year and like Kyo-no-oto and Kyo-Iro it’s advertised as being made with natural dyes.

Fumisome Chrolophyll is a very pale pastel green. It’s somewhat difficult to tell with such low saturation but the ink is a yellow leaning green not too dissimilar from the Robert Oster Light Green pictured below just desaturated. There isn’t any black or grey in the ink so the ink remains a pastel-green colour rather than a green-grey. The colour doesn’t really change much depending on the paper it’s on, even the less fountain pen friendly papers. What change there is is with how much yellow shows through.

Like many inks in Stationery TAG’s various ranges of inks, this ink is on the dryer side. I chose Sailor fountain pens (fine and medium) for the review because they have some feedback and aren’t super wet pens and I wanted to test the dryness of the ink in less favourable conditions. On rough paper (for example G. Lalo, or Original Crown Mill 100% cotton) the ink was not pleasant to write with. On the poorer quality copy paper the ink spreads a little but on other fountain pen unfriendly paper there isn’t really any deleterious effects. The ink performs well enough on pretty much all paper and there are no issues relating to its dryness (apart from unpleasantness on rough papers).

Shading is pretty decent on Rhodia and also decent on Tomoe River. The shading has little contrast, however, between the darker and lighter parts but it’s still present on almost every line. Although subtle, as most halo’s are, there is a nice halo on the written lines as well.

Fumisome Chlorophyll has no sheen on Rhodia at all. On Tomoe River there is some sheen but it’s very subtle. It’s only slightly more than a technicality but there is still a silvery sheen that covers some of the richer lines.

The chromatography is completely uninteresting as it just looks like the ink’s shading in a written line; a lighter part and a slightly darker part but all one hue.

Dry time is moderately quick on Rhodia and Tomoe River. Close to 30 seconds daytime on Rhodia and a little over 45 seconds on Tomoe River is decent.

Water resistance is rather surprising! The lines are very readable after a water spill. For such a light and unsaturated ink I’m impressed!

On Rhodia, compared to Tomoe River, the ink is bluer (or less yellow), darker and more saturated. The paper feels a little rougher with this dry ink but not too much so. There is no smearing.

• Robert Oster Moss: is definitely a bit darker, and bit blacker, and is also a bit bluer and a bit more saturated;

• Colorverse Interstellar Space: likewise, is definitely a bit darker, bit blacker, and is also a bluer and a little more saturated;

• Robert Oster Lemon Grass: is more saturated, and a bit darker, but is a comparably hue;

• Noodler’s Texas Live Oak: is a touch darker and a similar saturation (leaning more saturated) but is considerably bluer;

• Sailor Ink Studio 160: this was the closest Ink Studio ink and it’s not very similar. It’s light enough but has considerably more saturation and is too blue;

• Robert Oster Light Green: is a very similar hue but with high saturation but a similar tone (the high saturation makes a big difference); and

• Sailor Ink Studio 162: Is not too dissimilar but the pink and blue knock it out of contention and it is a tad darker.

I don’t have an ink that actually compares to Fumisome Chlorophyll very well on Rhodia . I’d have to choose Robert Oster Lemon Grass but it is noticeably darker still.

The ink is definitely yellower and lighter than Rhodia. I think I prefer the colour on Tomoe River. There is no smearing here either.

• Robert Oster Moss: is less saturated and lighter than before but is still too much of each and it is only a little bluer;

• Colorverse Interstellar Space: is still darker, and greyer but isn’t too different a hue;

• Robert Oster Lemon Grass: is quite a bit lighter now and is less saturated than before. It is only a touch darker now and is a similar hue;

• Noodler’s Texas Live Oak: much too blue and too dark;

• Sailor Ink Studio 160: as above it’s light enough but has considerably more saturation (though a little less than on Rhodia) and is too blue;

• Robert Oster Light Green: Again the same as on Rhodia but the ink is lighter now; and

• Sailor Ink Studio 162: Also as above but the pink is even more apparent now; not very comparable.

The choice is a little easier this time but is the same as on Rhodia with Robert Oster Lemon Grass. It’s only a little darker and is a touch greyer but isn’t too dissimilar this time.

Fumisome Chlorophyll is a very pale yellow leaning green; this isn’t the ink colour I am typically attracted to nor buy. That said, there is a gap in my collection so I’m considering more of these sorts of inks nowadays and the colour is fairly unique. The ink is dry (like many Stationery TAG inks) but its useable in the Fine nibbed Sailor Pro Gear on smoother paper so the dryness only affects how it feels to write with it and not its ability to write. There’s no hard starting or any issues anywhere but it is just a little uncomfortable for me to write with on rough paper (with these pens at least) – a wetter and smoother nib should do a better job. The bottle is nice and you don’t see many metal lids any more and the packing looks pretty nice (I can’t speak first hand only from the photos). The inks are ¥2000 within Japan and higher than the other Stationery TAG inks by ¥500 which puts it in line with Sailor’s mid-ranged prices. This isn’t cheap but it’s not expensive and the inks are using natural ingredients and come in nice packages so I’ve no issues with the price. I think if you like pastel colours (which have been popular lately) this ink would be a great addition (but keep in mind its dryness!). It’d work very nicely with the Mint Glaze Lamy Safari!

Thanks again to Aileen for the ink (and the photos of the bottle and packaging!).

✒︎ ✑ ✒︎ ✑

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