Sunday, November 29, 2020

INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION INKS + GIVEAWAY!

INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION

I was quite surprised when I realized that I haven't done an ink review in over two years! I guess I've just been more than occupied with all the (fountain) pens, pen cases, and notebooks. With well over 200 bottles, and more creeping in every year, I surely haven't forgotten about ink, I'm just very bad at reviewing them (If you really want to deep-dive into inks, I highly recommend Mountain of Ink. Kelli does an incredible job over there with 1000+ comprehensive ink reviews!).

But when Bookbinders Design (an Australian stationery and design store) contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying the Limited edition Robert Oster Australis inks, I obviously couldn't say no - I'm a big fan of Robert Oster inks, they're a permanent fixture in my rotation of inked pens. What's even more, Bookbinders is offering a full set of the Australis inks to one of our readers, so read on to the end to participate in this inky giveaway!

The Australis Limited Edition inks comprise a set of four colors (individually available), inspired by the hues of Australian nature, the ocean, the vegetation and I'd like to assume Australis Oak is inspired by the characteristic color of Uluru. Or at least, that's what I make of it, because there's no real backstory to go along with these four limited edition inks (there's also no info on how limited they are). Then again, finding inspiration in the colors of Australia's continent is nothing new for Robert Oster. They are proud of their Australian roots, so the Australis inks fit right in a wide variety of other Australia-inspired inks (like Aussie Gold, Sydney Darling Harbour, Australian Sky Blue, etc).
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
Australis Hydra is a teal-ish turquoise blue just like the Australian ocean. I'd tend to catalog it closely to the excellent Lamy Turquoise, but Hydra actually has a noticeably more green hue than what I'd call a 'true' turquoise. 
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
Australis Rose is a dusty pink, which is a color that Robert Oster typically does very well (such as the excellent Cherry Blossom). 
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
Australis Tea is a fairly vibrant light green, that leans slightly towards to the yellow side of the spectrum. 
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
Finally, Australis Oak is a light burnt orange/ terracotta. It's probably my favorite color of the lot, as I do tend to favor brown and orange inks in general.
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
In general, the Australis inks are a bit 'dusty' and tend to lean towards slightly lower saturation and lighter color, though I'd still classify all four colors as bright and vibrant. Perhaps Hydra is just a tad bit more saturated and vibrant than the others, which also makes it the most legible color for normal writing. Needless to say, I wouldn't categorize any of the Australis inks as office-appropriate... at least I wouldn't use them at work (but maybe that says more about my boringness than the qualities of the ink?).
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
Hydra, with its higher saturation, is also the only ink to exhibit a subtle pink sheen, but only in the wetter ink swabs or perhaps in really wet nibs. In my written samples on Rhodia paper, the sheen didn't really show through. Australis Oak, Rose, and Tea, all have a decent amount of shading. Hydra shades as well, but I find it not quite as pronounced as with the other three, since it already has a darker base color. All four inks show a nice crisp, dark outline where the ink is allowed to pool, a characteristic that I particularly enjoy.

The Australis inks are well-behaved. They dry with crisp and clean outlines, without a noticeable tendency to feather. I did see some slight bleeding on Rhodia paper, but only with the ink swabs, for normal writing that's a non-issue. As Robert Oster inks tend to go, the Australis colors all exhibit fairly average wetness. It's not problematic or bothersome, but they certainly do feel a touch drier to write with. 
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION
I must say, I thoroughly enjoy the more muted palette of the Australis inks. None of the colors really stand out too much - no bright sheen or wildly unusual colors - but they make for a nice set. The Australis inks also tie in very well with the other muted and dusty colors in the Robert Oster catalog (like Lemongrass, Green Olive, Dusky Pink, and Summer Storm, to just name a few of my personal favorites). In fact, these muted tones are exactly the type of inks that draws me towards their brand. On top of that, Robert Oster inks are generally consistent, high-quality inks, and the large 50mL bottles are priced fairly, I find. At Bookbinders, Robert Oster inks retail for 21.95 AUD, which (after exchange rates) is surprisingly consistent with both the European (16.5€), and US (17$) pricing. 

Now, for the Giveaway...

Enter the Rafflecopter Widget below for your chance to win a full set of the Robert Oster Australis inks. This giveaway is generously sponsored by Bookbinders Design Australia. Participating is simple: all you have to do for a chance to win, is enter in the Rafflecopter widget below and complete one or more tasks, easy peasy! The more tasks you complete, the more chances to win! This giveaway will run for one week days, starting today.

RULES: Open worldwide! Giveaway ends 11/7/2020. The winner will be chosen at random, and announced in a separate post. The winner will be contacted directly via email, if he/she fails to reply within one week, a new winner will be picked. Only entries with a valid email address are eligible to win. Invalid entries are denied. Giveaway open worldwide, but please note that shipping times will depend strongly on the destination, due to COVID restrictions.

This product was sent to me by Bookbinders Design Australia so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affilate links.
INK REVIEW: ROBERT OSTER AUSTRALIS LIMITED EDITION

8 comments:

  1. Those look like great inks! I could use more Australia in my life.

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  2. Those look like great inks! I could use more Australia in my life.

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  3. I would love to see more ink reviews on the blog, especially some of the newer Sailor inks (Ink Studio, Manyo, etc.). Thank you!

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  4. Have never tried Robert Oster inks. Really digging the Oak.

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  5. I'd love to see reviews of the relatively new Taccia Ukiyo-e inks.

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  6. I would love more ink reviews on the website! How about the Harry Potter range of inks from Montegrappa or the new sailor inks?

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  7. I would love more ink reviews on the website! How about the Harry Potter range of inks from Montegrappa or the new sailor inks?

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  8. Yes, please. Especially for inks from lesser known brands such as Pennonia, which tend to be overlooked in reviews.

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