Jim P.

Father, geek, serial hobbyist.

Tono & Lims - Star Light Series: Antares

Another good and very usable fluorescent ink! It’s sort of a dark magenta or fuchsia color depending on the paper. On Iroful it’s lighter, on Midori and Col-o-ring it’s darker.

The glow under UV light is mostly the same color, but brighter.

Scans

Scans are true to color and the writing is very even and well-behaved on all three paper types.

Scan of an ink swatch card made from Col-o-ring paper Scan of an ink swatch card made from Iroful paper Scan of an ink swatch card made from MD paper
Swatch Card Scans. Click to enlarge.

Photos

These photos show each swatch under visible light, a mix of visible and UV light, and UV light alone.

Swatch Card Photos. Click to enlarge.

Col-o-ring paper is very reactive to UV and the paper itself glows blue brightly, which makes the glow of the ink appear less intense. Iroful is mildly reactive to UV and glows a little. MD reacts very low so it shows off the glow of the ink the best.

A mix of UV and visible light seems to yield the best results to the eye.

It glows brightly, and each paper brings it out differently. On Iroful the glow is more red, col-o-ring is more purple, and Midori is more pink. The text glows especially brightly on Midori, as expected.

Microscope

As with the scans and photos there are subtle color differences between the papers.

Ink under Magnification. Click to enlarge.

Microscope UV

These photos show magnified portions of each swatch under visible light, a mix of visible and UV light, and UV light alone.

Microscope UV photos are a bit tricky since I have to dial the light up/down on the microscope and add UV light from a flashlight. As the UV light intensifies, it seems to play tricks with the microscope’s camera with the background to some extent.

Ink under Magnification with UV Light. Click to enlarge.

Nothing too surprising here, but it looks neat!

Chromatography

Scan of chromatography paper.
Chromatography strip scan

Chromatography has a little gray at the start and then fades into magenta near the end.

Photo of chromatography paper under UV light.
Chromatography strip photo under UV light

As with some other fluorescent inks, the empty area in the middle glows significantly, but this one also has an added band of red glow after that, followed by a very thin blue halo of glow past the leading edge.

Group Photos

Photo of 3 ink swatches & chromatography strip for Tono + Lims - Star Light Series: Antares, which is a fluorescent magenta/fuchsia ink. Each swatch contains the ink name followed by "XX" 2 curlicues in both stub and EF nib widths. Swatch 1: Iroful swatch card with an outline of a paint palette and tube. The palette is mostly filled in with swirls of fuchsia ink, a few areas are somewhat darker with even darker edges. There is an outline of a paint tube which is swabbed and looks similar. The writing is the same color as most of the palette. Swatch 2: Col-o-ring swatch card with a stamped outline of an ink bottle. The outlined area is mostly full of an ink blob which is darker magenta and fairly even, some vague areas are darker, but no distinct lines. Swab across "cap" looks lighter and more fuchsia. The writing samples look more pinkish than Iroful. Swatch 3: Midori MD swatch card with a stamped outline of an ink bottle. The outlined area is mostly full of an ink blob which is darker magenta at the bottom and fuchsia at the top. Swab across "cap" is similar. The text is darker and more magenta. Chromatography starts at a gray line and then stays mostly gray until near the end where it separates into bright magenta near the edge. Same as the last photo, but under UV light: Iroful card: Paper itself is glowing dark blue. Swatch is glowing mostly red, some darker areas. Text is glowing red, but not brightly, and is difficult to read. Col-o-ring card: Paper is glowing bright blue. Swatch is glowing purple. Text appears purple as well and is readable, but hard to see any glow in the text because of the paper glowing so brightly. Midori MD card: Paper is barely visible. Swatch is glowing extremely bright pink in some areas, purple in darker areas. Text is glowing extremely bright pink. Chromatography starts invisible, then glows blue for most of it and then ends in glowing magenta.
Group Photos. Click to enlarge.

Shows a good direct comparison for the UV reaction of different papers.

Bonus Microscope/UV Photos

These were leftovers that didn’t fit into the grid above, but were still worth sharing.

The paper is not glowing but does appear to have a faint dark purple color. The ink is glowing very brightly pink in the center and red near the edges. There is a faint pink outline outside the edges of the line. The paper in the background is glowing dark blue, almost purple. The ink itself is glowing more reddish, some visible paper fibers are glowing lighter pinkish, with wider darker areas between. There is a faint pink outline along the edges. The paper in the background is glowing dark blue, almost purple. The ink in the light area is glowing more pink, and in the dark area it is glowing more reddish, some visible paper fibers in the darker are glowing lighter pinkish, with wider darker areas between. There is a faint pink outline along the edges. The paper is not glowing but does appear to have a faint dark purple color. The lighter area is glowing very brightly pink. The darker area is glowing magenta. There is a faint pink outline outside the edges of the line.
Group Photos. Click to enlarge.

Verdict

It’s not a color I typically would have chosen had it not been fluorescent, but I do like it after using it more. I keep it inked in a TWSBI and I’ve used it regularly.

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