Shikiori Fountain Pen Ink Cartridges, #203 Nioisumire (Sweet Violet)

The flagship of Sailor's fleet of fountain pen inks. Shikiori is a gorgeous selection of 20 colors inspired by the beauty of Japan's four seasons. We aren't sure if it's the power of nature or the ingenuity of Sailor's chemists, but there's definitely something special about these inks. Every color is exceedingly well-chosen, and every color is formulated to behave perfectly in fountain pens.

Sailor is known among fountain pen users for making technically superb inks, with excellent flow, no feathering, and no bleeding or show-through on ink-friendly paper. In our studio tests, we were able to confirm Sailor's sterling reputation for ink chemistry. These are exceptionally refined inks, and we had zero issues with them across a variety of pens used in our tests.

Each Shikiori color is distinct, with surprising sheen in some colors and dramatic shading in others. Even if you own another blue-green, for example, the Shikiori version will add something new to your ink collection. We hand-painted swatches of each color on watercolor paper, so you can see how it looks in different concentrations and with different angles of light reflection.

This handsome box of Sailor-format cartridges features an outer box styled to look like a hardbound book, an inner plastic case that's perfect for your pencil bag, and three cartridges, each printed with the color's name.

Water-based dye ink (not lightfast.) Made in Japan.