Birmingham - Voltaic Arc
Birmingham Voltaic Arc - Ink Drop
Today’s ink is Voltaic Arc from Birmingham Pen Company. This is another recently released sheening ink from their Rich Formula series. The name Voltaic Arc refers to a discharge of electrical energy produced by an electrochemical battery. With the brilliant red sheen of this ink, I’d say that’s a great match! Birmingham offers 30ml, 60ml, and 120ml bottles. It’s always nice to have options!
Birmingham Voltaic Arc - deep blue teal with sheen!
I reviewed Tesla Coil from Birmingham, which is a much lighter and cooler middle blue. Voltaic Arc is the darkest of the Rich Formula inks. It’s between a dark Prussian blue, and a Denim blue. It has a lovely softness, with a textured, almost textile-like appearance, and subtle yellow undertones. This is a strong sheening ink (like most or all in the Rich Formula series), and the sheen is a much deeper red compared to the pinker Tesla Coil. The splatter shows heavy sheen coverage, but in writing it acts more as a stroke halo. In writing, it’s a lovely decoration, and it doesn’t overwhelm the blue base. There’s also nice shade variation, with light accents and darker areas. This is an attractive ink.
Birmingham Voltaic Arc swatch card
Voltaic Arc is a comfortable ink on the page. It flows nicely, and it has a nicely balanced viscosity. Strokes were clean and sharp on all six test papers. Office copy shows off the beautiful base nicely, with very limited shading and no sheen. On premiums, that changes. Sheening and shading are both strong and consistent on both coated and uncoated premiums. I liked it best on Mnemosyne and Fabriano. They both spotlight the ink’s properties beautifully. Drying was 20-30 seconds on Rhodia, but the other premiums took 15-20 seconds, and office copy was dry in 5 seconds.
Birmingham Voltaic Arc’s bottle and packaging
I like this ink. It’s a beautiful, dark, and complex blue, and the sheen complements the color nicely. It’s also easy to enjoy, and that’s not always true with sheening inks.
Please note: This ink was sent to me by Birmingham Pen Company, but that did not influence my review. As always, I present my honest opinions both good and bad.