Ink Institute - Zhonghe-Xinlu Line

Ink Institute Zhonghe-Xinlu Line - ink drop

Ink Institute inks are produced by Juspirit Stationery store in Taipei, Taiwan. Ink Institute has several fun series and inks, and the store offers a number of other interesting exclusives from other brands. Zhonghe-Xinlu Line is part of the Taipei Metro series, which includes six inks named for Taipei’s six metro lines. The Zhonghe-Xinlu line is also known as the orange line, and this ink matches that orange very closely.

Ink Institute Zhonghe-Xinlu Line - beautiful shades!

Zhonghe-Xinlu Line is a lovely, soft, powdery orange, but it isn’t meek. There is a clear strength in this orange; it’s confident and proud. There’s some nice shading at times, but the paper and nib size you choose have major influences on the level of shading produced. The dominant visual characteristic is the dark, hard-edged haloing that makes this such a well-defined writing ink. It gives it a strong profile, making it highly readable. The powdery soft blends that fill strokes add life and provide a feeling of comfort. Visually, it’s quite striking.

Ink Institute Zhonghe-Xinlu Line - ink swatch card

In terms of writing experience, it performs very well. It’s a smooth flowing, wet ink, but drying times are average or better on all papers. There was slight feathering on office copy paper, but none on any of the usual fountain pen friendly premium papers.

I like this ink very much! In addition to the Metro Series, Ink Institute has a series of beautiful, muted inks, several heavy sheening inks, and more. They offer mixing inks, and even personalized color creations by the bottle! Many of their bottles feature beautiful artwork on the packaging and label. Ink Institute is an interesting, innovative manufacturer with a lot to offer that will please the market. I hope that they become more widely available.

September 2020