Karas Pen Co. - Desert Varnish

Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish - ink drop

Arizona-based Karas Pen Co. is widely known for their expertly crafted fountain pens and tactical ballpoints. They offer some beautiful acrylics, but they’re most famous for their metalwork. Less well-known are their inks. Over the years, they’ve released six, largely Arizona-themed colors. Their inks tend to sell quickly, but when I visited, they told me that they hope to reissue older colors in the future and to slowly introduce more.

Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish - ink color range

This is Desert Varnish. A dark, powdery, adzuki bean red, it conjures visions of shadowy desert canyons and rainbow rock walls at sunset. This is a very nice shading ink, and it eagerly offers variation both light and dark. There’s also a strong, dark stroke edging, which gives the ink great definition and character.

Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish - shading and edge

Desert Varnish is an easy ink to like. Manufactured by Papier Plume (you may recognize the nice bottles), it performs beautifully as a writing ink. On all six papers tested, it was clean and sharp, smooth-flowing, and dried quickly, too. This is a good-looking, high-quality ink.

Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish - ink swatch card

I definitely recommend Desert Varnish. Karas Pen Co. are passionate about their products, and about supporting the community, as well. I look forward to trying more of their inks soon, and getting one of their fountain pens at some point, too! Check their website for inks and pens, and don’t miss “the bottom shelf” section for nice specials!

Karas Pen Co. Desert Varnish - ink bottle