Monami - Olive

Monami Olive - Ink drop

I don’t know why we don’t find Monami inks in more retailer’s selections. Monami is a huge stationery company in Korea, and their pens and notebooks are widely available throughout Asia and a bit beyond. When it comes to their bottled fountain pen inks, however, they are far less widely known. That needs to change.

Monami Olive fountain pen ink color

In Korean, the box and bottle call this ink “Mediterranean Olive, but in English it is simply named “Olive”. That’s the case for most of Monami’s inks, and I wish they would use the more creative names in all languages. In any case, olive green this definitely is! Many olive inks lean yellow in lighter shaded areas, and you see that here in the swatches. However, in writing, Monami’s Olive stays a true olive green from light to dark along each stroke. It’s a good shading ink on most papers, and that shows off the colors very nicely.

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

This is a very wet ink! On most good-quality papers, it performs very nicely and consistently. (Look at the depth of color complexity and crisp edges on Cosmo Air Light!) On cheap office copy paper, the wetness can lead to very minor spots of feathering, but a finer nib or drier writing pen takes care of that issue. Surprisingly, show-through wasn’t bad at all. Overall, it’s a good writing ink, but maybe choose your pen with control in mind.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

I love the pure olive greens of Monami’s Olive ink. A big online retailer needs to make this brand more available outside Asia. Monami offers a nice range of colors, their cone-shaped bottles are fun and functional, performance is very good, and at USD$3.20 per 30 ml bottle, the price is fantastic! If you can find them, don’t hesitate to give them a try!

Monami Olive ink writing samples

Monami Olive - Swatch Card

Monami Olive - Swatch Comparisons

Monami Olive - 30 ml Ink Bottle and Box