PenBBS - 103 Hyacinth Macaw

PenBBS - 103 Hyacinth Macaw - Ink drop

This brilliant blue is Hyacinth Macaw, No. 103 from PenBBS. They’ve really distinguished themselves in the ink world over the past few years by offering a huge range of unusual, interesting creations. At 1 m in length, Hyacinth Macaws are the largest flying parrots. They’re a deep, dusty blue with vibrant yellow near the eyes and beak. Their beauty makes them highly desirable, and thus, endangered.

PenBBS - 103 Hyacinth Macaw - Shades and shimmer!

Visually, Hyacinth Macaw matches its namesake bird very well. This is a lovely, powdery mid-to-dark blue. If this were simply a blue ink, it would still be gorgeous, but there’s a lot more to this ink! To match the dashes of yellow on the bird, a brilliant, brassy-gold shimmer highlights this ink, coating areas of pooling, and floating amidst the blue depths of the base color. As seen in the splatter, a fiery cinnamon red sheen surrounds areas of saturation, and carries over to written strokes as a distinct stroke edge. It’s a powerful combination to the eye.

PenBBS - 103 Hyacinth Macaw - Ink swatch card

As a writing ink, Hyacinth Macaw performs very well on premium papers. On all 4, strokes were crisp and sharp, with a strong sheen edging. There was some shading on Rhodia and Mnemosyne, but this is a shimmer ink, so shading is often hidden. Drying ranged from 15-25 seconds. It performed well on all four premium test papers. However, there was some feather (don’t blame the parrot) and significant bleed on office copy paper. Cheap papers should be avoided.

This is an easy ink to recommend. It’s a beautiful combination of colors and textures. However, I don’t recommend using it on office copy. It’s not a good match. Keep this beautiful ink on the good stuff and let this bird fly!