Starry Ink - Red Radish

Starry Ink Red Radish - Ink drop

I have to say, Starry Ink Red Radish is a real pleasure to use. It’s from the Cold Brew series of 100% plant-based inks with no synthetic additives, so it’s entirely safe and fountain pen-friendly.

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

The Cold Brew series inks all seem to start out as one color when wet, and then dry to something different. Red Radish is made from the skins of salad radishes, and it goes down on the paper exactly that color. Within seconds, you get the dusty pink-violet that you see in most of my images. On Takasago Bank paper, it didn’t change at all, and the swatch image shows you the color you see when the ink is wet. (Bank paper has a starch coating that often gives interesting and unusual color results.) Shading is very nice, too. The swatches show off the darker, more concentrated purple shades, but on a sheet of writing you’ll see it as more of a dusty pink-violet, as the lighter highlights balance the darker stroke ends.

Ink Swatches on Iroful and Takasago Bank papers

Writing performance is excellent! I don’t have a single complaint or hesitation. It’s nice and wet in flow, but very well behaved. Strokes were very sharp and clean on all papers tested. There’s no feathering or bleeding at all, and drying is quick, overall. You’ll enjoy this ink.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

Starry Ink Red Radish and the other Cold Brew series inks are available in 3-ink, 5 ml sampler sets or in 35 ml individual bottles. The packaging is particularly nice, as is the price! From ink to bottle to packaging, these all-natural inks are innovative, interesting, and sustainably sourced, and that probably helped the series win a 2024 Good Design Award from the Japanese Institute of Design Promotion. You can contact @starryink_official on IG, or look for the ink on shopping sites, and by the end of 2024, the brand will launch their own site for sales with international shipping.

Starry Ink Red Radish - Swatch Card

Special thanks to Starry Ink for sending this and several other inks over to try! (As usual, if I accept inks or pens to try, it is always with the clear understanding that I may or may not review them. If I do, I will always include all the negatives and positives that I find.)

Starry Ink Red Radish - Comparisons

Starry Ink Red Radish - 35 ml and 5 ml set

JIDP 2024 Award - Starry Ink’s Cold Brew series