PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Ink drop

Today’s ink comes from PenBBS’ Season 30 and is part of their city-themed series. This is PenBBS 439 Dunhuang. It has a nice, dusty, desert rock style, and that matches well for an ink honoring a city on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Dark edging

Dunhuang blends a milky orange and chestnut brown to create a cool, very calming, powdery orange caramel. It’s very easy on the eye, and the generous shading gives it an interesting personality. On many papers, there are strong darks and lights on each stroke. It’s a very attractive ink on the page.

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Light to dark shades

439 Dunhuang is a very nice writing ink. It has a consistent, fairly wet flow, but remains well-behaved. On coated papers, there’s a darkened edging that keeps strokes pretty well defined, but there’s the occasional touch of feathering on areas of the page that have been excessively handled. Uncoated papers show less shading, and bring out a bit more of the orange, but don’t have any problems with feathering.

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Stroke edge on Rhodia

I have a few 60 ml bottles from PenBBS, but this was my first of the newer 30 ml. I like the bottle. I also like 439 Dunhuang. It’s a bit more interesting than a traditional brown, and the orange aspects add a friendliness and a freshness, that I really like. If you don’t have any inks from PenBBS, this is a great place to start, but they offer a huge range of nice inks. Explore and enjoy!

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Ink swatch card

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Ink swatch comparisons

PenBBS - 439 Dunhuang - Ink bottle and box