De Atramentis Fog Grey

De Atramentis makes some of my favourite inks. Although they aren’t typically as popular or hyped as other brands, but I love them for their reliability and their performance – they typically behave well in all pens and on all papers.

I spent a while searching for my perfect grey ink and during this, I picked up De Atramentis Fog Grey. Fog Grey turns out to be a rather dark neutral (maybe a little cool leaning) ink that is close to black. Once again, it behaves very well on most papers tested.

It’s a little too saturated for my taste – the ink closest to my perfect grey colour is probably Iroshizuku Fuyu Syogun, which is a lot lighter with a hint of blue/purple to it. As a result, the ink shoes very little shading and only in wider nibs. There is no sheen to be found.

This isn’t quite what I was looking for when I was looking for my perfect grey ink. However, I think this is a perfect colour for anyone wishing for an ink that is slightly easier on the eye than black. Its softer but not so light that its hard to read. Its certainly appropriate in the most conservative work situations.

If you’ve never tried de Atramentis inks, I strongly recommend giving them a try. The colour range is not quite as large as some other brands and their inks are a little flatter in colour – there’s not much sheen, shading or multichromatic shading to speak of. However, what they do produce is reliable and well performing so they are perfect for an office environment.