Antigua’s - Olive

Antigua’s Olive - beautiful, floral green ink drop

This is Olive from Antigua’s, a company I've been eyeing for some time. Based in Madrid, they’ve been creating well-loved pens since 2014, and more recently have added a strong line of 21 inks to their lineup.

Antigua’s Olive - a beautiful color palette

The simplicity of this ink’s name highlights the purity of the colors’s identity. Olive may be the most olive ink in my collection! However, as the splatter shows, this isn’t a simple ink. It’s a complex whirlpool of greens, yellows, and browns that blend together to create the perfect olive green. You’ll find some nice shading on many papers, enough to brighten the smile, but not distract. There’s also a nice, darkened stroke edge on coated papers that adds distinction and makes it pop. I love the color, and how true it is to its name.

Antigua’s Olive - shades light and dark

In writing, this is a nicely wet ink with good flow and comfort on the page. Olive is a bit picky in terms of paper. When it’s nice, it’s very nice, but I did find some, mostly minor feathering on a couple of papers. Strokes were razor-sharp on Kokuyo and Fabriano. I love the beautiful results on both. It was nice on Rhodia, too, with only traces of feather. Results were a little worse on Mnemosyne. Drying ranged from average to a bit longer, but it wasn’t a problem. It was usable on office copy paper, so this is a fairly versatile ink, overall.

Antigua’s Olive - beautifully sharp on Kokuyo paper

I really like the look of Antigua’s Olive. The green has stronger yellow influences than some of the popular inks that I thought would be close. If you stick to compatible papers, you’re truly rewarded with this ink! I’m looking forward to more from Antigua’s! You can find them at www.antiguas.es. (And good news! Starting in January 2024, full international shipping will be available!)

Antigua’s Olive - mostly sharp on Rhodia

Antigua's Olive on Mnemosyne paper

Antigua’s Olive - ink swatch card and drying

Antigua’s Olive - ink swatch comparisons

January 2023