H301 is from Banmi’s Molandi series ( also called “Morandi“ on some listings). The twelve inks in the series have a nice, saturated, pastel appearance. You’ll find them on many shopping sites and always priced nicely.

This is an attractive red purple. It has a gentle, powdery look that brings some red wines to mind. I first thought it would be a close match to many of my other inks in this spectrum, but nothing was quite the same.

This ink offers a bit of shading on some high-quality papers, but it isn’t dramatic. On coated papers, some stroke ends lighten to a pink purple. I like the contrast. On uncoated papers, shading is very slight, but there’s a gradual shift from medium to dark.

Visually, you’d think this was a dry ink, but in writing it’s actually neutral to just slightly wet in flow. Drying times were quite fast.

Writing performance is very good overall. There was a little micro-feathering in spots on a couple of papers, but others were quite clean. On uncoated papers, there’s a little spreading, but it isn’t enough to ruin the appearance of writing. Both of these issues were minor, and I’d still call this a nice writing ink.

So far, I’ve been impressed with Banmi inks. I’ve liked both of the inks that I’ve tried from this series. H301 would be a nice daily writer, and it pairs well with H170, too. You’ll find them for around US$4-5, including shipping. I don’t have any complaints, and at that price, they’re a real bargain! I’ll pick up more from this series in the future.