Welcome back to the Marilyn Darling Show—today I’m doing an ink review of The Wet Pen “Madrona.” Going into it, I thought we were firmly in red ink territory: a nice brick red with some sheen popping out in the comparison panel and swatch. But as I tested it across my paper stack and started comparing it to my other reds, I had to admit I was thinking thoughts—this ink leans way more orange than I expected, like a brownish reddish orang-ish undertone that really shows up once you start lining it up against true reds. I also put Madrona through a water resistance test, and it’s only mildly water resistant. There’s a little bit left behind, but it gets kind of smoochy, so I personally wouldn’t trust it for the outside of an envelope. On paper, it’s very “find the right paper for your money” energy: it looks excellent on HP Premium 32lb and several smoother notebooks, but it feathers like a chicken on some lower-quality papers (and yes, I’m looking at you, cotton fiber and certain notebook sheets). If you love warm, sheeny inks that can swing orange depending on paper, Madrona is absolutely worth a look—just pair it with paper that behaves.