This is one of my end-of-year videos, and for 2025 I’m crowning my personal Ink of the Year from inks I reviewed during the year. That’s the key rule: I had to have reviewed it in 2025 (it doesn’t have to be a brand-new release), and it also needs to be relatively available, perform well, and be a colour I genuinely enjoy using. This isn’t a definitive “best inks” list for everyone—these are my favourites, based on my own experience, and your list will (and should) look different. I run through a handful of highly commended inks first: Retro 51 Blue Black (gorgeous, strong and saturated, but wildly expensive here in Australia), Octopus Fluids x Fountainfeder Grünkohl (an earthy green that absolutely blew my mind), and Lamy Sepia (a lovely terracotta-brown sepia that’s affordable and performs beautifully). Then I talk about the very close runner-up: Diamine 160th Canalside, a darker, mossy green that’s wet, delightful, and has lived in my rotation alongside classics like Sherwood Green. My 2025 winner is Octopus Fluids x Fountainfeder Schietwetter (“bad weather”)—a moody blue-grey with a green lean that just nails my aesthetic. It’s not super gushy-wet, so I can use it across more papers, and in a wet broad nib it gives gorgeous shading. It’s one of those inks where I genuinely enjoy how the writing looks on the page, not just what the words say—and for me, that’s the whole point.