Dominant Industry Standard 104 Dominant Blue – 25ml Fountain Pen Ink (Sheen)

Sheen inks tend to fall into two camps: the ones that go so heavy they overwhelm the base colour, and the ones that hold back so much you barely notice. Dominant Blue lands somewhere better than both — a proper cobalt blue that stays clearly blue on the page, with a warm red sheen that shows up generously without taking over.

Dominant Industry Standard 104 Dominant Blue is a 25ml fountain pen ink from the Standard Series, made in small batches at Dominant Industry's studio in Paju, South Korea. Like all Standard Series inks, it's built for everyday fountain pen use — no shimmer particles, no special handling, safe for both fountain pens and dip pens.

Available at Shosai (shosai.ca) in Gatineau / Ottawa — with in-store pickup (J9J 0K6) and Canada-wide shipping.

The Colour

Base Tone

Dominant Blue is a saturated, classic cobalt blue — a confident mid-blue that reads clearly as blue rather than drifting toward navy or teal. It's the kind of blue that works equally well for everyday notes and more considered writing.

Sheen

The standout feature here is the pronounced red sheen that surfaces wherever ink pools or sits thick on the page — even with a fine nib, reviewers note the sheen stays visible while the blue base still shows clearly through it. On premium papers like Tomoe River, the red sheen becomes especially vivid; it's also been reported showing up on ordinary notebook paper, which isn't always the case with sheening inks.

Shading

Independent reviewers disagree somewhat on shading here — some describe it as showing little to no shading, with the ink laying down a fairly consistent tone; others note a noticeable tonal range in normal writing, particularly on absorbent papers. In practice, expect the sheen to be the star of the show, with shading playing a secondary role that may be more or less visible depending on your pen, nib, and paper.

Shimmer

Dominant Blue has no shimmer. As a Standard Series ink, its visual interest comes entirely from colour and sheen rather than added glitter particles.

Ink Properties at a Glance

Flow & Dry Time

Average, well-saturated flow, with dry time reported between roughly 27 and 40 seconds depending on nib and paper.

Water Resistance

Dominant Blue has low water resistance and is not suited to documents requiring permanence.

Formula & Safety

A dye-based ink, pH-neutral and safe for resin and celluloid fountain pens, with a good balance of permeability and viscosity that keeps it gentle on nibs.

Paper Performance

On premium papers such as Tomoe River, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine, Dominant Blue performs cleanly with only minor feathering or bleeding on lower-quality copy paper.

Recommended Uses

• Daily journaling and correspondence — a dependable, expressive blue with just enough visual interest to feel special
• Swatching and sheen demonstrations — reviewers regularly compare it to well-known red-sheening blues, and it consistently holds its own
• Everyday fountain pen writing — works well across nib sizes, including fine nibs, without losing the sheen effect

About the Standard Series

The Standard Series is Dominant Industry's core lineup of everyday fountain pen inks — no shimmer, no colour-changing effects, just richly developed colour built for daily use. Dominant Blue is one of the line's most talked-about entries, prized for offering serious sheen without tipping into the unpredictable behaviour of some heavier sheening inks.

About Dominant Industry

Dominant Industry is a South Korean ink studio based in Paju, dedicated to small-batch production and colours drawn from natural light and landscape. Rather than working from a flat colour chart, the brand develops each ink around a specific visual idea, aiming for what they describe as "bottled light" — colour that can be felt as much as seen.

Product Specifications

Available at Shosai — Ottawa–Gatineau

Shosai (shosai.ca) is a fine stationery boutique serving the Ottawa–Gatineau National Capital Region. We carry a curated selection of premium fountain pen inks, papers, and writing instruments from the world's most respected stationery brands.

• 📍 In-store pickup: Gatineau, QC — J9J 0K6
• 🛵 Local delivery: Available in the Ottawa–Gatineau area
• 🚚 Canada-wide shipping
• 🇨🇦 Bilingual service — English and French

Whether you are new to fountain pens or a seasoned collector, Shosai is your local destination for inks that go beyond the ordinary.