Tono & Lims DEEEP FIELD Laniakea – 30ml Fountain Pen Ink (Chroma Shading)

Tono & Lims DEEEP FIELD Laniakea — 30ml Fountain Pen Ink

Tono & Lims DEEEP FIELD Laniakea is a 30ml limited edition fountain pen ink inspired by the Laniakea Supercluster — the vast cosmic web spanning over 500 million light-years that contains our own Milky Way. Named from the Hawaiian "immeasurable heaven", Laniakea captures the layered, shifting complexity of deep space in liquid form. It is one of the most visually sophisticated inks in Tono & Lims' celebrated DEEEP FIELD series, a Korean-made collection that pushes the boundaries of what fountain pen ink can do on the page.

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

What Makes Laniakea Different

Most fountain pen inks do one thing: they put colour on paper. Laniakea does something fundamentally different. Its chroma-separating formula means the ink does not dry to a single, flat colour — instead, it separates as it dries, revealing multiple distinct tones within a single stroke. The effect is less like traditional ink and more like watching a nebula resolve through a telescope: layers of colour emerging from apparent grey.

This is not shimmer. This is not sheen. This is the ink itself refracting into complexity.

Colour Profile

Base Colour

Laniakea opens as a cool, neutral grey — understated on first impression. On the page, however, it begins to transform almost immediately as the water content evaporates.

Dry Shift & Chroma Separation

As Laniakea dries, the grey base separates into:

• Deep green at the ink's densest points
• Golden yellow in mid-tone areas
• Violet-purple at the stroke edges and in lighter passes

The exact balance of these colours shifts depending on three variables: nib wetness, paper absorbency, and how much ink is laid down. A broad, wet nib on Tomoe River paper will show all three tones simultaneously. A fine nib on standard copy paper will show a more restrained version of the same shift.

The Cosmic Effect

The combined result — grey core dissolving into green, yellow, and purple — mimics the colour structure of the Laniakea Supercluster itself, where galactic filaments of different densities and compositions create distinct visual zones when mapped by astronomers. Your writing becomes a small-scale echo of that structure.

Ink Properties at a Glance

Shading

★★★★★ — Exceptional. Shading is Laniakea's primary identity. The tonal gradient within each stroke is among the most dramatic available in the Tono & Lims catalogue. Writers who favour expressive, calligraphic styles will find that each letter carries visible depth — lighter at the stroke entry, darker and more complex at the turn.

Shimmer

None. Laniakea contains no metallic shimmer particles. This makes it fully safe for fine nibs, delicate vintage pens, and pens with narrow ink channels. No risk of clogging or shimmer settling in the bottle.

Sheen

None. Rather than producing metallic edge sheen, Laniakea invests all its visual energy into the colour separation itself. The drama is in the ink film, not on its surface.

Flow & Behaviour

Water-based and well-behaved, Laniakea flows smoothly in standard fountain pen converters and cartridge-converter systems. It does not feather on quality paper, and dry time is consistent with other Tono & Lims inks — slightly longer on coated papers, which can actually enhance colour separation.

How to Get the Most Out of Laniakea

Recommended Paper

The quality of Laniakea's colour separation is directly tied to paper choice. For maximum effect:

• Tomoe River (52gsm or 68gsm) — the gold standard for shading inks; slow absorption lets the chroma separation fully develop
• Midori MD Paper — creamy surface with excellent ink pooling behaviour
• Rhodia / Clairefontaine — reliable and widely available; good separation on both
• Cosmo Air Light — exceptional results for those seeking the full green-to-purple spread

Avoid highly absorbent papers (standard copy paper, Moleskine). Fast absorption will compress the colour gradient before it can fully develop.

Recommended Nibs

• Medium to Broad nibs — more ink on the page means more visible separation
• Stub or Italic nibs — the contrast between thick and thin strokes creates dramatic gradient shifts within each letter
• Flex nibs — the variation in ink flow under flex pressure produces multiple tonal zones in a single downstroke
• Fine nibs — will show the grey-to-green-purple shift on quality paper, though more subtly

Recommended Uses

• Journaling and long-form writing — the colour shift rewards sustained writing sessions
• Hand lettering and calligraphy — every stroke carries its own tonal narrative
• Sketching and wash techniques — diluted with water, Laniakea can produce multi-tonal washes for illustrated journals
• Swatching and ink reviews — Laniakea is a highly photographable ink; the colour separation reads clearly in macro photography

About the DEEEP FIELD Series

The DEEEP FIELD series is Tono & Lims' most technically ambitious regular line. Each ink in the series takes its name and conceptual identity from a specific astronomical phenomenon — from the Oort Cloud at the edge of our solar system to the vast superstructures of the observable universe. The series is defined by its use of chroma-separating pigment technology, which gives every ink a multi-tonal character unavailable in conventional single-pigment inks.

Laniakea sits at the largest scale in the series — the supercluster level — making it conceptually the most expansive ink in the collection.

About Tono & Lims

Tono & Lims is a South Korean ink brand founded on the principle that fountain pen ink should be an artistic medium in its own right. Known for their adventurous colour formulations, limited edition releases, and thematic series, Tono & Lims has built a devoted global following among fountain pen enthusiasts, calligraphers, and stationery collectors. Their inks are manufactured in South Korea and distributed through curated stationery retailers worldwide.

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 

• 🇫🇷 Service bilingue — français et anglais

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