Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig ink review

Happy New Year everyone! To continue where I left off last year, I'm going to do a quick review of another yellow highlighter ink, namely Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig. Why a quick review? Because this ink is incredibly similar in appearance to my previously tested highlighter ink, Noodler's Firefly Yellow, I will only mention the differences between the two. For appearance and general behavior such as drying time, bleedthrough, feathering, please refer to my review of Noodler's Firefly. I tested both inks in my trusty Pilot Parallel 6.0mm which works really well in the role of highlighter marker.

I already said that there's virtually no difference between these two inks, at least as far as I can see. If I squint and concentrate really hard, I do believe that Year of the Golden Pig is slightly more intense. I suspect that this is due to the second of the differences listed below (opacity).

Bottle
Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig is more expensive than Firefly and it only comes in the large 4.5oz (133ml) bottles which cost $24 or $0.18 per milliliter.

Opacity
While Noodler's Firefly is clear, Year of the Golden Pig appears milky. As a result, the latter behaves more like a pigment-based ink while Firefly feels dye-based. I'm not sure if that's actually the case but this is how these two inks feel to me.

As a result of this milkiness, Year of the Golden Pig has the potentially annoying habit to dry up in a thick crust inside the pen you are using. Such was the case with my Pilot Parallel. I haven't managed to completely clean up the muck after washing it throughly with water. I will keep trying. If you are using this ink in a proper felt-tip highlighter marker, obviously this won't be a problem, and this cautionary tale is valid only if you use something like the Pilot Parallel.

Water resistance
Although I haven't tested the two inks fir water resistance (because I deviated from my standard way of testing inks), the biggest distinction between them, and perhaps the only one that should matter to anyone, is that Year of the Golden Pig is waterproof, while Firefly is not. If you need a waterproof highlighter marker, then I believe you don't have another choice.

Flow
It seems to me that Firefly flows a little better than Golden Pig. This fact plus the water resistance might give credence to my pigment theory.

Conclusion
If one had to make a choice between these two inks, it wouldn't be too hard. The biggest question is whether you need water resistance or not. If not, then it's Noodler's Firefly all the way. Not only is this ink less fussy (it cleans easier and flows better) but it can be bought in a smaller bottle and is less expensive. You can also use it in either a marker or something like the Pilot Parallel without fear.

On the other hand, if water resistance is high on your list of priorities, Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig is the obvious choice, provided you only use it in a marker, or a dedicated Pilot Parallel. Also, in a fountain pen, daily use is indicated, otherwise the ink stagnates and might clog up the pen eventually.

There is one other yellow highlighter ink that I would like to test but I could kick myself for not buying a sample when I had the chance. It simply slipped my mind. That ink is Pelikan's M205 Duo. I am curious to put these three inks next to each other but it won't happen very soon I'm afraid. Until then, you can still chose between these two Noodler's inks which, combined, should serve most needs.

Here's a sample of Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig tested on Rhodia 80g paper, also compared with a classic Sharpie marker. The photo doesn't do full justice to this ink, believe me. The ink is much more vibrant and eye-searing in real life. Notice that the Sharpie looks a little bit dull in comparison.

Noodler's Firefly Yellow ink review

As a departure from my usual reviews, I will attempt for the first time to review a highlighter ink. There aren't many companies that make such inks, in my knowledge, apart from Pelikan with a single yellow ink and Noodler's which has a large variety of them.

For now I will review Noodler's Firefly Yellow, a yellow ink which is meant to be used to fill, well... highlighters. The concept here is that by refilling highlighter marker pens instead of throwing them away, it helps save not only money but also the environment, in the long run. As such, if you do a lot of highlighting and switch to these inks you'll be saving your wallet as well as the planet. That sounds great, so let's see how this ink performs. Is it a true replacement for the tried and true highlighter marker?

For my testing I used 2 pens: a J Herbin glass dip pen for the written text and a Pilot Parallel 6.0mm calligraphy pen. The Pilot Parallel is an amazing substitute for a highlighter marker. The tip never wears out and the edges of the line are very crisp. In addition, the 6mm nib is plenty wide.

Bottle
From the start, Noodler's Firefly is a good choice because it keeps the same price as most of their other inks, namely $12.50 for a 3oz (89ml) bottle, which makes it $0.14 per milliliter, or $18.00 for a 4.5oz (133ml) bottle, which makes it $0.13 per milliliter. If you highlight a lot, the bigger bottle is obviously the better choice. Besides, it has a built-in eyedropper which might help you refill your marker. I did not buy a whole bottle, but just a sample.

Color and saturation
I will direct you straight to the sample I created on Rhodia 80g paper (shown at the end of this review). For comparison to Noodler's Firefly I used a regular Sharpie highlighter. A word of caution before I continue: the sample is definitely not color accurate. I tried my best at post-processing but I found it almost impossible to reproduce the color I see in real life.

Having said that, there is almost no difference between Noodler's Firefly and a regular highlighter. If anything, Firefly is more vibrant. The bright neon yellow is at least as powerful as the Sharpie. Placing the two side by side and now knowing which is which, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Performance
To test this ink I used it to highlight a few different types of text.

The first sample is written in Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which is a bulletproof (forgery resistant) and waterproof ink. Notice that there is some slight smearing thanks to my impatience. I should have waited longer for the ink to dry. Unfortunately even a bulletproof ink takes its time to dry completely on such a high quality paper as the Rhodia I used.

The second sample is written in Waterman Havana Brown, which is a standard, non-water resistant ink. There is some more smearing here but again, I should have let the ink dry longer.

The following 3 samples are written in pencil, Sharpie felt-tip and ballpoint pen. There's no smearing here, obviously.

All in all, the behavior of Firefly Yellow is as expected. For highlighting other inks I would advise you to let the ink dry thoroughly before highlighting.

Shading
There is no real shading to talk about here. If you look closely you will notice darker patches where the ink pooled a bit but that's not significant enough to consider it true shading. In fact, a regular marker would behave the same.

Feathering
There is no feathering.

Bleedthrough
None, even on cheap photocopy paper. That's very good behavior, considering the wide swath applied by the Pilot Parallel.

Flow and lubrication
Firefly Yellow flowed really well in the Pilot Parallel.

Drying time
Drying time wasn't amazing on Rhodia paper but it wasn't bad either. If you give it a few seconds before turning the page you should be ok. It obviously depends what pen you are using this ink in. I have a feeling that a proper marker pen with a felt tip would dry quicker. The Pilot Parallel does tend to produce wetter lines. On photocopy paper the drying time was even shorter.

Smearing when dry
None!

Water resistance
Noodler's Firefly Yellow is not waterproof.

Conclusion
Noodler's Firefly Yellow is a great alternative to using disposable highlighter markers. Not only does it save the Earth a little but it can also help your wallet in the long run. It is a very well behaved ink which not only mimics a standard highlighter but even surpasses it a little in the vibrancy of its color. The only thing that keeps it from being perfect is the lack of water resistance but not everyone needs that feature in their highlighting ink. My only regret is that I don't use highlighter markers, or I would have bought a bottle of this ink without second thoughts.