De Atramentis Saphirblau (Sapphire Blue)

2 Oct


This image is from the De Atramentis website.

I received this ink as a trade with another FPN member. I had no idea what to expect really, but it was a brand I had not tried before so I decided to go for it. In all, I’d describe this as an average sort of vintage looking blue (light blue with purple undertones). It is almost exactly like my Quink Washable Blue except there are more purple undertones in this De Atramentis Sapphire. I’d also imagine (though I don’t have the inks to compare it to) that it is quite comparable to other big pen house blues such as Waterman Florida Blue and J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir or Violet Pensee and maybe even a Diamine lightish blue.[ Like those other Big house brands, this ink is remarkably well behaved in almost every situation and even on cheap paper. If you like these sort of blues, you can’t go wrong here.]*

The important stuff:

No feather or bleeding.
Flow is a little on the dry side, but generally quite good.
Drying time is average at 4-5 seconds in a Fine nib.
There is some shading. Different pens and paper might yield better results.
It is not waterproof at all, but if you can clean up your spill quickly the writing will still be faintly visible. It doesn’t feather wildly when wet, so that is a plus.

No Affil.

*Amended:

I don’t often go back and amend my reviews, but I just have to point out a couple things: First, I do not recommend this ink. It is watery, boring, and average in every way imaginable. Second, the behavior is so so, but it can be feathery in a wet writer. The pen used for this review was a very dry writer.

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