Diamine Imperial Purple

Here is another great purple: Diamine Imperial Purple. This is another ink that is “just purple” to my eye. It is very similar to its label-mate: Majestic Purple, except that Imperial Purple has just a touch more red to it, and I find it to be a more vibrant color than Majestic Purple. As compared to the newest love of my life, PR DC Super Violet, Imperial Purple is similar, but a bit more red and somehow a bit less exciting. Still, when it comes to purples, this is also a very good choice.

The Details:

• No feathering or bleeding
• Good flow and lubrication
• Average drying time. This Lamy Studio is a very wet writer.
• Shading is ok on coated papers and pretty much nil on absorbent papers.
• Not waterproof. Some measure of resistance if you are quick to clean up any spill.

 

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This ink was sent to me for review by the good folks at Diamine Ink Co. I am not otherwise affiliated with them.

Private Reserve DC Super Violet

As most of you know, this past weekend was the DC Pen Show, the largest pen show held in the USA.

Private Reserve Ink has a history of doing special inks for the DC show. Several are now a permanent part of the PR ink line: DC Supershow Blue, DC Supershow Green, and Electric DC Blue. This year, they have released DC Super Violet. This ink, however, is a limited edition ink. There are only 500 bottles available. The bottles are large at 110ml and the cost is quite affordable at $10 a bottle (MSRP). Even if you did not attend the show, you can still get the ink. I purchased my bottle from isellpens.com . Pendemonium also had some for sale, but theirs is priced above MSRP at $13.

Now, I usually don’t go for limited edition inks because I hate the feeling of getting attached to something that may not be available later on, but I just could not pass this one up. I love everything purple, and this ink falls squarely within the portion of the color range that I love most. The bottle is huge at, and I have a lot of inks anyway. I probably won’t run out any time soon, so the fact that the ink is limited shouldn’t be a problem (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).

DC Super Violet is a medium-dark purple. Just like I like it. It is a very true sort of purple. It straddles the line between blue and red. It is similar to Diamine Majestic Purple, but DCSV has a brightness that MP lacks. It is also similar to Rohrer & Klingner Cassia, but DCSV is a little more saturated and brighter than Cassia. To my eye, DCSV is the perfect purple counterpart to DC Supershow Blue: Rich, bright, and a true representation of the color.

The Details:

• Generally, there is no feathering or bleeding though you can get a minimal amount of the two depending on how wet your nib is and the quality of your paper. The Jinhao nib is super wet. I get slight feathering on everything except Rhodia et al.
• The flow is superb and the lubrication is quite good as well.
• This ink dries pretty quickly depending on the paper. I’d say it’s about 3 seconds on absorbent paper to about 20 on Rhodia (with a wet writer).
• The shading is wonderful even on regular paper, and it is outstanding on a coated paper like Rhodia.
• Unfortunately, this ink is not waterproof. It displays very little water resistance as well.

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All in all, I love this ink! It’s just such a shame that this is a limited edition color. Hopefully, they will make a version DCSV that is a permanent offering like they did with DC Supershow Blue. In the meantime. I will just cherish this bottle!

If you want a bottle I suggest you move fast. This one won’t be around for long.

No Affil.

Noodler’s La Reine Mauve

Noodler’s La Reine Mauve, what a fantastic purple ink!

I love this color. I have no idea what took me so long to buy a bottle of it. LRM is a rich, deep, dark purple, and it’s waterproof to boot! What more can a purple lover like me ask for? I’ve been using it everyday for over a month now, and I’m still just as in love with it as I was when I first got it. I highly recommend this ink. It is a win for Noodler’s I assure you.

This ink is quite well behaved. Like all other Noodler’s Eternal/Bulletproof/Warden’s ink lines it will require a little higher maintenance, but nothing beyond an extra rinse here and there. It is quite fast drying, and it can be a hard starter if you leave your pen uncapped. Still, I haven’t had much trouble getting the ink flowing again. It just takes a couple strokes and I’m back in business.

Now, one of the things I really don’t like about this ink is the price. It is about $13 for only 1 ounce of ink. Noodler’s regular like runs about $12 for 3 times as much ink.

The Details:

• No feathering or bleeding on good quality paper. Can bleed a little on light weight/poor quality papers.
• Excellent flow (can be a hard starter if the pen is left uncapped) and average to very good lubrication
• Dries very quickly.
• No shading whatsoever.
• Completely waterproof. This is a Noodler’s eternal ink.
• This ink has a strong chemical smell to it. If you use Noodler’s inks you are very familiar with the smell.
• Finally, I do experience a bit of line bloat with this ink (same with its cousins Fox Red and Hunter Green).

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No Affil.

Swabs of New Platinum Mix Free Inks

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I just received my 9 super samples of the new Platinum Mix Free line. I thought you all might want to see the swabs. I haven’t played around with the inks yet, but I will definitely put up some reviews as soon as I have formed opinions of them.

Initial Thoughts:

• Smoke Black is a rather average black.
• Earth Brown is a reddish-brown. It is very similar to J. Herbin Cafe des Iles.
• Aurora Blue is one of my favorite. It is very similar to Diamine Sapphire Blue.
• Aqua Blue is a nice turquoise blue. It is very similar to J. Herbin Blue Prevenche.
• Leaf Green is also a nice green color. It reminds me a bit of J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage.
• Silky Purple is definitely my favorite color of all these, and it is nearly identical to J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen. It’s very bright and a very red purple.
• Cyclamen Pink is nearly identical to the long since discontinued Levenger Pinkly.
• Flame Red is nearly identical to Noodler’s Dragon’s Napalm.
• Sunny Yellow is a fantastically rich yellow.

Sample Kit retailers:

• ISellPens.com sells a sampler for $20. In their kit you get a 10ml sample of each 9 colors of Mix Free inks, 2 extra bottles, and 2 ink syringes. This is where I purchased my kit.
• GouletPens.com sells a sampler for $30. In their kit you get a 5ml sample of each of the 9 Platinum Mix-Free fountain pen ink colors in labeled plastic vials, a Goulet ink syringe set, and ten empty ink vials.
• PearTreePens.com sells a sampler for $29.95. In their kit you get one 5mL sample of each of the 9 specially designed colors, one Write-Fill Kit, an empty full-sized ink bottle (of their choice), and three empty sample bottles.

There are several places you can get full bottles of Platinum Mix Free inks. Individual bottles are around $20 each. Many places are selling full-sized sets of all 9 inks for $149.

Happy mixing!

No Affil.

Rohrer & Klingner Cassia

This is the last of my reviews of Rohrer & Klingner inks, and I’ve got another great color for you. This is their deep purple. The scan is a little lighter than I’d like, but it’s the best I can do while still keep the color relatively true to hue.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that purple is one of my favorite colors of ink. I own a lot of them from many different brands. This one is rich in color, vibrant, and well-behaved. The only thing it’s missing is some water resistance, but that isn’t necessarily a deal breaker. As it compares to the other purples I have, I’d say it is closest in color to Diamine Majestic Purple (note the mistake on the card. LOL). I quite like it, and recommend it to the purple lover in your life.

I’ve really enjoyed reviewing the inks from this line, and I can honestly say that I like them all. This is definitely a line that deserves more attention than it gets.

The Details:

• No feathering and bleed through
• Excellent flow and lubrication
• Dries relatively quickly
• Offers some shading on high quality papers like Rhodia and Clairefontaine.
• No water resistance whatsoever.

 

(Click to enlarge. Sorry for the mistake there.)

This ink sample was sent to my for review by Ryan at Pear Tree Pens. I am not otherwise affiliated with them. I’d like to thank Ryan for sending along the samples of these wonderful inks. I’ve really enjoyed testing them out. Many many thanks!

I’m back! Rohrer & Klingner Scaboisa

Hey Guys! It’s hard to believe I’m been away from my blog and the writing community for nearly two months. My apologies for the unannounced absence. As most of you know, I’m a graduate student. I’ve had a string of major deadlines for school, and I had to step back from my hobby. It was taking up too much time, time I need to spend working on my dissertation project. I’m finally coming up for air, but I probably will not be able to be as active as I once was. I simply must put school first. At any rate, I have a mountain of finished reviews that I just need to get scanned in, edited, and written up, so there are many reviews to come including thirty or so Diamine ink and Noodler’s new Black Swan ink. Thanks for reading! 🙂

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I love dusky purples. I think I’m pretty open about that. Heck, my website is purple, and my custom-made Edison Glenmont is purple. So I’ve always wanted to try the Scaboisa.

I’ve got to say, I’m actually pretty impressed with this ink. In addition to the superb color. It goes down a dusky purple, but changes to a purplish brown over time.  It’s also relatively free-flowing for an iron gall ink. It flows better for me than Diamine Registrar’s Blue. An added benefit is, of course, it’s waterproofness.

All in all, an excellent iron gall ink that I’d definitely recommend to anyone who loves dusky ink colors and who is looking for a good waterproof ink.

The Details:

• No feathering or bleeding. (cheap paper friendly)
• Good flow, but it does have the dry feeling that is characteristic of iron gall inks.
• The drying time is average
• Offers good shading
• Waterproof

(click to enlarge and sharpen the image)

This sample was sent to me for review by Ryan at Pear Tree Pens. I am not otherwise affiliated with PTP.

Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire

In this month’s Ink Drop, I received a sample of Edelstein Sapphire. I wasn’t very excellent to receive it. I’d been hoping to see a color that was a deeper Sapphire not unlike the old Parker Penman Sapphire. Edelstein is not it. Instead, this is a Sapphire not unlike all other sapphire inks on the market. It’s a purple-blue that looks more like a periwinkle flower than a gemstone.

Still, this color category is appealing to some. To be quite honest, it’s one I don’t mind. I have a couple bottles of J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir and a bottle of Diamine Sapphire for instance. I think the real problem here is the price. Yes, I know Edelstein is packaged in a very expensive looking bottle, but I don’t write with the bottle. I write with the pen! At least Pilot Iroshizuku, for its outrageous price tag, offers inks that are unique in both color and behavioral characteristics.

The Edelstein Sapphire ink ($20) is nice. It flows well and all that, but it really isn’t any nicer than J. Herbin ($9-$10) or Diamine ($12). In short, while it’s nice, it’s not nice enough to pay for the packaging. After all, I don’t keep my inks out on my desk. Direct sunlight is not good for them. It’d just be a pretty bottle sitting in its box, within another box, and up on the shelf. You see where I’m going here?

The Details

• No feathering or bleeding
• Great flow and good lubrication
• Saturation is low to average just like J. Herbin
• Surprisingly slow drying time at 15 seconds on this card and HP LaserJet 24# paper
• Minimal shading, but certainly not impressive as advertised (at least not with this wet writer).
• Not waterproof, and only a little water resistance.

No Affil.

Noodler’s V-Mail North African Violet

[tweetmeme source=”dizzypen” only_single=false https://dizzypen.wordpress.com%5D

When Nathan released the V-Mail line I was Immediately drawn to North African Violet (NAV). The fact that the V-Mail line was somewhat waterproof made this ink even more appealing. Still, I did not get a bottle of it until a couple weeks ago.

If you research this ink you will see occasional mention of issues with it being slow flowing, staining, and generally difficult to rinse out of pens. A friend of mine on FPN also warned me about difficulties she had rinsing NAV from her Visconti Traveling Inkpot. So, just to be safe, I loaded it in a Reform 1745. This Reform is both easy to clean and cheap enough that I won’t be heartbroken if it is damaged.

Because of the high maintenance level of this ink, I’m going to set this review up a bit differently than usual…

Pro:

• Color. This is a gorgeous, vibrant, saturated violet color.
• Waterproof. This ink is waterproof. I consider this a major pro of this ink. It loses little to no color. I tested this by soaking a sample, holding a sample under running water, and doing a water droplet test. The results of the droplet test are below. However, be advised, this ink is NOT BULLETPROOF. I don’t always need bulletproof inks, but I’m always looking for waterproof inks; I’m a bit clumsy.
• No bleeding. There is a little bleeding on cheap copy paper, but it is tolerable. Honestly I just about never use cheap copy paper, so it’s not an issue for me at all.
• No feathering. Same as above.
• No nib creep! I hate nib creep. I couldn’t get NAV to creep if I tried. My FPN friend reports the same. OCD nib wipers can ink with confidence!
• Some shading. This ink is not the best shader, but there is some shading evident.
• Reduced flow? If you need an ink to tame a firehose this may be the one for you. See below.

Con:

• Slow drying. This may not be the ink for left-handed folks. This ink takes anywhere from 10-15 seconds to dry and remains smudge-able for a few minutes.
• Reduced flow. This actually isn’t a big issue at all. I still find this ink entirely useable, but it does slow down the flow a bit. This Reform usually writes about 7/10 in terms of wetness. With NAV it is writing about 5/10. This is not a huge difference, but this does indicate that this ink is best suited for a wet writer. Lubrication is average.
• Sensitive to mixing? I have not tried to mix this ink with any other, but from what I understand, this ink does not play well with other inks. If you want to use it in a mix be sure to do a test batch first and let it sit for 24-48 hours just to be sure it doesn’t throw precipitants or turn to sludge. Just to be on the safe side,  you’ll want to be sure you have thoroughly rinsed your pen of any other color before you fill it with NAV.

Additional Info:

• No staining issues for me. This ink clings, so I was concerned I’d have staining, but it rinsed out of the Reform with no problems. The ink window is just fine. However, the Reform has a black section and a black feed. I do note a bit of a reddish caste on the feed that could indicate a little staining, but  I’m not sure. I’d advice that you use care if you are planning to use this ink in a pen with a light colored section. Just like all purple ink, it may stain.
• No rinsing issues for me. This ink rinsed from my pen with no problem whatsoever. It actually seems to be one of the easiest ink to rinse out of the ones I’ve tried. The pipette I used now has a purple caste, but honestly that is not surprising.

Final Thoughts:

I love this ink. I’ve been searching for a waterproof violet purple ink, and this one fits the bill perfectly. Yes, it is a bit high maintenance, but the pros out weigh the cons so far as I’m concerned. In addition, the cons are not so egregious as to damage my pens.

I’ve presented this information as clearly as I can. I’ve made my mind up about this ink, so now I leave you to come to your own conclusions.

No Affil.

PS: If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to answer the poll question to your right. Thanks!

Dark/Dusky purples

Well, just to round out my week in purples I’ve decided to post a comparison photo of some of the dark and/or dusky purples I’ve used in the past several months.

• I’m not such a big fan of Noodler’s Purple Wampum. It can be a bit feathery, but the color is great!
• PR Ebony Purple is my go to purple for when I want something bordering on black, but not black.
• Mont Blanc Violet has great sentimental value for me. My husband gifted me this ink on our wedding day. I have two bottles of it and only use it on occasion. It is one of the best looking red leaning purples I’ve found.
• JH Poussiere de Lune is gorgeous and performs flawlessly.
• I have a love hate relationship with Diamine Damson. I like the color in the right pen, but I find the ink to be a bit dry feeling at times.
• Diamine Amazing Amethyst is probably my favorite purple right now. It is basically the perfect gray purple that leans blue. There is nothing like it!

J. Herbin Poussière de Lune

I waited longer than most FP enthusiasts to try this ink. I don’t know why really as dusky purples are some of my favorite inks. Let me tell you this ink does not disappoint. It is gorgeous and quite well behaved.

The Details:

• I’d describe this color as a dusky mauve. In a very wet writer and when used on a very absorbent paper, it can be quite deep and dark. It can even look black at times.
• It does not bleed through or feather. I find it quite tolerant of most papers, even those of poor quality.
• The flow and lubrication are excellent. It really makes for a smooth writing experience.
• The drying time is a little longer than I expected at 13 seconds, but I was using a very wet writer and these note card do have longer drying times. Still, I expected it to be faster.
• The shading is good, but not as pronounced as some other dusky purples I have (namely Diamine Amazing Amethyst).
• Now for the most surprising thing about this ink… THE WATER RESISTANCE IS EXCELLENT!!! In a water droplet test (drop water on the page, leave to sit for a couple minutes, soak the water up with a paper towel) this ink barely lost any color and remained perfectly legible! More extensive tests are needed, but I am very happy with these findings!!

No Affil.