Diamine Bilberry Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Inks are like restaurants in a big city — there's so many worth trying, but not nearly enough time or money for one person to give them the chance they deserve. This time around, I'm back on a purple kick with Diamine Bilberry.

Diamine Bilberry is a dark purple ink with deep saturation and good shading characteristics. Being as dark as it is, it really benefits from a larger nib to show off the complex shading and sheen hidden in the depths. I've used this in a couple of pens so far, and I've enjoyed using it much more in the 1.1mm stub nib. The additional line width shows a lot more of the ink's character. In certain light, the ink has a definite blue hue, but it's still unmistakably purple.

As far as shading goes, Bilberry isn't a top performer. It certainly shades easily, but the variation is minimal. Even so, it's a pleasant effect. What really stands out with this ink is the golden sheen that appears after the ink dries. When you talk about sheen characteristics, some inks require a good hard look in the right light before you notice it. Bilberry has sheen that is incredibly easy to see. If I didn't know better, I'd say this ink has some sort of shimmering ingredient. The golden sheen in this ink is a real treat.

For a deeply saturated ink, Bilberry dries really quickly. In my tests, the ink is normally dry in about 10-15 seconds. This isn't noteworthy as far as dry times go, but it's not bad either.

Flow and lubrication with this ink are superb, along with the ease of clean-up. I wouldn't expect anything less from a Diamine ink.

It also stands up well to different types of paper. Bleeding, feathering, and show-through are minimal, if noticeable. Even when I've used a large nib, I rarely see any signs of feathering on mediocre paper. It's a solid performer across the board.

Like most Diamine inks, you have a few choices in terms of format and quantity. Bilberry is available as an 18-count pack of cartridges, a 30ml bottle, or an 80ml bottle.

If you're looking for a business-friendly, dark purple ink to add to your rotation, Bilberry is a great choice.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Diamine Blood Orange Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Diamine Blood Orange, part of a collection of inks released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Diamine, is a stellar red-orange that hits a great balance between bright orange and murky blood.

When you buy an ink from Diamine, you can be sure that it will perform well and be easy to clean. The same is true of Blood Orange.

The first thing you probably noticed about this ink is the color. When you hear the words "blood orange," a wide array of colors come to mind. With this ink, I think Diamine has hit the perfect balance between all the colors that come to mind in this combination. It's a medium blood red mixed with just enough bright orange to make the ink pop. It's a great color, but probably not work-friendly. It's perfect for Halloween, though.

Like all Diamine inks I've used, the flow is great. It starts immediately and doesn't have any issues with skipping or starting. In the pens I've tried with this ink, it hits the middle of the road in terms of ink flow. One of the pens I tried is a dry writer, and this ink did just fine with lubricating the nib and providing enough ink to form consistent and reliable lines.

I haven't noticed any feathering when using broad nibs and good paper (by good I mean anything 80gsm or higher), but it does start to feather a bit on cheap copy paper. Being an orange-red, the show-through is also minimal. In most cases, you can't see any ghosting or ink spots on the back side of the page.

One of my favorite features of any ink is the shading, and this ink doesn't disappoint. It's not a dramatic amount of shading, but it's enough to move from a light red-orange to a darker blood-orange color. The fading back and forth is really pretty, and I enjoy it a lot. It's very similar to Diamine Ancient Copper in terms of shading, but lighter and with more orange tones.

Overall, I'm really impressed by Blood Orange and have enjoyed using it in a variety of pens. It looks great in broad or specialty nibs, but the character still shows through in small nibs. If the color appeals to you, I highly recommend picking this up.

You can order this ink in a special 40ml bottle or a 20-pack of cartridges.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Diamine Turquoise Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Sometimes, an ink name is simple and direct. Black, blue, green, etc. But, in most cases, these colors are bland compared to their exotic alternatives.

With Diamine Turquoise, the simple name does not indicate a simple, bland ink. It goes to show that you don't need an exotic name for an exotic, beautiful color.

Diamine Turquoise is a beautiful blue-green color with excellent properties. It dries quickly, it shades nicely, and it works like a champ in every pen I've tried. Really, it's a typical Diamine ink, and the only difference from the others is the color. That beautiful turquoise color.

Unlike many of my favorite blue-green inks, this ink has a lighter shade that shows off more of the variety of hues. With Sailor Yama-dori or Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, the shade is darker and harder to discern. It's subtle, which possesses its own beauty and delight. But Turquoise doesn't hold any punches, it's not meant for business use, and it delights with its bright, Caribbean hues. If you want to liven up a page, this ink is a great choice.

When you get down to it, Turquoise is a standard Diamine ink. It flows well, it dries relatively quickly, it exhibits some nice shading, and it's dependable. I really have nothing bad to say about the ink at all. The main draw is the color — the bright, turquoise that jumps from the paper when you write. If turquoise or bright blue-greens aren't your thing, you won't like this ink. But, if you happen to like the color, you can be assured that the ink behaves admirably.

One significant characteristic about this ink that's worth pointing out is the shading. It doesn't exhibit a crazy amount of shading, but it's definitely noticeable when writing normally. You can coax out more shading with a larger nib and slower strokes, but it isn't a slouch by any means. If there's one complaint about this ink, it's that the shading is a bit light for my taste. But, I'm not qualifying that as a complaint, because it has plenty of shading for most occasions. No ink is perfect, right?

In the land of standard Turquoise inks, I only have experience with Diamine's. I know that many people are fans of Lamy's offering, but I haven't yet tried it. With how pleased I am with Diamine's, I'm not sure I'll ever need to try another one.

It's turquoise, it's dependable, and it's affordable. As long as you like the color, it's a big win all around. As with other Diamine offerings, you can score this in a large 80ml bottle or a pack of 18 cartridges. It's a great ink, and I highly recommend it.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)