Lamy Dark Lilac Fountain Pen Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Lamy Dark Lilac ink is a special edition formulation designed to complement the new Lamy Dark Lilac Safari fountain pen (which I do not own). It looks spectacular in my TWSBI 580 AL purple, however.

Lamy Dark Lilac in TWSBI 580

The ink is a true purple, meaning that it is neither too red nor too blue in tone. Some purples, such as Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst and Diamine Imperial Purple, have a red tone whereas others, such as Diamine Damson shift more towards the blue/grey spectrum.

Dark Lilac is a deep, rich purple but not so dark that it appears black. It is a wet ink and flows well from my TWSBI 580 with a medium nib. It writes without feathering on both Rhodia and Tomoe paper and dries fairly quickly, though it is definitely not waterproof.

Lamy Dark Lilac on Rhodia Paper

Lamy Dark Lilac on Tomoe River Paper

In large nibs, the ink offers nice shading.

There is also a hint of gold sheen, but it is difficult to see unless you view it in direct sunlight or bright light.

The Lamy bottle is unique in that it has a plastic bottom that holds blotting paper you can use after filling your pen. Word to the wise: put the cap back on the ink bottle before attempting to tear off some blotting paper lest you spill dark purple ink all over your counter and hands. A friend told me so.

The bottom of the bottle also sports a deep well so you can dip your pen into the deepest part of the bottle to collect as much ink as possible.

The bottle is quite large and holds 50ml of ink. It isn't the prettiest ink bottle design, but it suits the utilitarian aesthetic of Lamy.

The ink is quite popular and is currently sold out at Goulet Pens, JetPens, and other retailers. Goulet indicates they will restock Dark Lilac by late May for $10.50.

UPDATE: Goldspot has about 30 bottles in stock right now. Be quick!

Waterman Mysterious Blue Ink Review

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

I'm always on the hunt for exciting blue inks, and the most recent to come across my desk is Waterman's Mysterious Blue. I've had some trouble coming up with a description for the color of this ink, but I've settled on a rusty blue jeans color. It does have a bit of mystery to it, but that's bound to happen when using the same inks between different pens and papers. But, for being a dark blue ink, it's got some great character.

First off, the shade of this ink is much darker than I expected from looking at images online. It certainly photographs lighter than it appears on the paper. When writing, it shades beautifully and shows off navy, indigo, and green tones. It really is a beautiful color with loads of hidden characteristics. It's dark enough for office use, but has plenty of personality.

It's a well-lubricated ink that is very easy to clean. I haven't experienced any issues with it clogging, skipping, or failing to start immediately. It's a well-behaved ink, and acted exactly as I expected.

My favorite quality of this ink is the shading. It exposes different layers of the complex color hues and saturation, and I'm constantly enamored with what comes out on the page with this ink. It's dark, but it's moody.

Feathering is pretty much non-existent, and show-through is minimal on most papers even when using a wet 1.1 mm stub nib.

It's on the dark side of the blue spectrum, but not dark enough to call it a blue-black ink. And that's exactly how I like my dark blue inks — still blue.

JetPens offers this ink in several different formats. You can get a 50ml bottle, a package of 6 international short cartridges, or a package of 8 international long cartridges.

Overall, I'm really enjoying this ink and look forward to adding to the semi-regular rotation. I'm a huge sucker for lighter, brighter blues, but this is a nice contender for more subdued purposes.

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

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.)