Posts filed under Ink Reviews

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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Posted on December 6, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Diamine, Ink Reviews.

Lamy Petrol Ink Review

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

Every year, Lamy introduces new colors for their Safari and AL Star pens, along with corresponding ink colors. And, every year, they eventually sell out. In the case of Lamy Petrol, the rate at which the pens, ink bottles, and ink cartridges sold out was phenomenal. At this point, it's difficult to find a retailer that sells the ink, and there's slim pickings when it comes to the pen. Earlier this year, the Pacific Blue edition AL Star and ink and it had a similar effect. All that to say that people really love the Lamy special editions.

If you're in the market to pick up some Petrol ink from the used market or for samples, here's what you can expect. If you're familiar with Lamy Blue-Black, Petrol is nothing like it. Petrol is described as a dark teal, but it's really more of a teal-black. Unlike Lamy Blue-Black, Petrol actually lives up to the "teal-black" name I've given it. Saturation is dark and luscious, and there's not much shading at all. Light that falls on this ink hardly escapes. The light that does escape does so through the fairly high amount of sheen, which casts a red shade in the certain light. Overall, it's a fascinating ink and one that I wish Lamy would keep in stock.

Like all other Lamy inks, this one is well-behaved and predictable. I haven't had any issues with show-through, bleeding, feathering, or skipping. It's a balanced ink when it comes to lubrication and flow, and it suits any nib with similar results due to the dark saturation. As someone who enjoys lighter inks that shade profusely, Petrol is a bit out of my comfort zone...but in a very good way.

Dry time for Petrol can be a bit long. I've measured anywhere from 15 to 35 seconds using a fine nib. Results aren't much better in a smaller nib, and they're understandably worse in larger, wetter nibs. If quick-drying inks are your thing, this one won't hit the spot.

Like I mentioned a bit earlier, there's not much shading with this ink when writing. The only time I've noticed shading is when doing swabs. Even then, it's fairly mild. The surprise feature, however, is the sheen that pops off the page. It's really easy to see the red sheen when there's indirect light on the paper. Sheen always fascinates me because it makes the ink appear wet and also gives the illusion of a different color in the right light. It's a fun effect, and Petrol has gobs of it.

As far as color and darkness, I don't really have anything close that I can compare to. Both Franklin Christoph's Midnight Emerald and Oster's River of Fire are notably teal. Midnight Emerald is fairly dark, but it's very easy to distinguish the green and blue. Petrol, on the other hand, is incredibly easy to mistake as black.

Overall, Petrol is a pretty ink with some awesome sheen. I just wish it resembled the color of the pen more, which is the same color lightened up a bit. When I think of dark teal, I think of Midnight Emerald. With Petrol, we get a black with a bit of teal mixed in that sometimes pops up above the black surface.

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

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Posted on November 1, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Lamy, Ink Reviews.

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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Posted on October 11, 2017 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Diamine, Ink Reviews.