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.)

---

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!

PIUMA Minimalist Fountain Pen 30% Off Thru Friday (Sponsor)

The PIUMA fountain pen by Los Angeles-based ENSSO is a study in functional simplicity. It is named for the Italian word for feather as a reference to the simplicity of quill pens. It’s precision-machined from solid blocks of metal including aluminum, brass, and titanium. The interchangeable nib system made by Bock in Germany screws inside the pen grip and rests a few millimeters inside to create a unibody appearance. The cap threads are wider to allow a fast opening and closing of the pen. In addition, a millimetric gap defines the connection between the cap and the pen body.

In time for the holidays, ENSSO is offering a 30% discount on the PIUMA fountain pens until December 8. For more information please visit ENSSO’s website.

My thanks to Ensso for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.

DeAtramentis Benjamin Franklin Ink Review

In my formative fountain pen years, you know, like three years ago, I fell in love with DeAtramentis Benjamin Franklin ink. It’s a basic dark blue, but at a time when I had somewhere around seven inks instead of seventy, it set itself apart.

I remember writing with it and feeling like a real fountain pen user for the first time. Basic black and blue inks were boring, and I had yet to discover the oranges, pinks, and purples that I would eventually fall in love with. Benjamin Franklin had character and stood out on the page. My handwriting looked wonderful.

The ink is wet and flows wonderfully, even from a dry nib like the Pilot Prera italic nib I used for this review. It feels wet and lubricated, and flows well. The color is dark for sure, along the lines of a darker blue black ink. As you may or may not know, blue black inks make up some of my all-time favorites and daily workhorses. This one doesn’t have the black or grey you may see in other blue black inks, but the blue is deep and rich. And it even has a hint of red sheen.

As I was re-familiarizing myself with Benjamin Franklin, my first thought went to one of my current favorite inks: Montblanc JFK. Another dark blue, JFK is a shade or two lighter, shows off a touch of grey, and overall, has more character. They are close though. My next thought went to Diamine Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue, but as the name would lead you to believe, it is a deeper, darker blue than Benjamin Franklin.

I learned something new during this review as well. According to Vanness Pens, DeAtramentis Benjamin Franklin is the same ink as DeAtramentis Standard Dark Blue. Seems kind of dishonest from DeAtrementis to repackage one of their standard inks as if it were something special. Fortunately, both inks are the same price - $13 for a 35ml bottle - but it’s a strange move. I can only assume the rest of the historical lineup has the same duplication.

Regardless, this is an excellent ink at a fair price. I’ll be using this one a lot, and will try not to misplace this bottle like I did my original bottle.

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

---

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!