Diamine Presidential Blue

[DanielCoffey]

INK : DIAMINE PRESIDENTIAL BLUE


PAPER : RHODIA #16 A5 white lined



PEN : Onoto Magna 261 Medium nib tweaked for wet flow by John Sorowka (Oxonian).



Scanner : IT8-calibrated Epson V600 flatbed


Colour Space : Adobe RGB


Matte : 50% grey and 100% white


Post-process : Unsharp Mask

Colour Balance : Neutral

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewPresidentialBlue.jpg



WATER RESISTANCE : I found that once dry, Diamine Presidential Blue is moderately water-resistant. A large amount of the colour lifts but what is left behind is reasonably legible.

DRYING TIME : Fairly brisk for a Diamine. I found that 20s was about right for copy paper and a little longer for Rhodia. This was from a well-cleaned pen with very high flow however.

BLEED THROUGH : I saw moderate bleed-through on Pukka 80gsm copy paper but none on Rhodia.

LUBRICATION : Presidential Blue is very smooth under the nib and I did not experience any starting issues even in hot weather. Lubrication is excellent for a Diamine and it was a pleasure to write with.


http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewPresidentialBlueSwab.jpg

Diamine Presidential Blue is a cheerful mid-blue with just a hint of turquoise. It flows from the nib a little darker as a deep mid-blue, but lightens as it dries.

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewPresidentialBlueShade.jpg

In a wet pen on hard paper, Presidential Blue shades wonderfully. The effect is lessened by copy paper. The ink does not smudge at all once dry.

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewPresidentialBlueWater.jpg

The ink is somewhat water-resistant. While a lot of the blue did lift and run, a good residual line remained behind.

[lapis]

Excellent as usual. Somehow reminds me a bit of the long sought after Parker Penman Sapphire (which also has a tick of green to reveal its outspokenness), or Noodler's ("plain old") Blue which unfortunately demonstrates its unfoolable insufficiency in regard to smudginess.

 

Mike

[Penne Stilografiche]

Nice review!!! I can't wait until the Goulet's get more in stock.

[The Good Captain]

I love this ink and have said so - frequently. Great review as ever. Probably one of my favourite Diamines.

[senzen]

Great review, nice ink! The shading looks amazing, made me look at your review of the pen - nice, waay above what I would allow myself to pay for a pen; not saying it isn't worth that...

[swanjun]

I always enjoy your reviews. Nice and bright images with attractive handwriting that's large enough to get some sense of what the ink would look like with *my* handwriting/nibs. Thanks!

[djp]

An excellent review of a stunning blue! Thank you!

[kpyeoman]

Look great, thanks! Will definitely pick up a sample.

[specialk0449]

Outstanding review of an outstanding blue ink.

[DanielCoffey]

I have been using it solid for a week and it has been very well behaved.

 

It looks like it will be easy to clean out too. I know some of the stronger blues like Sargasso Sea can be a pain to get rid of but the Presidential Blue looks like being very cooperative when it comes to washing.

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice color , thanks for sharing looks close to diamine prussian blue

[cednocon]

Thank you for sharing this review! This ink has always been in my long list of inks to purchase. Your review has convinced me to move this ink up on my high priority list!

[DanielCoffey]

very nice color , thanks for sharing looks close to diamine prussian blue

 

I felt that there was quite a difference between Presidential and Prussian Blue. Presidential was quite a lot brighter out of my pen.

[lapis]

Me too. Whether or not one might think that the Prussian thing is less bright or not, that certainly contibutes to the whole idea that Prussia was a a much more 'conservative' type of country. No, not dull, but fastidious.