Diamine Grape

[DanielCoffey]

INK : DIAMINE GRAPE

 

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

 

 

Diamine Grape is a lovely deep purple with red tones and is like a more saturated version of Diamine Damson...

 

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

 

 

Here is a close-up of the swab...

 

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

 

 

And a close-up of the shading. Shading with this ink is good on smooth papers but subdued on copy paper...

 

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

 

 

Unusually for a Diamine, this ink is actually partly water-resistant. While a fair amount of the purple will be released by the water, the lines of the grid below means that anything that gets a serious soaking will still be visible to salvage when blotted and dried...

 

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

 

 

DRYING TIMES : The writing tests above were done in a VERY wet medium nib that had just been cleaned. Drying times on Xerox 90gsm were in the order of 10s. Rhodia and G Lalo Vergé dried around 30s and Clairefontaine Triomphe took a good 45s.

 

SMEARING : None observed.

 

BLEEDTHROUGH : Some bleed through may be expected on copy papers with wet or fat nibs. I would not expect bleeding on dry or fine nibs or when the ink is used on a good quality paper. Given the wet nib I used above, I recorded the following... Xerox 90gsm had moderate bleed through and some feathering. Rhodia had no bleed through and no feathering. Clairefontaine Triomphe had no bleed through or feathering. G Lalo Vergé had no bleed through or feathering.

 

FLOW AND LUBRICATION : Flow for this ink seems to be high. I suspect even a dry fine nib will put down a very good line. Lubrication was excellent and meant that this ink gave a good writing experience with a nice tight line.

 

CLEANING : The ink did not stick to the insides of the converter and was easy to clean. A bulb syringe will be useful here. There was no staining observed.

[fourseamer]

Thanks for the review, Daniel!

 

I recently bought a bought a bottle of Noodler's Purple Heart, a Goulet Pens exclusive, and I really love the ink's color and wet flowing properties. This looks to be similar in color and behavior. I haven't put Purple Heart through quite the paces you have here, but I think Grape may shade a little more.

[IWantThat]

Oh, this one has been on my 'want' list ever since it was announced. I keep telling myself I have enough dark purple inks (at least 7), but I like this one. Next order, it's mine

[DanielCoffey]

Well the Goulets know where you live (I expect), so you know what to do...

[georges zaslavsky]

looks very nice

[Scriptorium Pens]

Daniel, your reviews are the best for showing me almost exactly the results I will get using the same inks. Your format is clear and easily read, and your sample scans are perfect for my needs. Thank you for all the hard work you are putting into your many reviews!

[DanielCoffey]

I am glad they are being enjoyed.

 

I figured that a good scan of writing with some closeups would be appreciated.