Diamine Archival Registrars Ink

[Ian the Jock]

Ok, so I'm attending a pretty important wedding next Friday , and my intention is to use one of my own pens to sign the registry and marriage certificate.

I have a bottle of diamine registrars ink which was to be my ink of choice for obvious reasons, however.....

I inked up one of my pens with it just to see how it looks, and I was kinda let down with the results.

It looks really blue in the bottle, yet when in use it looks like a really pale blue when wet, and when it dries, it dries to a kinda grey/blue (with good shading) but not what you would describe as outright blue.

 

Is this the norm with registrars ink?, as I was hoping it would have a bit more "snap", and when I write my signature, it just looks pale grey with no shading to it because when signing, the nib doesn't lift from the paper and the whole thing is done in one movement.

 

I'm not sure if I'd be allowed to use non registrars ink, but I'd much rather use onyx black, or sargasso sea for the signings.

 

Would I be able to mix a drop or 2 of Sargasso sea with the registrars ink just for this one purpose and get away with it.

 

or do I need to go with the registrars ink?

 

Ian

[BayesianPrior]

Not sure about the legality of using a 'blend' of Registrar's and A.N.Other ink, but have you considered the colour of the paper which you will be signing? Will it be shockily white and bright, or more of a creamy parchment colour? That could have an affect on the colour of the ink when it dries.

 

Otherwise, I know R&K Scabiosa is an iron-gall ink which dries more of a dusty purple. Could this work instead?

 

Edited to add: Don't forget Registrar's Ink can take a couple of days to fully oxidise and reach its ultimate colour.

Edited May 14, 2015 by countrysquire

[Notgatherox]

Yes, IG inks tend to dry to a grey colour. Give it a couple more days and see if you like the resulting colour then.

 

If you'll like to mix, do siphon off some ink into a vial and mix in the vial. Shake and then leave to stand for a couple of days. However, I've heard that IG inks shouldn't be mixed, as there will be precipitate. In the unfortunate event that precipitate really occurs, at least most of the bottle is fine.

 

 

~Epic

[Davros]

I haven't had good luck with mixing IG inks of the classic kinds. ESSRI is more blue than Registrar's, though the bottle is big and I am not sure how long it might take to get to you.

[Ian the Jock]

Wow

This ink really is a strange business.

 

I took countrysquires' point about the paper and went in search of some parchment type paper to try it out.

Made a cup of tea as well and although I couldn't find any cream paper, I did find a pale brown postal envelope which would be an able substitute just to see if there was any difference.

 

When I returned to my desk I noticed that the ink on the page from which I took the above pic had changed colour quite dramatically.

The script is now a dark blue/grey, with the shadier parts being almost black, and it looks great.

I fear I may have "jumped the gun" as it is quite impressive, and it has only been drying for about an hour.....this is a strange ink indeed.

Anyway

I had a go on the envelope, and it looked like a completely different ink altogether.

It's a lot darker to start with, and has a noticeably more blue appearance.

 

 

I'll check it later again once both samples have dried a bit, but I think I may have under-estimated this ink and it just might "suit the gig" after all.

 

Ian

 

[Randal6393]

Have not used the Diamine Registrar's ink, but did use a bottle of Chesterfield Archival Vault ink, supposed to be repackaged Diamine Registrar's ink. Eventually, dries to a semi-glossy black, is definitely very pale blue at first. And quite disappointing until it oxidizes. It is the oxidation and darkening to black that makes the ink a permanent, bonded-to-the-paper archival ink. Would definitely recommend using it for something as important as a marriage registry and certificate.

 

Best of luck and enjoy the wedding,

[dcwaites]

Registrar's Inks (Diamine's and ESS) have two components - the iron-gall ink which is made in a laboratory, and is almost transparent, and a dye, usually blue, which helps you see what you write.

When you write, you write basically a blue line, and as it dries, the iron-gall component oxidises to black, overcoming the blue. That's where the original term Blue-Black ink came from - Goes down Blue, Dries to Black.

The depth of the black you get after it has oxidised will depend on how wet your nib is. A wet nib will give you a rich, deep black, while a dryer nib will give you grey with black shading.

[Russ]

I love ESSRI. I suspect it would turn dark faster, in time to make your signature at the wedding look nicely unique.

[inkstainedruth]

My experience with Diamine Registrar's was much like Ian's initial one -- it had lovely shading, but was a washy blue-grey upon oxidizing. Admittedly though, I hadn't tried it on parchment colored paper.

@ Lord Epic:

Some IG inks behave like Diamine Registrars: Organics Studio Aristotle was flat out grey. But others oxidize much more. Akkerman #10 goes almost black; KWZI IG Blue Black also gets fairly dark, as does FPN member Pharmacist's Urkundentinte. R&K Salix goes the other extreme -- it stays bluer a lot longer (IIRC, it has a lower iron component than some other IG inks).

My understanding is that the amount of oxidation is very paper dependent. So that could explain the different results Ian got. When I do tests of ink, they're all in the same Piccadilly sketchbooks, so the paper is uniform.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Millefleurs]

I use Diamine Registrar's ink in my Lamy 2k (very wet writer) on white HP 32 lb paper and it goes down pale blue and dries to a deep, rich black with no shading. I love it.

 

Edited to add: My Lamy was adjusted by John Mottishaw to be on the wet side, so I'm not 100% certain a stock factory nib would yield the same results.

Edited May 15, 2015 by Millefleurs

[Ian the Jock]

Have not used the Diamine Registrar's ink, but did use a bottle of Chesterfield Archival Vault ink, supposed to be repackaged Diamine Registrar's ink. Eventually, dries to a semi-glossy black, is definitely very pale blue at first. And quite disappointing until it oxidizes. It is the oxidation and darkening to black that makes the ink a permanent, bonded-to-the-paper archival ink. Would definitely recommend using it for something as important as a marriage registry and certificate.

 

Best of luck and enjoy the wedding,

Randal6393

I think I am going to use it on the day.

I've been messing around with it and I'm starting to really quite like it.

I think I will try it in my Ahab for a bit of fun (I know you're a fan) as the effect using the flex nib will be pretty impressive, especially now that I have finally found some paper that can cope with the heavy ink that flexing the Ahab puts down.

 

I will enjoy the wedding, thanks. It's a small quiet affair, with little fuss (we've been together 18yrs) and as it's second time round for us both, it wouldn't be right to have a big extravagant event, and anyway, we'd rather have it this way...nice and personal.

 

Registrar's Inks (Diamine's and ESS) have two components - the iron-gall ink which is made in a laboratory, and is almost transparent, and a dye, usually blue, which helps you see what you write.

When you write, you write basically a blue line, and as it dries, the iron-gall component oxidises to black, overcoming the blue. That's where the original term Blue-Black ink came from - Goes down Blue, Dries to Black.

The depth of the black you get after it has oxidised will depend on how wet your nib is. A wet nib will give you a rich, deep black, while a dryer nib will give you grey with black shading.

I'm torn now as to whether to use a wetter nib for the rich darkness, or a drier nib because I really like the shading on the finished result.

 

My experience with Diamine Registrar's was much like Ian's initial one -- it had lovely shading, but was a washy blue-grey upon oxidizing. Admittedly though, I hadn't tried it on parchment colored paper.

@ Lord Epic:

Some IG inks behave like Diamine Registrars: Organics Studio Aristotle was flat out grey. But others oxidize much more. Akkerman #10 goes almost black; KWZI IG Blue Black also gets fairly dark, as does FPN member Pharmacist's Urkundentinte. R&K Salix goes the other extreme -- it stays bluer a lot longer (IIRC, it has a lower iron component than some other IG inks).

My understanding is that the amount of oxidation is very paper dependent. So that could explain the different results Ian got. When I do tests of ink, they're all in the same Piccadilly sketchbooks, so the paper is uniform.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Ruth

I've been messing about a bit with it, and this morning I tried it on pale green paper, and it goes down completely different, again.

It starts off fairly dark, but still has good shading, and dries to a darker bluey grey, with almost black shading. It looks brilliant.

I've had this ink sitting in my drawer for months and never realised how it worked or how good it is.

I inked up a pen with it once, and thought, "nah! it's too washed out, and thin looking" and never used it again.

If only I'd checked what I'd written the next day, it may have been a different story.

This is great stuff, and I'll be using it a lot more.

 

FPN = Education .

 

I use Diamine Registrar's ink in my Lamy 2k (very wet writer) on white HP 32 lb paper and it goes down pale blue and dries to a deep, rich black with no shading. I love it.

 

Edited to add: My Lamy was adjusted by John Mottishaw to be on the wet side, so I'm not 100% certain a stock factory nib would yield the same results.

Millefleurs,

The pen for the day has a wet, m-b nib and puts down a good heavy line of ink.

I'm hoping that it rests in between the "light with great shading" and "deep black with no shading" area, as I like the shading, but I would like it quite rich looking as well.

I suppose I won't know until I ink up the actual pen and have a go.

 

 

Thanks all for your input, my education continues at pace.

 

Ian

[Randal6393]

I am experimenting with other inks than IG right now, but, as I recall, most IG inks have a shelf-life of less than a year. So, would recommend buying IG inks and using right away. Especially the ones formulated for dip pens. It's amazing, how much darker a fresh bottle is than one that is a year old.

 

Am so glad that your marriage plans sound stable. I have been married for over forty years and am still enjoying it. Right now, my wife and I are keeping our three-year old granddaughter. Didn't realize how much easier my daughter was to raise than a more active child. Whew!

 

Enjoy,

[Viseguy]

Princess Charlotte's birth certificate gives a pretty good idea of what registrar's ink should look like. (I assume that an iron gall registrar's ink was used.)

 

[dompred]

Maybe a wetter pen would suit you better? I have used it in my Pilot MR Medium and it is a wonderful ink. At first it is blue, very much like writing with a regular royal blue and when it's dry it's very dark, almost black, with minimum shading.

I have also used it in my Hero 616 and was much more like your first writing sample.

 

I wouldn't really try and add any ink in it. As far as I know IG inks have lower pH than other inks and you wouldn't like any reactions happening in your bottle.