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A punchy neon lime ideal for highlighting! Black n red, Taroko Breeze and Fabriano Notebooks respectively

Dear Friends, It is my pleasure and honour to share the latest Shimmer Inks from Diamine due to be released this month. There are 12 colours and I have been able to review them all thanks to Diamine. I welcome your thoughts and feedback, as always. This is a stunning colour with shimmer and a red sheen..! EDITED TO ADD SCANS

I recently got a sample of Diamine Golden Sands and it has turned out to be quite the majestic ink, however I'm having difficulty getting any worthwhile flow with any of my pens. Would nibs like a Falcon or Noodler's nibs or perhaps any good stubs work? What are your thoughts?

Dear Friends, It is my pleasure and honour to share the latest Shimmer Inks from Diamine due to be released this month. There are 12 colours and I have been able to review them all thanks to Diamine. I welcome your thoughts and feedback, as always. I LOVE this ink! Yes, there is a sheen as well as a shimmer. EDITED TO ADD SCANS

It's that time of year again and Diamine are releasing their latest additions to the Shimmer Inks range. Eight new colours featuring three silvers: Starlit Sea, Peacock Flare and Neon Lime plus five golds: Pink Champagne, Razzamatazz, Rockin' Rio, Dragon Blood and Mystique. And what a lovely range of colours they are too, with plenty of shimmer, as you'd expect. For me, the colours seem more mature than previous and they blend together beautifully - take a look at the modern calligraphy examples and the portraits of Mr Glam himself! From a handwriting perspective, these look absolutely amazing. I really do like that Mystique. The inks flow well and dry quickly. But as with all shimmer inks, the metals do dry on the surface and as they are fine particles will come away from the surface if accidentally brushed or rubbed, so do take care. So, if you're looking for some fun, you can't go too far wrong here, BUT don't forget to shake well before use! If you're interested to find how versatile fountain pen inks are and want to learn how to utilise them in your art and journalling, I'm running some workshops this autumn. All materials and refreshments are included and we'll be looking at Illustration techniques, Modern Calligraphy, Shimmer Inks, Ink and bleach, Ink Art etc. For further info, please click the link: www.nickstewart.ink/events If you like what I’m up to, you can sign up to my newsletter by clicking here

I’m reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Electric Pink This is a saturated pink ink with silver shimmer. It is along similar lines to Caran d’Ache Divine Pink for being a pink ink that’s easy to read. I found it a wet and well flowing ink. It had good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. It’s a saturated ink, especially for a pink ink. With broader nibs it looks more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although it’s wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were Stipula Agata F/M nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Electric Pink a well-behaved ink. I didn’t experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing it from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is not sold as a water resistant ink but it is reasonably water resistant. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm, it’s acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: Very goodLubrication: Very goodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: A fairly saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: Not seenNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Has some water resistance.Availability: Will be available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then Back Moleskine

Following on from last year's runaway success and Christmas 2017 approaching fast, Diamine are currently releasing a new range of Shimmer Inks which Phil Davies has very kindly sent me a batch to test. There are ten colours in this range, six silvers and four golds. The key thing about these new creations being their vibrancy. Compared to the previous two releases, these are much deeper colours and all of them have a sheen. This year Jim Morrison features as the test art - created with Electric Pink and Arctic Blue (check out that stunning cherry red sheen on the Arctic Ice!) As per last year's review, what I have done to demonstrate the versatility and visual quality of these Shimmer Inks is to pair colours and create an abstract alphabet with each combination. As you'll notice, they blend beautifully and look stunning. In my opinion, these are Diamine's best shimmers to-date. The only dilemma is... which ones are the best? See what you think. In order of descent - the pairings are: 1. Firefly with Cobalt Jazz 2. Citrus Ice with Arctic Blue (check out that green blend colour and that stunning cherry red sheen on the Arctic Ice!) 3. Electric Pink with Arabian Nights 4. Spearmint Diva with Wine Divine 5. Frosted Orchid with Golden Ivy Although the swatch cards were created on a Bockingford 200lb watercolour paper, the test art was created on a high quality cartridge paper which seems to bring out the best with these particular inks. As before, a word of caution. When dry, the metal dust is delicate and will rub, so do take care. As for writing, there's plenty of sparkle for everyone. The inks are easy to load, flow easily and are all very legible. Spearmint Diva and Firefly look very good. Here are the swatches, notice those gorgeous sheens and even a little chromatography in places. The colours are much deeper allowing the golds and silvers to stand out more. A great range of quality inks and fun too! What's not to like? If you'd like to know more about this project, please take a look at the Mission Statement in my profile page. If you'd like to follow me on Instagram you'll find me @quinkandbleach. Apologies for the inconsistent backgrounds on the abstracts. The ink colours though are a very good match. And don't forget! The Inktober 2017 challenge is underway. If you like, you can check out what I'm up to via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

I’m reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Spearmint Diva This is a fairly well saturated minty green ink with silver shimmer. It is like Diamine Steel Blue but is more green. It’s darker and more saturated than Diamine Soft Mint. It has silver shimmer and exhibits good shading. I found it a quite wet and well flowing ink. It had good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. With broader nibs it looks more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although it’s wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were a Parker 45 Consort with factory C stub nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Spearmint Diva a well-behaved ink. I didn’t experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing it from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is not sold as a water resistant ink but it is reasonably water resistant. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm, it’s acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: Quite wet, GoodLubrication: GoodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: A fairly saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: Not seenNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Has some water resistance.Availability: Will be available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then Back Moleskine

I have been writing with Diamine's latest Shimmer inks. Here's a quick look at them. Reviews coming soon.

I’m reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Frosted Orchid This is a saturated ‘dusky lilac’/purplish ink with silver shimmer. It is like a more saturated version of J.Herbin Poussière de Lune I found it a wet and well flowing ink. It had good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. It’s a fairly well saturated ink for a ‘dusky lilac’ shade. With broader nibs it looks more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although it’s wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were Libelle Nature Mosaic Cocoa M nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Frosted Orchid a well-behaved ink. I didn’t experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing it from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is not sold as a water resistant ink but it is reasonably water resistant. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm, it’s acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: Very goodLubrication: Very goodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: A fairly saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: Not seenNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Has some water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then back Moleskine

Im reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Arabian Nights This is a blue-black ink that leans lilac. It is a similar colour to Diamine Eclipse, Diamine Damson and Diamine Vivaldi. It has silver sheen. I found it a wet and well flowing ink. It had very good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. Its a reasonably saturated ink. With broader nibs it looks more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although its wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were Pilot VP M nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Arabian Nights a well-behaved ink. I didnt experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing Arabian Nights from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is very water resistant, and didnt disappear after a few minutes under water. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm. Its acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: Very goodLubrication: Very goodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Quite a saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: A little spread seen on the Moleskine cloneNib Creep / Crud: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but has good water resistance.Availability: Will be available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then Back Moleskine

I’m reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Arctic Blue This is a dark turquoise/cerulean blue ink with some natural red sheen and silver shimmer. It is a similar colour to Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku. I found it a very wet and well flowing ink. It had very good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. It’s a saturated ink. With broader nibs it looks much more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although it’s wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were Lamy Nexx M B nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Arctic Blue a well-behaved ink. I didn’t experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing it from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is not water resistant, and disappeared after a few minutes under water. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm. It’s acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: ExcellentLubrication: Very goodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: A saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: A little spread seen on the Moleskine cloneNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, and has little water resistance.Availability: Will be available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then Back Moleskine

I’m reviewing samples of the new set of Diamine Shimmer inks. This one is Diamine Citrus Ice This is a reasonably strong yellow ink with silver shimmer. It is along similar lines to Sheaffer King’s Gold and Sailor Jentle Kin mokusei for being a reasonably easy to read yellow ink. I found it a wet and well flowing ink. It had good lubrication with the pens I tried it with. It’s not a saturated ink. With broader nibs it looks more saturated than it does with finer nibs, although it’s wet enough to show the silver shimmer with all nibs. It showed through on some of the papers I used. The pens I used were Pilot Custom 74 M nib, Lamy Nexx M Stub 1.1mm nib, Lamy Nexx M F nib. The comparison inks were swabbed with a cotton bud and their ink names were written with a glass dip pen. I consider Citrus Ice a well-behaved ink. I didn’t experience any ignition or clogging problems with it. Clean-up was easy. No problem at all removing it from hands or pens using soap for hands and plain water for pens. It is not water resistant, and disappeared after a few minutes under water. The Mebin UK Notebook I used was supplied by someone on FPN who sold TR 68gsm Notebooks. The paper in the Mebin UK Notebook is quite thick at 95gsm, it’s acid free, and has a really smooth surface with no drag or tooth at all. Inks generally take longer to dry on this paper, so wetter inks tend to pool and I knew that they would show their shimmer well enough for me to photograph the sheen. The Moleskine Notebook is a UK clone, and I found there was very little spread on it. Flow Rate: Very goodLubrication: Very goodNib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Not a saturated inkShading Potential: Very goodSheen: Silver shimmerShow-Through:Tomoe River 52gsm.Cheaper generic 80gsm printer papers & lined pads.Field NotesSpread / Feathering: Not seenNib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over a week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Not seen - easy clean-upClogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, and has little water resistance.Availability: Will be available from Diamine Inks web-site and other outlets. Back Mebin then Back Moleskine

Dear Friends, It is my pleasure and honour to share the latest Shimmer Inks from Diamine due to be released this month. There are 12 colours and I have been able to review them all thanks to Diamine. I welcome your thoughts and feedback, as always. EDITED TO ADD SCANS

Dear Friends, It is my pleasure and honour to share the latest Shimmer Inks from Diamine due to be released this month. There are 12 colours and I have been able to review them all thanks to Diamine. I welcome your thoughts and feedback, as always. This colour has been so much fun to use despite it being very punchy. EDITED TO ADD SCANNED IMAGES

Following on from last years runaway success and Christmas 2016 approaching fast, Diamine are currently releasing a new range of Shimmer Inks which Christine Joynson very kindly sent me a batch to test. Now whether or not they took on board my comments from last years test, a gorgeous magenta and orange are in both evidence. There are twelve colours in this range, six silvers and six golds and they compliment the existing range perfectly. Marc Bolan appears again as a test art created with Caramel Sparkle and Magenta Flash. To keeps things easy and visual, what I have done to demonstrate the versatility of these Shimmer Inks is to pair a silver with a gold and create a freeform alphabet with each combination. As handwriting inks, these are a given BUT as a creative medium, these are something else entirely. They blend beautifully and in my opinion they all look stunning. The only dilemma is... which ones are the best? To view all the tests and swatch cards, please visit: https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/diamine-shimmer-inks-2016-get-it-on/

Diamine sent me samples of their latest 12 shimmer inks to try out, and I've had 12 pens inked with them for over a week now. So here is a quick look at the colours. Maybe I should have separated Caramel Sparkle and Pink Glitz as they look a little similar next to each other, on this sheet. However, Caramel Sparkle is a reddish brown and Pink Glitz is a pinkish red. I'm loving the green, orange and silver. Anyway, this is just a quick look.

Dear Friends, It is my pleasure and honour to share the latest Shimmer Inks from Diamine due to be released this month. There are 12 colours and I have been able to review them all thanks to Diamine. I welcome your thoughts and feedback, as always. EDITED TO ADD SCANNED IMAGE/S

I've been writing with the new Diamine Shimmer inks for a couple of weeks now, and have finally managed to get some reasonably decent photos of them that show the shimmer in each ink. These aren't perfect, but they will at least give you a better look at the inks, so you can see which you might like before they are issued. I have found all of these inks quite wet on the cheap lined paper pad that I've been using. It's just an ordinary, cheap, Staples pad. The amount of wetness and lubrication also depends on the feed/nib of each individual pen I've used. Some soak in and dry straight away, while some don't and therefore take longer to dry. In a perfect world, I would like to empty all of the pens, clean them out, and refill them all with a different colour. The write with them again on better papers. That will come soon. Meanwhile, I decided that something was better than nothing, so this is what I have so far. I haven't had any problems with ink flow, and I've written with these pens over the two weeks they've been filled with these inks. I have had hardly any starting or skipping problems. My Jinhao pen is the most unreliable pen in this respect, no matter what ink I put in it, even if it is without shimmer. So on to the photos:

I wanted to introduce these previously tested but not issued Diamine Shimmer inks in the Inky Thoughts forum because Diamine would like to hear your thoughts on them. Some more Shimmer inks will be introduced into the range, and your ideas would be gratefully received. Please vote for the colour or colours you like, or feel free to suggest your own colour. The first one one is Silver: Then there is Orange: Bright Green: Other writing samples will be added.