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My latest ink samples from Diamine include a couple of lighter blue inks that I wanted to test. So here is the first one: Beau Blue I would describe it as a pale blue, a light cerulean blue or a light sky blue. It leans slightly towards the green edge of the blue colour spectrum like Waterman Inspired Blue and J. Herbin Blue Pervenche but it's less saturated. It's not a deeply saturated ink but I saw some shading. No noticeable sheen. It felt quite wet in my Lamy Al-Star with B nib, and because the B nib lays down more ink, the colour looks darker than when I used the Lamy NexxM with M nib. Both pens I used wrote straight away without any hard starts or skipping. The flow was very good, not dry, with pens and the lubrication felt good along a line. The dry time on all of the papers I used was 15-16 secs, which some may consider is quite a long dry time. Once dry there was no smearing. Diamine Beau Blue isn't at all water resistant.This isn't sold as a waterproof ink, and shows no noticeable water resistance. Bearing in mind the review form paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used Lamy M and B nibs this ink took 15-16 secs to dry using the M nib. No smear after dry. It exhibited good flow and lubrication and I found it smooth to write with. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests. It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles or 30ml plastic bottles Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site. It's a reasonable price. Ink blot of kitchen paper roll

I am enjoying some of my turquoise inks and thought I would share some thoughts about them. Here's a writing sample: This is done on Xerox UltraWhite copy paper. On this paper, the sheen of these inks does not show as readily as on Tomoe River or Clairefontaine papers. 1). Waterman South Seas (now Inspired Blue) - 9/10: This is one of my very favorite inks. It is one of those inks that works well in just about every fountain pen I have. It shades beautifully and has a lovely sheen on Tomoe River and Clairefontaine papers, and even on my Cambridge notebook paper. It is dries fairly quickly and cleans easily. It is very little water resistance, however. The ink does not feather or bleedthrough except on the cheapest papers, and does not readily showthrough. For those who like medium turquoise, this is a winner! 2). Franklin Christoph Spanish Blue - 8/10: This is one of my newest turquoise inks. It is just a bit bluer than Waterman South Seas or J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche. I first tried it my TWSBI Diamond 580 with medium nib. The ink flows very nicely and behaves very well. I then tried it in my Delta Capri Marina with broad fusion nib. This is a very wet pen and really shows off the beautiful shading with some sheen of this ink. The ink dries fairly quickly but, again, has little water resistance. I also like the fact that it doesn't feather or bleed through on inexpensive papers. 3). J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche - 7/10: This was one of the first turquoise inks which I purchased. I loved it then, and still love it today. Very reliable in almost every pen, it shades and sheens beautifully especially on Tomoe River paper. Like almost all of my inks, Bleu Pervenche has little water resistance. Unfortunately, of all the turquoises in this line up, it feathers and bleedsthrough the worst on cheap paper. 4). DeAtramentis Mint Turquoise - 7/10: This medium greenish turquoise is another lovely ink. It seems to be a bit drier than the others shown, particularly in my Lamy Al-Star. But it does behave well and shades very nicely on any paper I use it on. It dries fairly quickly, but has little water resistance. There is minimal feathering and bleedthrough on inexpensive papers. 5). DeAtramentis Steel Blue - 8/10: This is a lovely dark turquoise that behaves well in every pen I have used it in. Even in my driest pen, it lubricates and flows nicely. It is a little bit more work to clean than the others, however. Steel Blue takes a bit longer to dry on the paper, and does bleedthrough on inexpensive paper, but not excessively so. It does have a small amount of water resistance. I use this ink frequently for business purposes.

Hello FPN, Does anyone have Robert Oster "Fire and Ice" and "Water Ice" I could sample? I've really wanted to buy both of these inks as they look interesting. But I'd like to try some samples first. Admins: Is this the correct place to post a request like this? Thanks for your time everyone

My latest ink is Diamine Turquoise As I said in my review for Diamine Havasu Turquoise I have been collecting turquoise inks and samples since I bought a bottle of Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea. There are several inks that are a good alternative for that deleted ink. The best match I have found so far is Kaweco Paradise Blue and I will be posting a review of that ink soon. Diamine Turquoise is another good replacement if you want a blue turquoise. It's lighter and comes across as slightly less saturated than Havasu Turquoise, and that makes it more like a turquoise ink than a sky blue ink. I'm not sure you would need both Havasu Turquoise and Turquoise in one ink collection though. I have previously reviewed Diamine Steel Blue ink and a similar shade Diamine Soft Mint. I will also be reviewing Diamine Marine. Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows good water resistance, as do many turquoise inks.Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Lamy M nib, this ink took 16-18 secs to dry.It flows through the pen very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or International sized cartridges.Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.It's a reasonable price.

Monteverde's revamped line of inks recently got my attention for their comprehensive lineup of clear, distinct hues, as well as good value. A 90ml bottle can be had for about $13-$15 USD from the better known online retailers in the United States, making it a very good deal. Monteverde touts their "ITF Technology". From Monteverde's promotional material, here's how it claims to benefit us writers: At my recent visit to the 2017 LA Pen Show, Monteverde gave a free bottle of Malibu Blue ink to all show attendees. A company representative had all their inks available for sampling with swabs, as well as show discounts. I brought home four bottles of Monteverde ink, and post-show I've purchased a few more online:Malibu BlueCapri BlueHorizon BlueSapphire BlueMonteverde also offers two blues I am missing: Caribbean Blue (turquoise), and a Blue-Black. I am posting individual reviews for each of the four Monteverde inks I have. I filled a variety of pens with these four inks, with nibs ranging from fine to double-broad stubs. Here's a snapshot from my Bullet Journal Ink Log, showing the pen/ink assignments and a writing sample from each. Monteverde Capri Blue Capri Blue is a "fun" ink, the least formal of the four Monteverde blues I have tried. Here it is on Clairefontaine paper. Color/Saturation Capri Blue is a bright shade of blue that starts to veer towards turquoise, but I stop short of calling it a turquoise. To me, it is still a blue. Shading/Sheening Capri Blue does shade nicely on both Clairefontaine and Tomoe River paper, with the Pilot's broad stub nib as well as the Safari's fine nib. On the Tomoe River paper, some red sheening appears with this ink. Flow This ink does not flow as freely as some of the other Monteverde inks. With my Pilot 78G BB Italic pen, Capri Blue left the pen dry immediately after filling from the bottle! The pen wouldn't start, and even after priming the nib it wrote dry for an entire page. The 78G pen was brand new when I filled it (I pre-flushed the pen before filling), so this might be a cause. The hard start problem has not repeated itself since. I have checked back with this particular pen every few days to see if the problem reappeared. Still, this ink writes somewhat dry in my Pilot 78G BB Italic pens. My Lamy Safari has medium flow with Capri Blue. Lubrication Lubrication is also fairly good with this ink in the Safari. Dry Time Dry time is moderate, between 25 and 30 seconds on Clairefontaine paper from the Safari. Feathering Capri Blue performs well and feathers minimally on the cheap office pad paper used in this test. Bleedthrough Bleedthrough/showthrough is moderate with the the cheap office pad paper. Water Resistance Capri Blue is not a water-resistant ink in the 10 second immersion test. Before After Comparison with Other Inks Here's a comparison tile with several turquoise and light blue inks. NB: The tile labeled "Sheaffer Turquoise" is actually the discontinued Sheaffer Peacock Blue ink.