Diamine Registrar's Ink

[Old Codger]

Hello FPNers,

 

I noticed that some people had expressed surprise at the lack of a review for Diamine Registrar's Ink, so here's a first effort. Apologies for the lousy handwriting.

 

For those who aren't familiar with it, Registrar's ink is an archival quality "Blue Black" ink, apparently used on official documents. I haven't tried to test its archival or waterproof qualities here, which probably counts as negligent given that its main purpose is to be an archival ink, but these tests might follow later.

 

My ink came in a 30ml bottle, but Diamine's site also shows it available in cartridges and 100ml plastic refill bottles which seem to be much cheaper than the equivalent volume in glass bottles. The price on my 30ml bottle is £7, whereas Diamine sell the 100ml plastic bottle for £12.

 

The first thing I have to say is that the first time I tried this ink, I really didn't like it. I put it in a Pelikan M800 with a Medium nib, and it was awful. I couldn't get any kind of decent flow, and within minutes I had given up and flushed the pen. I then put the bottle away until I realised people were asking for a review. Suffice it to say I think it's very choosy about nib and paper - as always, YMMV.

 

Although this ink looks like a blue-black in the bottle, and while going on to the paper, much of the blue is lost as it dries. I see it as mostly a grey colour once it's fully dry. On a couple of monitors here the scans look reasonably close.

 

 

I tried it in several pens on several paper types, and got very varied results as you can see from the scans. On cheap copier paper (80gsm HP) it goes on quite wet, making a line like a broad nib, whereas on Claire Fontaine paper it's reluctant to flow, with a tendency to skip using the Pelikano and producing a much finer line. On an Oxford Organiser Book it was better behaved (sadly it won't fit in the scanner).

 

If time allows, I will endeavour to do a water test at some point. In the meantime, since I'm a novice at this any questions or feedback are welcome. I hope this is interesting for some of you.

 

Regards,

 

Glenn.

[Gehaha]

Great review, thank you.

I like iron gall inks - the shading of it.

Using broad nibs, I don't have too bad flow.

 

regards,

Anna

[dandelion]

Thanks for a great review on an ink I've been very curious about. I'm surprised that it has a faded and grey look.

[1000km]

Understand that this ink is highly acidic and can cause corrosion of metal parts it comes regularly into contact with (e.g. the metal band at the end of the barrel nearest the nib in the M800's case). Interested to hear from users of this ink on this.

[Old Codger]

Understand that this ink is highly acidic and can cause corrosion of metal parts it comes regularly into contact with (e.g. the metal band at the end of the barrel nearest the nib in the M800's case). Interested to hear from users of this ink on this.

 

I could find no reference on the Diamine site regarding the safety (or otherwise) or Registrar's ink, and I also didn't find out if it's a 'real' iron-gall ink or not, so I'd be interested to know one way or the other. I have to confess that the reason it went in the Pelikano this time around was out of fear for my beloved pens, but I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid or not. Was I?

 

Regards,

 

Glenn.

[mucephei]

Thanks for the review. It looks similar in colour to the writing on my birth certificate. The registrar used a blue-black ink on that which must be iron-gall ink. I'm not going to dip it in bleach, though!

[Goodwhiskers]

Understand that this ink is highly acidic and can cause corrosion of metal parts it comes regularly into contact with (e.g. the metal band at the end of the barrel nearest the nib in the M800's case). Interested to hear from users of this ink on this.

I could find no reference on the Diamine site regarding the safety (or otherwise) or Registrar's ink, and I also didn't find out if it's a 'real' iron-gall ink or not, so I'd be interested to know one way or the other. I have to confess that the reason it went in the Pelikano this time around was out of fear for my beloved pens, but I wasn't sure if I was being paranoid or not. Was I?

If a pen's parts that touch ink are aluminum, non-stainless-steel, or plated steel, iron gall ink will gradually corrode them, but slowly. If a pen's parts that touch ink are entirely gold or stainless steel, they should suffer no harm.

 

I've seen a photograph of a British registrar's ink "kit" (from a non-brand-name company, not Diamine) with a bottle of the ink and a very cheap fountain pen.

[nofa]

Thanks for the review. I was looking for one a couple days ago, and then yours appeared.

[jsonewald]

The really interesting thing about this ink is what happens over time. File your review sheet away some place and then look at it in a month or two. The color should darken considerably.

[Chris]

Sometimes, just sometimes, the darkening doesn't happen with some papers.

If that is the case, I suspect the 'bonding' between the ink and the paper fibres is not good and it might not be an 'archival' combination.

 

But I love the smell it is like ink used to stink!

 

Chris

[RoyalKooparillo]

I LOVE this ink! It is one of my absolute favorites. I use it with flexible dip nibs for letter writing, check writing, and addressing envelopes. I don't get the greyish tone the the original review commented about, probably because my dip nibs put down more ink.

 

What's amazing about this ink to me is that it does NOT feather. Even using heavy flex when a ton of ink is laid down on the paper. It handles the demand of heavy flex like an absolute champ.

 

I really enjoy how the ink goes down blue on paper, but as it dries it turns to a dark blue-black. And if you look at the ink again the next day, it has darkened even more. Fantastic. If writing quickly enough, I can achieve some nice shading, but as the ink changes color to get darker, most of the shading usually goes away.

 

The color itself is a study in sobriety. It is darkly beautiful, the truest blue-black I've ever seen. I can't imagine a better ink for business. It is darker and has less of a blue undertone that FPN Starry Night, but you can still tell that it's not black.

 

I've been leery of putting this ink in any of my fountain pens, although I know Diamine makes cartridges of this stuff, so it should be relatively safe. I guess it's the same kind of deal with MB blue-black. They're both iron-gall, and if you flush your pen regularly you should be fine (the word on the street). I almost want to get a cheap pen specifically for this ink. Perhaps I will...

 

EDIT: Just tested the waterproofness of Registrar's Ink. Absolutely waterproof! Under running water on a sheet of Clairefontaine loose-leaf Seyes, the ink did not budge, didn't lighten in color a bit. The Aurora Blue on the page, however, washed almost completely away. Sorry no pictures, don't have my camera handy.

Edited June 6, 2009 by RoyalKooparillo

[Chris]

Diamine Registrar has been living in a vintage Waterman W5 with a (sort of) flexible nib that, for me, is quite fine. So far, all is well and it has been well over half a year and no flushing out.

 

I also have used it in a Sheaffer stainless pen with a converter and stainless nib - don't know the model - and it worked fine for quite a time whilst I was on holiday/work trip but I've changed it over because this pen is not used much in between.

 

What can mere ink do to a pen? It is not aqua regia...

(But I am wary of using it in my 'best' pens)

 

Chris

[Venemo]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I was wondering... has anyone tried this ink with stainless steel nibs? Does it really damage stainless steel?

[cybaea]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I was wondering... has anyone tried this ink with stainless steel nibs? Does it really damage stainless steel?

 

Short answers: yes, no.

Yes: I have tried it with a stainless steel nib. For several years a Parker Sonnet has been permanently filled with this ink and used daily. The nib is the steel nib (never could get the gold one to work).

No: there is no damage to the nib, feed, converter, or pen.

Enjoy this lovely ink.

[lapis]

+1 exactly. Well behaved in all pens I've ever used. Only thing I don't like about it is that I find it too dry (in all of those pens). If you like the colour, get the "Akkerman equivalent" (#10).

[amberleadavis]

I've only used it in steel nibs. No damage.