Essential Diamine Colors?

[chris.hale]

My favourites are Oxblood and Imperial Purple, with a slight preference for Oxblood.

[bluemagister]

You could randomly select the inks and probably love all or most all of them. Diamine really is a company that knows how to make a fine ink!!

[CatBookMom]

Goulet is having a special on ink samples, and I have no Diamine colors. Well, I had an anemic yellow and orange many years back but sold those.

 

Just in _case_ there might be a hint of consensus, any votes for, say, the top 10-15 colors someone new to Diamine should definitely try?

 

I say new to just the brand since I have all the "workhorse" colors covered with Noodler's and the Mix Free set.

 

Diamine's Chocolate Brown is a great rich dark brown, much better IMO than PR Chocolat. I like Umber, too, though I don't see the blue tones to it that show in Goulet's swabs.

[thinkink]

-Asa Blue

-Majestic Blue

 

Both awesome inks.

[shaylenwilliams]

Kelly Green

Kelly Green is a lovely colour, but I'm not sure I'd like to see Diamine's pen friendliness judged by it...

I've not had issues with it??? It has always flowed well with great shading, and no clogging, staining... what problems are you alluding to?

[fourseamer]

I like Diamine reds and earth tones: Oxblood, Saddle Brown, Poppy Red, and Syrah.

[rockydoggy]

For me, Damson is at the top of the list.

[adyf]

Majestic and Syrah.

 

 

........and Sapphire Blue.

Edited August 4, 2011 by adyf

[JefferyS]

I like all of my Diamine inks except Amazing Amethyst

 

My favorites:

 

Syrah*

Pumpkin*

Oxblood*

Green Black

Umber*

Asa Blue

Vermillion

 

For me, the four asterisked inks are must-haves.

[uzkntuocmw]

Kelly Green is a lovely colour, but I'm not sure I'd like to see Diamine's pen friendliness judged by it...

I've not had issues with it??? It has always flowed well with great shading, and no clogging, staining... what problems are you alluding to?

It and Diamine Orange have a fun tendency to separate out into liquid plus gunk inside certain pens if they're left unused for a few weeks. The gunk you see on the end of the pen is just from posting the cap and then unposting it.

 

[PaulT00]

My vote would go to

 

Midnight

Monaco Red

Imperial Blue

Red Dragon

and Diamine Orange

 

I haven't had any issues with the orange unlike previous poster. I use it as a markup ink in a Sheaffer NoNonsense fitted with a converter, it doesn't get huge use but not had a problem in several months of intermittent use. Midnight is lovely but feels dry to me, and maybe it's just me but I've found several Diamine colours dry out quite quickly in unused pens - Midnight being one of those. In a regularly used pen it's a nice ink.

 

Red Dragon is a great deep red and the official ink of my red Tuckaway vac-fil!

 

Only downside to Imperial Blue is a very tenacious magenta component which takes a fair while to flush. As a consequence it also has a distinct purplish tone.

 

I would have included Majestic Blue, which is a lovely colour and reminds me of Penman Sapphire, but I've found it tends to smear or come off the page onto hands even once dry.

[Thornton]

After Noodler's, Diamine is my favorite ink brand. They would probably be my favorite if they showed better water resistance. My favorites include...

 

Twilight

Syrah (hands down favorite)

Oxblood (so close to being the favorite)

Steel Blue

Teal

Monaco Red

Amazing Amethyst

[shaylenwilliams]

Kelly Green is a lovely colour, but I'm not sure I'd like to see Diamine's pen friendliness judged by it...

I've not had issues with it??? It has always flowed well with great shading, and no clogging, staining... what problems are you alluding to?

It and Diamine Orange have a fun tendency to separate out into liquid plus gunk inside certain pens if they're left unused for a few weeks. The gunk you see on the end of the pen is just from posting the cap and then unposting it.

 

 

Bummer. I'm sorry you've had this experience. I haven't used Orange, but I've not had any problems with Kelly Green. Then again, all my pens are modern and see pretty frequent use... so that may be saving me some heartache.

[uzkntuocmw]

Bummer. I'm sorry you've had this experience. I haven't used Orange, but I've not had any problems with Kelly Green. Then again, all my pens are modern and see pretty frequent use... so that may be saving me some heartache.

Yeah, it's annoying because Kelly Green especially is such a nice colour. I doubt it's a "modern pen" issue, since I've had it go funny in a Safari and then in a middle-generation Waterman Hemisphere, neither of which are particularly picky pens. Maybe I just got bad bottles (although I've seen other complaints about Orange)...

 

Ah well, with any luck the new Meadow Green will be kinder to me.

[Amandaa]

i like loud colors, so mine are coral and jade green.

less loud favs are: majestic blue, amaranth, and grey.

[radellaf]

Well so far there are ten with at least four votes:

Oxblood 10

Syrah and Red Dragon 8

Umber 6

Twilight, Midnight, Majestic Blue, Asa Blue 5

Damson and Monaco Red 4

 

The special is met with those, but these got 3 votes:

Mediterranean Blue, Prussian Blue, Imperial Purple, Pumpkin

[shaylenwilliams]

Mediterranean Blue is great, but I recently cast it aside for Sailor Jentle Sky High- a very similar shade of blue but with a GORGEOUS red sheen that makes my little cholesterol riddled heart so happy!

[KCat]

I almost gave Imperial its fourth vote. I don't really use it because I prefer my Noodler's Violet Vote when using any sort of purple. BUT if I wanted a nice, true purple, Imperial Purple would be my choice.

 

Well so far there are ten with at least four votes:

Oxblood 10

Syrah and Red Dragon 8

Umber 6

Twilight, Midnight, Majestic Blue, Asa Blue 5

Damson and Monaco Red 4

 

The special is met with those, but these got 3 votes:

Mediterranean Blue, Prussian Blue, Imperial Purple, Pumpkin

Edited August 5, 2011 by KCat
dang apostrophe

[Astrea]

Well so far there are ten with at least four votes:

Oxblood 10

Syrah and Red Dragon 8

Umber 6

Twilight, Midnight, Majestic Blue, Asa Blue 5

Damson and Monaco Red 4

 

The special is met with those, but these got 3 votes:

Mediterranean Blue, Prussian Blue, Imperial Purple, Pumpkin

 

Of these colours, I'd highly recommend:

-Red Dragon

-Syrah

-Majestic Blue (Midnight Blue is very similar but without the red sheen)

-Damson

-Mediterranean Blue- one of my favourite blues! Makes me happy to write with this colour.

 

Other colours not on this list that I love: Chocolate Brown, Marine

[welch]

- Diamine Sapphire Blue

- Diamine Majestic Blue

 

Two of the best blues to my eye. In fact, Sapphire Blue is my favorite non-luxury, in-production ink. (Penman Sapphire and Iroshi Asa-gao are tops, but Parker stopped maker Penman inks almost ten years ago, and the Pilot Iroshizuku inks are about twice the price of Diamine/Private Reserve/Noodlers)