Diamine Recommendation For A Student?

[enzio]

Hi!

 

I'm looking for an ink for my next pen, a Sailor HighAce Neo. As it's a Japanese pen, and a Sailor, it writes very thin. I think I'll buy the blue one.

Now about me: I'm a student, I write very very much, I've only used Platinum cartridges yet (liked the Pigment Blue, didn't really like the Blue-Black), I don't write cursive (I can, but it's ugly as hell).

Here are the inks I can choose from:

http://bolthely.hu/kepek/muveszkatalogus/04224.jpg

http://bolthely.hu/kepek/muveszkatalogus/04225.jpg

These are 80 ml inks, and are quite cheap ($5.3), as there's a sale right now.

There are also some J Herbin and Sailor inks, but they're kind of expensive.

 

So please choose an ink for the following questions:

• What is the blue or black ink, that is "conservative", so not too flashy, so I could use it for tests and such, and has the best properties for me?
• What is the ink that is the best for me, that can be flashy?

Thanks very much!

 

http://bolthely.hu/kepek/muveszkatalogus/04224.jpghttp://bolthely.hu/kepek/muveszkatalogus/04225.jpg

Edited March 23, 2015 by amberleadavis
Edited to add pictures.

[mike.jane]

I'd go with blue/black or Mediterranean Blue. One is obviously a very dark blue, the other one a happy, yet not too happy, lighter blue.

 

Indigo is an interesting color because it's soo very cold, and grey-ish and old and used looking. Very interesting, but of course I'm not recommending it because it's strange.

 

If only they had Twilight as well. Twilight is like blue/black only... hmn.. . Twilight is very pretty, that's all.

[enzio]

Twilight is available, but only as a 30ml version, which is it more expensive than the ones I linked.

Also the inks you mentioned, how well do they write? Do they smudge?

[inkspot]

I have the Prussian Blue and love it. It is a muted grey-blue, it behaves beautifully on a wide variety of papers, and it dries quickly, something I appreciate when writing lots of notes.

[enzio]

I don't really like muted blues that much, sorry.

Also I forgot to add, that I would need it to write well on cheap paper.

[katerchen]

Twilight is available, but only as a 30ml version, which is it more expensive than the ones I linked.

Also the inks you mentioned, how well do they write? Do they smudge?

 

Majestic blue (not on your list) smudges pretty badly and tends to dry out in the nib. Ancient Copper and Oxblood also take forever to dry and smudge even after that.

 

Deep Magenta is a fun color and behaves good.

 

Mediterranean and Asa Blue work very nicely in fine/medium Japanese pens as does Twilight. (I have used all of those in Sailors and Pilots). Although in my opinion Twilight is more greenish than black-ish.

 

That's an insanely good price. The lowest I've ever found was direct order from Diamine and it was still higher than the 5.30 you quote.

 

-k

[enzio]

Well there's a discount on the 80ml ones, normally they would be about $8.

Also are there any good greens? There's one not on my list it's: salamander.

[ac12]

For handing in, I recommend a medium to dark shade of and ink that is NOT bright. Do NOT use an ink that is hard on the eyes, you do not want to irritate the grader.

• jet black
• quartz black
• blue black
• emerald
• raw sienna
• golden brown

For you, anything goes. And we cannot make that call for you. Your own color preference is a personal taste. You may hate the inks that I like, and I may hate the inks that you like.

 

Unless the paper is given to you by the school to use in the exam, you should get paper that is fountain pen friendly. You do not have to get EXPENSIVE paper, but you may have to hunt for these papers. I've given up trying to write on "junk" paper with a fountain pen. If the paper is not fountain pen friendly, I switch to a paper that is fountain pen friendly, or I pull out a gel pen or a pencil.

[MikeGB]

Jet Black is alright. I mean, it's black, that's about all there is to it.

 

I'd have loved to recommend Chocolate Brown but it isn't available on there. Though if it's anything to go by, their other darker browns will likely be very nice and something different to the traditional blue and black ink most students use.

 

I really love the browns though. I write my letters on Basildon Bond Champagne and the brown looks great on it. Even on white as well.

[javierba73]

Diamine Blue-Black for blue document

Diamine Chocolate Brown

For black ink i prefer J. Herbin Perle Noire or Aurora Black

Red ink: Sheaffer skrip red or Montblanc Corn poppy red

[rivermaze]

Well there's a discount on the 80ml ones, normally they would be about $8.

Also are there any good greens? There's one not on my list it's: salamander.

There is another Diamine green which is not on the list: Green/Black. I use it instead of black in hospital documentation. I'd say it's dark green, but with a wet fine nib on poor quality paper it can be easily mistaken for black. I use the Platinum Preppy 0.2.

Edited March 20, 2015 by rivermaze

[enzio]

I left a few things out from my original post: I want a fast drying time. I need the ink to write well on cheap paper. I'm male. I don't like too muted colours. And I might want to try green.

[tinkerteacher]

I left a few things out from my original post: I want a fast drying time. I need the ink to write well on cheap paper. I'm male. I don't like too muted colours. And I might want to try green.

 

 

 

Well, in that case:

 

Diamine Steel Blue

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/225953-diamine-steel-blue/

[Rita_K]

If you would like to try a green the Emerald and Umber are both nice well-behaved greens.

I've used them on the Nyomell and Harmónia notebooks ( from Hungary ) and had no problems. I would say

the Emerald is a little brighter green than the Umber. You can check out the reviews in the

Ink Reviews Index

[ac12]

To have a chance on "cheap paper," you need to use a dry XF or F nib pen.

The more ink that is put on "cheap paper," the great the chance of feathering or bleed through.

 

But also realize that the finer the nib, the more you will feel the surface texture of the paper. IOW the writing will be less smooth than with a wider nib.

 

When you say fast dry time, be specific. Fast to me means less than about 5 seconds.

Like other things, fast dry time will depend on paper (how fast it will absorb the ink), the pen (how much ink the pen will put down) and the ink (how well it flows in the pen, and how fast it is absorbed into the paper).

- When you say "cheap paper," I can presume that it is an absorbent paper, which is good for shortening the dry time, but that could mean the paper could feather.

- How wet is your pen? The more ink the pen puts on the paper, the longer it will take to dry.

[amberleadavis]

Test taking - Royal Blue. It's fairly well behaved and not going to cause offense. (Sapphire blue would be the next choice). I like Imperial blue, but I think it requires more cleaning. You might want to check reviews.

 

For bright ink - I admit, I love the Deep Magenta. If you get that and a bottle of the yellow, you can mix some great inks especially some great reds. IF however, you are not a bright pink ink kinda of inkster, Vermillion is bright and fun.