Diamine Shimmer Inks - First Impressions!

[The Good Captain]

Having had samples of some of these amazing inks since May, it has taken a lot self-control not to leak any images of them. So it was great to get the go-ahead from Diamine earlier this week, and we're allowed to put up some more detailed information on Friday 28th August, 2015.

That's TODAY!

Now, there have some changes over the last few months and some colours have been altered and decisions made about whether there should be gold or silver particles in any particular one but the people at Diamine did listen to those of us who passed comments and opinions and the resultant ten colours are the ones that will be on the shelves soon. I'm sure Chrissy and the others who've been looking at them, will do much better and in-depth reviews than I tend to do but there is a reason for my brevity.

That is that I believe all opinions about a particular ink (no pun intended) are subjective. There really isn't any way of communicating something link ink/paper/pen correlation on a computer screen. For all the best will in the world, monitor calibration; a person's eyesight and so on, have a vast impact on how someone might perceive an ink's qualities and characteristics.

So I don't tend to do that. My scanner and computer are pretty accurate in terms of colour reproduction but I just point out that the rest of you could quite possibly comment that the inks are different that the images I've uploaded. Well' that's just the way it is. We all know about the differences between nibs of the same make, width etc, not to mention paper batches, so all I want to show is a brief introduction to this new range of colours and let you all make up your own minds when you've tried them out.

The written examples were done with a Sailor Sapporo, Broad nib (that tends much more to a Western Medium) and on Rhodia 80gsm dot paper. There were no problems with the pen: nib; feed and converter all came out of the tests totally unscathed. I decided to use the Sailor and not my usual Safaris, to try to put those of you with doubts about using this type of ink in a 'good' pen, at ease. However I will say that as I don't soo my using this sort of 'effect' ink in the course of normal daily writing, I don't imagine using them in a piston-filling pen - purely for reason of volume and nothing to do with perceived value of that any writing instrument.

So take a look and ENJOY!

Finally, these last two pics were sent from Diamine and are 'photos' rather than scans. They certainly give an idea how things might look with indirect lighting.

To sum up, these are a great lot of inks that can only go on to expand Diamine's involvement in the market place and it's nice to see the awareness of the necessary diversity, to stay up there at the top! Well done!

[saskia_madding]

YUM! Thanks for the photos. I can't wait! Count me down for at least one of each, and maybe an extra of Blue Pearl (the clear breakaway hit, in my opinion), Red Lustre, Golden Sands, and Purple Pizzazz!

[Uncial]

I like everything except the green, purple and (surprisingly) the red. Will look forward to their release.

[GBD]

It's too bad they don't seem as shiny in the writing samples. Red Lustre and Purple Pizazz look gorgeous in the swab tests.

[bijou3owl]

Oh my goodness, the green, purple, and blue pearl. I can't even.

[Newjelan]

Thanks for the review and pics., I think. I was hoping to have a break from buying ink for a couple of years, but these inks aren't helping!

[visvamitra]

Thanks for the photos but I have to admit I'm not among shimmering inks fans.

[Algester]

I also found this scan

http://i.imgur.com/tRkGjtT.jpg

not sure if its going to help anyone else

OHH lol its from goulet pens

Edited August 28, 2015 by Algester

[wijko]

Thank you for sharing these scans.

 

At first sight, I tend to like the Magical Forest and Brandy Dazzle the most. Even still, I'll just get them all.

[Beechwood]

The swabs seem to show the shimmer but am I correct in thinking that when used in a pen there is no difference when compared to more conventional ink?

[Uncial]

The swabs seem to show the shimmer but am I correct in thinking that when used in a pen there is no difference when compared to more conventional ink?

 

For the Herbin inks it depends on the fill. You have to really shake it up to get the shimmer dispersed through the ink. In certain light you might not see it and may have to tilt the page for the light to catch it and show it off. It can be quite subtle or totally in-your-face. As for the Diamine, I don't know, as I haven't tried them yet.

[Chrissy]

The swabs seem to show the shimmer but am I correct in thinking that when used in a pen there is no difference when compared to more conventional ink?

 

No, sorry but that isn't correct. If you look at my individual reviews you will see that the shimmer is definitely there when these inks are used in pens.

[maxmet88]

There are literally none of these colors that I don't want! ^_^; ::starts saving pennies:: what sort of pens do you think are going to be best to show of shimmer like this? soft nibs, medium/broad ones? I'm guessing it's gonna be a fairly flat ink in a fine nib, yea?

[The Good Captain]

There are literally none of these colors that I don't want! ^_^; ::starts saving pennies:: what sort of pens do you think are going to be best to show of shimmer like this? soft nibs, medium/broad ones? I'm guessing it's gonna be a fairly flat ink in a fine nib, yea?

Based on the ones I used and the other results I've seen, I'd say that the broader the better. I used a Sailor B nib, so more like a 'Western Fine' but that was just for the tests. I usually use F or FE nibs and wouldn't expect to really see much shimmer at all with them.

It looks like the more ink that's laid down, the more particles are distributed onto the paper - goes without saying, really.

[Ana_]

This looks like an exact immitation of J. Herbin's 1670 inks? Yes, more combinations have been added, but it's a duplicator, not an innovator.

 

Having said that, i am a fan of diamine because of how friendly their regular inks are to vintage fountain pens and love and happily use their Sargasso Sea blue. The golden sand is pretty, and so is the red one, but i'm thinking like J. Herbin's line, these glittery inks are not vintage FP friendly??

Edited September 4, 2015 by Ana_

[Gloucesterman]

What's the situation with regard to pen maintenance using these ink?

Given the "shimmer" materials do pens require cleaning more often?

What about using in vintage pens? I have three or four vintage with wonderfully flexible nibs that could (I think) show some real beauty with these inks. Are they "safe" to use with vintage lever and/or piston-fillers?

 

Potentially I want all of them :thumbup: :thumbup:

[The Good Captain]

Diamine say that these inks will not 'harm your pen'. My only reason for not using them in a lever or piston-filler is simple: I don't foresee my need for a relatively-large amount of the ink at any one time, so will continue to use in the 'limited' volume of a cartridge-converter pen.

There was no difficulty in cleaning out the Sailor pen that I used for these written examples. I happened to choose that one as it was empty at the time and has a broader nib than I would normally use, so there was a better chance of more of the particles being visible. A Safari with a M nib (very similar to the Sailor's worked just as well. But, I did note a slight residue of particles trapped inside the black plug as the end of the converter and that isn't so easy to remove for full cleaning.

So I would suggest that pens with simpler converters - ie a straightforward tube, as it were - would be a possible advantage. Can't see any issues with piston-fillers either but it might be prudent to use ones where the nibs can be easily removed, just in case. And of course, the same policies would apply to any inks from any manufacturer, that contain metallic particles!

[Gloucesterman]

Diamine say that these inks will not 'harm your pen'. My only reason for not using them in a lever or piston-filler is simple: I don't foresee my need for a relatively-large amount of the ink at any one time, so will continue to use in the 'limited' volume of a cartridge-converter pen.

There was no difficulty in cleaning out the Sailor pen that I used for these written examples. I happened to choose that one as it was empty at the time and has a broader nib than I would normally use, so there was a better chance of more of the particles being visible. A Safari with a M nib (very similar to the Sailor's worked just as well. But, I did note a slight residue of particles trapped inside the black plug as the end of the converter and that isn't so easy to remove for full cleaning.

So I would suggest that pens with simpler converters - ie a straightforward tube, as it were - would be a possible advantage. Can't see any issues with piston-fillers either but it might be prudent to use ones where the nibs can be easily removed, just in case. And of course, the same policies would apply to any inks from any manufacturer, that contain metallic particles!

 

Thanks for the quick response.

 

I may end up getting some of the ink after the Commonwealth Pen Show on the 20th of September. it will depend, at least partially, on my $$$ situation. Of course if anyone has some of these inks at the show self discipline may be sorely challenged!