A Yank Reviews Diamine Emerald Green

[bobje]

 

Citizens of the United States don't invest a lot of time thinking about the shade of green ink used to print their currency. Go ahead, pull one out of your wallet, we'll wait. If you're not an American citizen and still hold U.S. currency in your wallet, well, thank you for the loan. You probably don't think much about ink shades on your currency, either. (Unless you're from Norway. In that case, congratulations, kroner are the most aesthetically gorgeous currency designs on our planet, and pretty darn solid, too.)

 

A close examination of a U.S. paper note actually reveals two shades of green ink. On the front side of a U.S. $1 bill, the serial number on the left and the seal of the Department of the Treasury on the right are printed in a bright, jewel-like shade of green. The back side, however, is printed in an entirely different, swampy, blackish green. U.S. dollars are not the most attractive of currencies, but they certainly bear a consistent, reliable, comforting shade of black-green. Who do you think supplies that black-green ink to the U.S. Treasury? Or the color-shifting black-to-green ink featured on newer, pricier U.S. currency notes? You have no idea, and neither do I, and there are good reasons for that. My bet, though, is that it is not Nathan Tardif of Noodler's Ink, who has an entire line of inks that mock the U.S. Federal Reserve, and it's not Diamine, either. Diamine is British, and it would be pretty silly for the U.S. Treasury to outsource one of the key ingredients in the stability of its currency to a bunch of limeys. Nothing against the British, but we doubt if the British government asks Yankee crackers for help with its currency, either.

 

Which brings us to the subject of this review, which is a British fountain pen ink called Diamine Emerald Green. This ink warrants a couple of American observations. First, it's much more vegetal than jewel-like. It's more like the back side of a U.S. dollar note than the front. To use other great green American icons, Diamine Emerald Green is more like sequoia trees, National Parks, and the U.S. Forest Service than it is like the navigational signs on U.S. interstate highways. It is definitely not like the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. Another observation: this ink dries blazingly fast. On a sheet of Hewlett-Packard 32-pound laserjet paper, it's totally dry in 4 seconds. If you're left-handed, or if you're one of the members of the British secret service who supposedly write spy notes in green ink, you should really consider Diamine Emerald Green. It won't besmirch your hands and will save you oodles of time. Also, it doesn't do any of that fickle color-shifting sheeny stuff. And, last observation, it's an unbelievably well-behaved, polite, reserved, modest ink; exhibiting virtually no bleedthrough or showthrough at all. The holder of a fountain-pen-wielding member of the green-ink brigade who writes crazy conspiracy-theory letters to British newspaper editors could well imagine the ink saying, "Dry now, sir. We certainly want to ensure that you can fit many more words on the other side of your paper. If that's all, sir, I will make tea."

 

Scanned Ink Review Document - Diamine Emerald Green

 

(If this scan appears jewel-like on your computer monitor, it was intercepted and altered by the British secret service.)

 

 

The Pen Used to Ink This Review -- a Jinhao 599

 

Edited October 30, 2016 by Bobje

[MathurinKerbouchard]

This is a nice review. Thank you, sir. Diamine Emerald green is one of the favorite inks of my cousin. I can see why.

[visvamitra]

Interesting text.

[Nonsensical]

One of my favourite inks. The more I use it, the more I like it. It has the perfect amount of shading, isn't too light for daily use, and works really well with EF nibs too, although naturally it looks even better with a stub or broader nib.

[Tas]

Don't care for the ink's colour but love, love, LOVE your review!

[migo984]

I agree with Tas. It's definitely not my favourite green ink, but I really enjoyed reading your review. Makes a refreshing change from the standard fare.

[Diderot]

An amusing review and I'm very glad you did it.

Thanks.

[bobje]

Visvamitra, your reviews are so comprehensive that even to have you reading this one is an honor. Nonsensical and MathurinKerbouchard, this ink does seem to dry to a watercolor-like appearance. Tas, Diderot, migo984, thank you for the feedback. (For the record, I'm not sure that I'm really all that fond of the color either. There are a couple of Sailor Jentle greens, tokiwa matsu and miruai, that are spectacular. But boy, Diamine Emerald Green sure dries quickly.)

[The Good Captain]

Nice review - I'll have to look at this ink more carefully.

[paddrino]

I love this one. It has the perfect amount of shadeing in my Rhodia webbie with my Visconti medium 24k Pd nib. Smooth and gorgeous.

[jmccarty3]

Thanks for your enjoyable and thorough review!

[etaylor33]

Didn't really like this ink, really!!! I had the Diamine Sherwood Green in my pen first. Maybe that was to stiff a competition. I put the Diamine Emerald in my pen next. I expected great things from this ink. It was not to be. It looked like it was tinted with olive drab. It didn't lay down very wet. As a matter of fact, most of the time, I found myself putting extra pressure on my pen because it looked like it wasn't flowing very well. I have a Pilot Metropolitan, "fine". I find that it writes rather wet most of the time. Not with the Emerald. I put up with this for about a week, couldn't takes no more. I flushed out the few remaining drops and rinsed well. Wouldn't want any of that sticking around. Next in the pen went a Diamine Asa Blue. I don't know if it was from sheer relief that I wasn't writing with the Emerald anymore or if the Asa Blue really was that beautiful. Love it, love it, love it. I wrote two whole pages just to revel in its beautiful blueness. I think I like it.

I don't see myself returning to the Emerald unless I run out of every bottle, every cartridge of ink I have left. I also have the Diamine Emperial Purple which I also like very much. I have a Pilot Elite 95s enroute which I think I'll use the blue on in the future and put the Emperial Purple in the Metropolitan for fun writing. Sorry I have no technical specs and such, just know what I like and what I don't. BTW, the Asa Blue writes quite wet. Beautiful "fine" line. Bright enough without blinding you. I like what I've seen of three out of four Diamine inks. I got the 30 ml bottles to try them out. Good way to try out a lot of inks.

[jmccarty3]

Didn't really like this ink, really!!! I had the Diamine Sherwood Green in my pen first. Maybe that was to stiff a competition. I put the Diamine Emerald in my pen next. I expected great things from this ink. It was not to be. It looked like it was tinted with olive drab. It didn't lay down very wet. As a matter of fact, most of the time, I found myself putting extra pressure on my pen because it looked like it wasn't flowing very well. I have a Pilot Metropolitan, "fine". I find that it writes rather wet most of the time. Not with the Emerald. I put up with this for about a week, couldn't takes no more. I flushed out the few remaining drops and rinsed well. Wouldn't want any of that sticking around. Next in the pen went a Diamine Asa Blue. I don't know if it was from sheer relief that I wasn't writing with the Emerald anymore or if the Asa Blue really was that beautiful. Love it, love it, love it. I wrote two whole pages just to revel in its beautiful blueness. I think I like it.

I don't see myself returning to the Emerald unless I run out of every bottle, every cartridge of ink I have left. I also have the Diamine Emperial Purple which I also like very much. I have a Pilot Elite 95s enroute which I think I'll use the blue on in the future and put the Emperial Purple in the Metropolitan for fun writing. Sorry I have no technical specs and such, just know what I like and what I don't. BTW, the Asa Blue writes quite wet. Beautiful "fine" line. Bright enough without blinding you. I like what I've seen of three out of four Diamine inks. I got the 30 ml bottles to try them out. Good way to try out a lot of inks.

 

Couple of things you might want to try. If you like the Asa Blue, you probably would like "Asphire Blue," a mixture of equal parts of Asa Blue and Diamine Sapphire Blue. Several folks in this group use it, and it's really quite beautiful.

 

Second, when your Pilots arrive, try some of the Pilot and Iroshizuku inks in them. For some reason, I seem to get the best results when I use Pilot inks in Pilot pens. Some people think it has to do with the pH of the inks, but who knows? Other inks may work as well. It's all trial and error anyway.

[Manalto]

This is a nice, practical ink to have around for variety. It's a green that doesn't make you wonder if it's black or, conversely, if someone spiked your latte with LSD. The comparison to US currency is notable (sorry); it might come in handy for subtly conveying additional value to the recipient. Quick drying is handy in busy situations. Thanks for your delightful review.

 

"Yank" and "Yankee" are pejoratives that are tempered by the pride of possessing the positive characteristics (self-sufficiency, inventiveness, directness) associated with the terms. It occurs to me that "Yank" only works from an other-side-of-the-pond perspective; no one, other than a transplant, in North Carolina would refer to himself as a Yankee. I learned, well into adulthood (from someone from North Carolina, incidentally) that I belong to a subset called Swamp Yankee. Despite its original pejorative intent, I like it.

[encremental]

What an excellent piece of crisp, witty writing. Like everyone else, I rather think I would like to read some more.

 

John

[bobje]

Manalto, John,

Thank you for the feedback. In addition to remarkable prowess with puns, Manalto -- "the comparison to US currency is notable" -- hilarious! -- your deductive ability is impressive. You have correctly identified me as a transplant in North Carolina. There a lot of us. A suburb of Raleigh, in fact, called Cary, contains so many people from elsewhere that natives say it's actually an acronym: "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees." The term "cracker" is also evolving, but hasn't yet moved into the affectionate realm of "Swamp Yankee." Any developer at an English ink company like Diamine who would use the term"cracker" probably spent some time in the American South, and didn't like it.

[lapis]

Very interesting review. For me, the colour itself is more than "okay" but what I'm really looking for is Noodler's (FPH) Bank Note Green. Anybody got a half-full bottle they can spare?

 

Mike

[bobje]

Lapis, that Nathan Tardif is amazing, isn't he? Ten years ago, he had created an ink based on a color in US bank notes. You're definitely looking for green ink from the front side of a dollar bill, rather than the back. Here's an image of Bank Note Green from a previous review.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v397/roofdweller49/IMG_2322.jpg