Ink Review: Diamine China Blue

[Chrissy]

My latest ink is Diamine China Blue

I haven't used Diamine Diamine China Blue before so I thought I would try it out. It's a single dye pure blue. There are no purple, or any other coloured dyes added. Think of the blue you see on blue and white china. It's that sort of blue. It lives up to it's name very well.

It's more saturated than I expected, and has some water resistance, as many blue inks do. I would call it an everyday blue, not quite Royal Blue, that suggests a little added purple or red, but a really nice, unassuming plain blue. It's quite similar to Waterman Florida (Serenity) Blue, but I saw a little more shading with China Blue than I do with Serenity Blue.

I really liked the good flow as well as the lubrication at the nib and I enjoyed writing with my Bexley ATB 1.1mm stub again. Quite a few inks that I have tried in the past, have made this pen act more like a hosepipe, so I put it away for a while, but this blue was a very good match for it. It didn't feel at all dry to write with though.

It wrote straight away without any hard starts or skipping and dried after 20 seconds on my smooth 100gm2 paper.

 

• Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows quite good water resistance, as do many Diamine inks.
• Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Bexley 18t gold 1.1mm nib, this ink took 20 secs to dry. That's slower than some other inks I've reviewed recently.
• It had good flow, and lubricated the nib well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.
• It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles or 30ml plastic bottles
• Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.
• It's a reasonable price.
• I match my scans to the ink colour as closely as I can.

 

 

[Ceilidh]

Nice review as usual.

 

This ink is quite a bit paler than most of the blues I thought I liked. But I was having a nib worked on at a pen show and Mike Masuyama was using it to test the pens. Liked it so much I bought a bottle. It's a really nice color and it started my journey back from "oversaturated" blues.

Edited February 18, 2016 by Ceilidh

[PAKMAN]

Nice review! I may have to try this one myself!

[lapis]

Thanks for the nice review. I too find the name absolutely fitting. I like it but find it (at least a bit) too light for "normal, everyday" writing. but at least the name here is very appetizing!

Have you made a direct comparison with R&K's LE Porcelain Blue-White? I've never yet got around to that. Maybe now's the time....

 

Mike

[Tas]

I adore China Blue.

 

attika introduced me to it and I'm pretty sure it was my first "blue".

 

Must dig my 30ml bottle out of the draw, thank you.

[haruka337]

Very nice review.

Is the scan fairly color accurate? I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a bottle of this color--ya done pushed me over the edge!

[Tas]

Very nice review.

 

Is the scan fairly color accurate? I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a bottle of this color--ya done pushed me over the edge!

 

Spot on !

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_diamine_china_blue_swatch.jpg

[haruka337]

Oh! Wonderful!

Thanks, Tas! Thanks, Chrissy! XD

[visvamitra]

It's nice and subtle shade of blue.

[chingdamosaic]

Well, I prefer its color when it's fresh out of the nib, however it fades away too fast.... :\

 

Thanks for the detailed review:)

[ScienceChick]

Your comparison to the clear blue of blue and white china is spot on. Most blues are, to me, blurples which I don't care for. Thanks for the review.

[wastelanded]

This is my favourite medium/light blue, by far. Thanks for a lovely review!

[Gloucesterman]

Thanks for the review...

 

Not really my color preference.

Maybe it will "grow on me"?

Or not!

Edited February 23, 2016 by brgmarketing

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review.

This is darker and more legible than I was expecting it to be (I had been avoiding it because I thought it would be too light). Might warrant getting a sample the next time I order ink.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Tom Kellie]

~ Chrissy:

 

Thank you for such a well-expressed review of Diamine China Blue ink.

It's been my unheralded default ink over the past year in most fountain pens.

All that you've taken time to write is like my own experience.

The illustrated card by Tas is a delight!

Tom K.

[Tas]

~ Chrissy:

 

Thank you for such a well-expressed review of Diamine China Blue ink.

It's been my unheralded default ink over the past year in most fountain pens.

All that you've taken time to write is like my own experience.

The illustrated card by Tas is a delight!

Tom K.

 

Thank you

 

[Chrissy]

I'm sorry that this is an older review of mine, and for some reason, I didn't revisit any comments. Thank you all, and you're all very welcome.

[Chrissy]

It should be Spring like at this time, but we have 4 inches of snow.

[DrDebG]

Very nice review! This is one that I will add to my list.

[sdbruder]

Really cool looking light blue for the ones that like lighter colours. It makes justice to the name, its a ‘china blue’ indeed.

 

Personally I go for the darker ones (Blue-dark fan myself).

Edited March 3, 2018 by sdbruder