This is the eighth and final in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green ink.

The name of this ink evokes lush vegetation, although the actual colour is darker than I personally would expect a tropical green to be.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Tropical Green ink colour.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib.

This ink showed minimal water resistance and water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was easy. Drying time was around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The flow was excellent on this paper which led to a lot of ink being put down resulting in a very dark green colour which is almost black in places. I really like this effect. The downside is that this ink smudged quite easily.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Good flow again but not quite as dark – the feathering is disappointing though.

Yellow Post-It

Much lighter on the yellow Post-It.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Feathering and bleeding but not too bad overall. Lighter again on this paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This gives a good idea of the shading this ink is capable of.

Conclusion

I really like this green ink and the range of shading is a nice bonus: I will be using it again in the future. Whether the smudging and feathering will prove to be much of a problem in future only time will tell.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green

Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Tropical Green Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the seventh in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta ink.

Terracotta is a form of earthenware and the name is Italian for “baked earth”. According to Wikipedia, Terracotta is “brownish orange” making this a good fit for the colour of the ink.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Terracotta ink colour.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard (maybe the worst colour match possible) with a medium nib.

This ink showed minimal water resistance and water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was easy. Drying time was around 25 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is an attractive ink which shades to dark brown where the ink collects. A small amount of smudging is present where the ink did collect.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Some feathering, but good performance overall.

Yellow Post-It

The ink takes on an interesting sepia tone on this paper, maybe due to the slightly thinner coverage than on the others.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Not too bad but moderate feathering and bleed.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A fairly accurate representation but doesn’t show the darker shading possible, around the top extreme edge.

Conclusion

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not really into brown inks, but this one sits in the sweet spot of reddish or orangish brown inks which I do like. As such, I would find it useful for informal note taking.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta

Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Terracotta Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the sixth in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox ink.

I’m not sure if the name of this ink is meant to evoke the animal or the older gentleman, but it works either way. While an ink that looks exactly like the metallic silver would be too much to expect, this is probably as close as it’s possible to get.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Silver Fox ink colour.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot MR Silver (of course) with a medium nib.

This ink showed some water resistance, leaving very faint lines, but water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was easy. Drying time was quite quick at around 15 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is an unusual silvery grey colour, on drying it’s quite like a graphite pencil. No smudging that I could see on this paper.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

A little darker on this paper, and on looking again I see a little feathering.

Yellow Post-It

Quite light on the Post-It – not great to my eye.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Okay performance but too faint.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This came out quite light compared to some of the writing samples.

Conclusion

There is a lot of variability here between the different writing samples. Overall the this ink performs well, my only problems with it is the colour. Grey ink hold no attraction for me, and this one hasn’t changed my mind.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox

Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Silver Fox Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the fifth in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari ink.

The name “Safari” suggests the khaki green colour of the ink. Googling “Safari Green” yields a few close matches to the colour.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Safari ink colour.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot MR Black with a medium nib.

This ink showed minimal water resistance and water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was more tricky than other inks in this series, but I wouldn’t describe it as difficult. Drying time was around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink gives a really nice shading effect from almost black to dark olive green. Not usually my favourite colour, but in this case I really like the effect. Still a bit of smudging, but I’m sure I’m looking too hard and would probably of overlooked this in my earlier reviews. Overall a good performer which would be suitable for personal note taking.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Very similar performance to Rhodia paper – good overall.

Yellow Post-It

Coverage is a little patchy on this paper.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Not bad at all on this paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A good hint at some of the shading possible with this ink.

Conclusion

This is another good ink in this series, and one I can see myself using again as a note-taker. It’s dark and subdued enough not to shout out of the page, so is suitable for longer note-taking sessions.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari

Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Safari Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the fourth in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival ink.

A Google search for “Carnival Red” yields results which a similar to this ink colour – slightly on the pink side of red, slightly darker than a poppy red.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Carnival ink colour.

The test pen in this case was the Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib (a nice contrast).

This ink showed no water resistance and water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was easy. Drying time was relatively quick at around 15 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is a bold, deep saturated red ink, leaning slightly towards pink, which performs well on this paper. Unfortunately it’s another one in this series that smudges slightly.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Good performance but again some smudging.

Yellow Post-It

A good contrast and smudging is minimal here.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Tolerable results on this challenging paper and it appears that the greater absorbance prevents smudging.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This makes the ink look less vibrant than on Rhodia paper, but shows more shading.

Conclusion

This is a really attractive ink which is already high on my list of favourite reds. The only real drawback is the smudging, which still persists nearly a month after the writing samples were done. This suggests the ink is less suitable for general note taking and better suited to markup on more absorbent papers.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival

Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Carnival Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the third in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet ink.

What is the name “Blue Velvet” meant to evoke? Probably not the 1986 David Lynch movie of the same name, although the shade of blue used on the poster (see the linked Wikipedia page) is quite similar. Beyond that a Google search yielded many similar colours, all indicating something closer to a lighter Royal Blue.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Blue Velvet ink colour.

The test pen in this case was a silver Pilot MR with a medium nib.

This ink showed no water resistance and water drops obliterated text easily. Cleaning the test pen was easy. Drying time was relatively quick at around 10 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Although this seems intended more as a mid-blue, it is still deeply saturated and with a wet pen on this paper came out quite dark. It is very attractive though. I was able to get it to smudge slightly, although based on my experience with other inks in this series I am looking for this more than I would normally. Overall the ink performed well.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Good performance but still a little smudging.

Yellow Post-It

Good performance again and only slight smudging.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

I’ve been hard on the ink again in my written comments – this really isn’t too bad.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows a little more shading than the writing samples.

Conclusion

Of this series of 8 eight inks, two are blue, and another a blue-black (although in my writing tests it appeared to be almost black). They are all very different colours but still suitable for business use (smudging aside). If I had to choose, my preference from all three would be Blue Velvet, not least because of the faster drying time and a reduced tendency to smudge.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet

Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the second in this batch of ink reviews, for Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue ink.

I had expected Google or Wikipedia to give some guidance on what distinguishes “Regency Blue” as a description from other darker blues, such as the traditional version of Royal Blue, but I drew a blank. Wikipedia itself doesn’t even have an entry for the colour, so I won’t read anything into special into the name.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier, which along with the other inks in this series I would class as moderately priced.

I gave descriptions of the box and bottle of the 150th Anniversary series in my review of Diamine Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink, so I won’t repeat them here. The only difference is that the backgrounds of the box and bottle labels are a close approximation of the Regency Blue ink colour.

The test pen was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib.

Water resistance was non-existent and text was obliterated by water drops. The pen was very easy to clean. Drying time was around 20 seconds on Rhodia paper.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

A good performing ink, and an attractive deep shade of blue, with a hint of violet. Some slight smudging, but not as pronounced as 1864 Blue Black.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Good performance on this paper, with slight smudging again.

Yellow Post-It

Nice contrast, good performance, a little more smudging that on Rhodia or the Ryman Memo Block.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

No smudging this time. The written comments are a little harsh in hindsight – the writing sample isn’t too bad at all.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This shows much more violet than the writing samples.

Conclusion

It should be clear from previous reviews that I’m a sucker for deeply saturated blues, especially if they lean towards violet, so I’m taken with this ink. Yes, some smudging is present, but not serious enough to discourage me from using it again. I’m thinking of creating a new tag for inks like this along the lines of “challenging but worth it” – I need to find a more eloquent way of expressing that first.

Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue

Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

We are finally here. This is the first in a batch of eight ink reviews for the Diamine 150th Anniversary inks, in this case for 1864 Blue Black.

This is my first review of a Diamine ink, despite the fact that I own more of their inks than from any other manufacturer (including Noodler’s). It was even a Diamine ink that helped to restart my interest in fountain pens (but that’s a story for another time). So why has it taken so long to start reviewing Diamine inks? Since the are UK inks, and I live in the UK, perhaps it’s an element of “familiarity breeds contempt”, but that seems a bit harsh. Maybe it did take the release of the 150th Anniversary inks to give that extra spur to stimulate a review.

The inks were released to celebrate the founding of the Diamine company in 1864, and the Blue Black is unique in the set by including “1864” in the otherwise purely descriptive name.

The ink cost £7.75 (including VAT), for a 40ml bottle, from a UK supplier. This is more than twice the price of standard Diamine inks (which typically retail for less than £6.00 for an 80ml bottle). I would therefore consider this ink to be moderately priced.

The box is far more busy that the typical industrial Diamine box, with lots of coloured ink spots on both sides and a nice design on the back. The underside of the box credits the design to inkymole.com. On the front of the box is a sticker giving the name of the ink in white with a close approximation of the colour as the background. It was only when writing this review that I realised it was a sticker, and even then only because it had been stuck just outside the guides. I have one minor gripe about the box – because it contains a bottle that is shaped like a slice of cake or cheese a small piece of cardboard with bubble wrap has been inserted to keep the bottle in place. While this works, it doesn’t stop the box from deforming, increasing the wear and tear on the box over time. It’s a bit clunky and detracts a little from the obvious care that has gone into the outward appearance of the box.

The bottle, as stated before, is shaped like a cheese or cake segment, so all eight bottles can form a circle. I imagine almost everyone who has bought all eight bottle has tried that. The plastic bottle cap is the usual Diamine standard – I initially thought it must be smaller, but it isn’t. The neck of the bottle is also quite narrow (which is my only criticism of the standard Diamine bottle). The label repeats the ink spots, the design from the back of the box, along with the name of the ink on the background of the same colour.

As I’ve indicated before I’m not a great fan of ostentatious boxes and boxes, and I’m glad that Diamine resisted the temptation to go too far in this case.

The test pen on this occasion was a black Pilot MR with a medium nib.

The ink showed no water resistance and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was very easy – which was a bit of a surprise considering that the pen had been inked for several weeks. Drying time was around 30 seconds on Rhodia paper.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is my first review using a new pre-printed template to improve the layout and to make it less likely that I will forget something important. I have taken this opportunity to lose “Nib Creep” which is a factor that’s never really been important to me and I’ve found difficult to assess in the past.

The ink performed generally very well on this paper, but there is once important issue – the ink still smudges easily even when dry. Maybe this is linked to the lack of water resistance and the ease of cleaning. The test pen is quite wet and the deep saturation actually makes the ink look almost black, with only a hint of blue.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still generally good performance, but the ink still smudges.

Yellow Post-It

Okay performance, but even smudges here.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

On this more absorbent paper the ink didn’t smudge, but it looks like ink has transferred from other writing samples done as part of the same batch.

Mnemosyne Word Card

It’s only really on the Word Card that the blue comes through.

Conclusion

When doing the writing samples I really liked this ink, although in the test pen it came out as more black with a hint of blue rather than a blue black. It’s only when i came to write up this review, and I handled the writing samples again, that it became clear just what an issue the smudging could be. Although the deeply saturated colour is attractive, it’s not enough the counterbalance the smudging, so I wouldn’t use this ink for note-taking on a good quality paper – it could end up everywhere. Considering how easily the ink smudges, just from the moisture on my hands, it’s now less of a surprise that the pen was so easy to clean. I may try it again in a drier pen, possibly with a finer nib, to see if that makes a difference, but for the time being it’s not a candidate for my usual rotation, which is a shame.

Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black - Word Card

Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black

Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black - Close Up

Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black - Word Card

The post Diamine 150th Anniversary 1864 Blue Black Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.