Ink Review #936: Diamine Communication Breakdown

I’ve had a lot of requests for Diamine ink reviews lately, so we are going to dedicate this week to Diamine inks, starting with Communication Breakdown. This ink is a German exclusive, and can be found at Fountainfeder or Papier and Stift. Thanks to a local pen friend for donating a sample for review!

The color:

Communication Breakdown is a vibrant red ink with green sheen.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink shows off some of the green sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: 30 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-there was some bleeding in the flex nib

Other properties: low shading, high sheen, and no shimmer. There could be more shading, but most of it is hidden under the sheen. The sheen is visible in all nib sizes on Tomoe River, as well as flex nibs on Rhodia and Leuchtturm. I wouldn’t quite call it a monster sheener since it doesn’t sheen on multiple nib sizes on paper other than Tomoe River. The sheen does make it a bit smeary on Tomoe River paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering in every nib size and just a little bit of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Communication Breakdown is similar to KWZ Maple Red, but with sheen added. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M605 White Transparent with a medium nib on a Lochby A5 blank Refill-Tomoe River 68gsm. The ink had a a slightly dry, sticky flow.

Overall, it’s a nice red sheeny ink, but it is a bit smeary on Tomoe River paper and has a bit of a sticky flow which makes it a no for me. I guess I was a bit disappointed by this ink-everyone kept raving about how sheeny it was and no smearing, and I found it to have a little less sheen than expected, and prone to smearing.

Disclaimer: This ink was provided by a pen friend for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and this post is not sponsored in any way.