Ink Review #1164: Diamine Merlot

Let’s take a look at Diamine Merlot today. I purchased my bottle of ink from Cult Pens a few years ago.

The color:

Merlot is a dark, dusky, unsaturated purple.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of shading, and a tiny bit of green and brown 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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, tiny sheen, and no shimmer. The sheen is only visible in large swabs on Tomoe River Paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Merlot is more purple than any of these other inks and much less saturated. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M205 Star Ruby with a fine nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s good but not great. It’s pretty well behaved, but I don’t love the color and it doesn’t have much shading. I’m just not in love with it.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1163: Diamine Mediterranean Blue

Today let’s take a look at Diamine Mediterranean Blue. I’ll eventually make it through all the Diamine inks, but there are a lot of them! I purchased my bottle of ink from Cult Pens a few years ago.

The color:

Mediterranean Blue is a vibrant medium blue.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper there’s some pretty shading. Such a pretty color and just a little bit of red 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: None

Other properties: low shading, tiny sheen, and no shimmer. You can see just a little bit of red sheen in large swabs on Tomoe River Paper, but it isn’t visible in writing.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes as well as some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Mediterranean Blue is a little bit more vibrant than Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the blue inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s a gorgeous medium blue with a little bit of shading. I do wish it had just a little bit more, but it’s still a good ink as it is.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1162: Diamine Matador

Let’s take a look at Diamine Matador today. I purchased my bottle of ink from Cult Pens a few years ago.

The color:

Matador is a dark unsaturated red.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a little bit of shading.

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: None

Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and no shimmer. You can squeak out a little bit of shading, but it has to be in just the right conditions so I’m gonna say no shading in most circumstances.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

MMatador is a bit brighter than Diamine Monaco Red, but not as bright as Diamine Carnival. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop in Purple with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s a lovely classic red. It’s a good color, well behaved and affordable. It’s a good fall/winter red.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Tono & Lims Friendship Inks

Let’s take a look at some Tono & Lims inks today, from the Friendship collection: CHARGE!, Who Are You?, GREEDY, May I Help You? and Dramatic Sky. Thanks to Shigure Inks for sending samples over for review!

Swabs:

Left to right: CHARGE!, Dramatic Sky, May I Help You?, GREEDY and Who Are You?

Writing samples:

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

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer. Dramatic Sky is the only one that shows a tiny bit of sheen.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as some bleeding in the darker colors.

Comparison Swabs:

CHARGE! is similar to Papier Plume Yellow.

Who Are You? is darker than Sailor Jentle Peche, and warmer toned than Sailor Ink Studio 237.

GREEDY is similar to Tono & Lims Nagasaki, and lighter than Sailor Ink Studio 231.

May I Help You? has more orange in it than Sailor Ink Studio 930.

Dramatic Sky is a bit darker than J Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs.

Longer Writing:

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All of the inks had an average to slightly dry flow.

Overall, all are pretty well behaved and even have a little bit of shading. Out of these 5 inks I think Greedy is my favorite.

Disclaimer: These inks were provided by Shigure Inks for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1156: Diamine Maroon

Let’s take a look at Diamine Maroon today. I purchased my bottle of ink from Cult Pens a few years ago.

The color:

Maroon is a medium unsaturated red.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink doesn’t have much shading, but does have a bit of black/bronze 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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: no shading, tiny sheen, and no shimmer. The sheen is only visible in large swabs on Tomoe River paper.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Maroon is darker and less saturated than Passion Red. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the red inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Conklin Durograph in Forest Green with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s a good basic maroon ink; no shading and only a tiny bit of sheen. This might be a good office red.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored in any way.

Maruzen Athena 2020 Pen Fair

The Maruzen 2020 Pen Fair started on March 4th this year, but was much smaller than previous years due to COVID. Jacob from fudefan.com was very kind and sent me samples of the three show inks for this year, Doukan, Ginkan and Kinkan.

Swabs:

Left to right: Doukan is a pale peach orange, Ginkan is a light grey and Kinkan is a mustard yellow.

Writing samples:

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

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: high shading, no sheen, and no shimmer. Doukan shades yellow and pink, Ginkan shades purple and green.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as a little bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Doukan is pretty close to Sailor Ink Studio 173. It has the same yellow and pink shading.

Ginkan is pretty similar to Sailor Ink Studio 123. Both are light grey with purple and green shading.

Kinkan is similar to Vinta La Paz.

Longer Writing:

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All of the inks had an average to slightly wet flow.

Overall, I love both Doukan and Ginkan. Kinkan is really good, but not as good as the other two. If you can’t get your hands on these, maybe give the Sailor Ink Studio inks a try-123 and 173 are both pretty good matches for Doukan and Ginkan. Someday I’ll make it to the Pen Fair in person.

Disclaimer: These inks were provided by Fudefan for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Tono & Lims 1 Year Anniversary Inks

Let’s take a look at the Tono & Lims One Year Anniversary ink collection. Thanks to Shigure Inks for providing samples! Universe is a clear ink with silver shimmer, Sun is a bright coral orange, Earth is a medium green with a slight yellow undertone and Moon is clear. Universe, Sun and Moon fluoresce under uv light.

Swabs:

Left to right: Universe, Sun, Earth and Moon.

Writing samples:

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

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and Universe has silver shimmer. Earth and Sun both show low shading.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as a little bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Universe and Moon are unlike any other inks I’ve tried, so I really have nothing to compare them to. How do you compare clear inks?

Sun is closest to Diamine Peach Haze.

Earth is closest to Colorverse Supernatural.

I used a Taroko Enigma notebook. All of the inks had an average flow.

Overall, I like Sun and Earth, but I can’t think of any reason why I would need a clear uv reactive ink. They are impossible to read unless you use uv light, so they are perfect for secret messages but unusable for anything else.

Disclaimer: These inks were provided by Shigure Inks for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1148: Sailor Manyo Yamabuki

I’m slowly working my way through the new Sailor Manyo inks, so today’s ink is Sailor Manyo Yamabuki. I purchased my bottle of ink from Pen Chalet.

The color:

Yamabuki is a bright yellow-orange.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink looks more orange, and even shades to red.

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: None

Other properties: medium shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Yamabuki is similar to Akkerman Gele Oker van Frans in swabs but closer to Pilot Iroshizuku Daikokuten in writing. Click here to see the Sailor inks together, and click here to see the yellow inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a TWSBI Eco-T Yellow with a broad nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, I found this ink to be dark enough on most papers to be easily read. In the future I would stick to broad nibs and white paper to make for the most comfortable read-back. It’s well-behaved and a cheery color.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1147: Lamy Turmaline

I’ve gotten a lot of requests for a review of Lamy Turmaline, so today’s the day. I purchased my bottle of ink from Pen Chalet.

The color:

Turmaline is a saturated medium teal.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has some pretty dark pink 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: 20 seconds

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: medium shading, low pink sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and a few dots of bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Turmaline is a bit darker than Colorverse Morning Star, but not as dark as Troublemaker Bantayan Turquoise. Click here to see the Lamy inks together, and click here to see the teal inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Lamy Al-star Turmaline with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, I like this ink. It’s a gorgeous color and performs well. I was worried it might be too close to Lamy Pacific Blue, but after trying them both I think there’s a big enough difference that I need both.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.

Ink Review #1146: Diamine Majestic Purple

Today’s ink is Diamine Majestic Purple. I purchased my bottle of ink from Cult Pens.

The color:

Majestic Purple is a medium violet purple.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has a bit of shading but no 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: None

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was some feathering in most nib sizes and just a few dots of bleeding in the larger nib sizes.

Comparison Swabs:

Majestic Purple is more red than Diamine Lavender, but less red than Diamine Imperial Purple. Click here to see the Diamine inks together, and click here to see the purple inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot VP Tropical Turquoise with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had an average flow.

Overall, it’s a lovely ink. It has a nice color and well behaved.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored in any way.