Diamine Vs. Pilot's Iroshizuku

[CryptoDave]

I know this is a general question, not aimed at a specific color.

 

Between these two brands are they on the same level in terms of quality? Or is one considered better than the other?

 

The reason I ask is that I have read good things about both brands, but with the Diamine being roughly half the price of the Iroshizuku, am I missing something ?

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[JefferyS]

You're missing the fancier bottle. I buy Iroshizuku when Diamine doesn't have the exact color I'm looking for (like Yama Budo). Both brands are top-notch inks.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Jeffery Smith

[The Good Captain]

No contest for me whatsoever. That's right - Diamine. A bit like a lot of references to WW1 and 2: it's perfectly priced, an abundance of choice and it's over here!

[chad.trent]

I prefer Iroshizuku because of the bottle. I know that has nothing to do with the inks, but I'm a glassblower, and I love beautiful glass, so I love their bottles.

 

As far as writing, I have no preference. Both are great.

[DanielCoffey]

There will always be folks who prefer one brand over another... either because they have found a colour that is "just right" or they like the way the ink feels when they put pen to paper.

 

For me, while the Diamine bottles are simple, the ink is easy to clean out of pens and performs well. In addition, as TGC said... it's over here. Diamine is my "local" ink and I am happy to support them. I don't use huge amounts but what I do use, I buy direct from them.

[JakobS]

Both Ink brands are well established and create quality inks, overall you will find them to behave very well, and preference for one or the other will be due more to the specific color of an ink, than overall performance.

[Koyote]

Diamine is good stuff, and reasonably priced. Like Jeffery Smith, I have bought Iroshizuku only when there was a color that really appealed to me - and after using it, I realized that Diamine probably has a near-identical color that I could've bought for 1/3 the price.

[Lloyd]

 

Diamine Vs. Pilot's Iroshizuku Which one is considered a better quality brand?

 

Better brand or better product? As Iroshizuku successfully charges more per ml, I'd call them the more successful brand (actually, sub-brand of Pilot/Namiki).

Edited January 2, 2013 by Lloyd

[NedC]

I prefer Iroshizuku because of the bottle. I know that has nothing to do with the inks, but I'm a glassblower, and I love beautiful glass, so I love their bottles.

 

As far as writing, I have no preference. Both are great.

 

They are beautiful bottles, and yet I prefer the standard Pilot brand 70ml ink bottles the sort of truncated spherical ones with the plastic inner well, an intriguing formal and functional solution. For just the look of the glass and simple geometry i also prefer Caran d'Ache's cubes topped with the hexagonal caps to the Iroshizuku bottles. I just ordered a huge assortment of Iroshizuku sample though and will be running some tests on them (the normal ink review stuff plus some WT and lightfastness tests.) I'm unwilling to shill out that kind of money unless I'm sure I'm actually going to like the product.

[Lloyd]

I just ordered a huge assortment of Iroshizuku sample though and will be running some tests on them (the normal ink review stuff plus some WT and lightfastness tests.) I'm unwilling to shill out that kind of money unless I'm sure I'm actually going to like the product.

Will you be posting your results here? Pretty please?

[lapis]

I prefer D instead of I.

 

I's bottles are OK but so are D's. Both are just as practical for loading. I buy the inks for the inks and not for the bottles (unless of course the bottles are impossible to use, in which case -- if I love the ink enough -- I just refill them into another bottle). I peeves me that Is are not only more expensive but I often have to wait a few months till the ship from Japan finally docks here. Ds are almost always available immediately.

 

Secondly, however good I find the Is in regard to flow and lube and shading, I still prefer the Ds because IMO the Ds haver a better color tone range... a bit of everything (albeit they need 100 to get that far). But Is are for me totally "impure". They are IMO almost all a brown-blue or a green-blue or a grey-blue (which can be nice) , but D offers real blues, real browns, real greys as well.

 

Finally, even if both costed ths same, I'd still opt for Ds.

 

Mike

[Margana]

While I understand the question, I'm hard pressed to think of a low-quality ink brand from that comes from Europe, Japan, or the U.S. Different colors and different properties to be sure but that's part of what makes the hunt for the perfect ink so much fun.

 

Ordering samples is a good solution to putting your money into the best ink for you. If you really want a variety of inks, the 30ml bottles available directly from Diamine are the best deal around.

[Faulkner]

There is one thing I don't like about Iroshizuku: the outrageous price!

Otherwise, I would choose it over Diamine, despite the smaller chart color. Iroshizuku behaves really well on every pen

[alc3261]

I love them both but Diamine is loads cheaper and easier to get.

[dspeers58]

I have to say that I have not tried a lot of Diamine ink, but what I have tried is good. I do like Pilot inks, including the more expensive iroshizuku. Pilot inks have been very good, in terms of drying time, water resistance, flow etc. I have yet to get a ringer. I tend to use Pilot in most of my pens, especially those which I use daily, including business etc. Diamine is a ton cheaper than Iroshizuku, but not Pilot/Namiki basic blk/blueblk/blue et al. Pilot is quite sturdy and well-behaved.

Edited January 3, 2013 by dspeers58

[sadiemagic]

Both are very high quality products.

 

I find that the Iroshizuku inks tend to be better behaved as a group. For example, a few Diamine inks are so wet and saturated that they smear (Majestic Blue comes to mind) and I find Sargasso Sea to be a hard starter in even my pens that flow very well. I have yet to experience any of those problems with Iroshizuku and I own at least 9 or 10 of the Iro inks.

 

OTOH, Diamine has far more color choices and is much cheaper.

 

I find I use my Iro inks more. YMMV.

 

 

 

Edited for typo

Edited January 3, 2013 by sadiemagic

[Laura N]

It's a bit like Mercedes versus Toyota: both make decent sedans, but the packaging is nicer on the first while the price is more sensible on the second.

 

I'm glad to be able to use both. I do use the Pilot Iroshizuku inks more, and probably prefer them.

[Sirvinya]

I got some "spend it something frivolous" money for Christmas so my first thought was a bottle of Iroshizuku. I've enjoyed the samples I've had but I'm still not sure it's worth me paying £25 for. Sure, the bottle's lovely but it's not the bottle I'm going to be writing with. My inks live in their boxes in a drawer anyway. After some debate, I went for a bunch of Diamine for £5.65 each. I've not found one yet that I don't like and I still like the way the bottle looks!

[JonSzanto]

I have about 25 bottles of ink, and about 45 samples. In all of those, I have precisely one bottle of Iroshizuku sitting on the shelf, a bottle of Yama-budo that we bought for my wife at last year's LA Pen Show.

 

It is beautiful. The bottle and ink are a lovely element in themselves, and there isn't any other ink quite like Y-B. Nonetheless, that is the only one I own.

 

Of course, this doesn't answer the OP. How could it? How could there actually BE an answer? You look for the colors you want, both companies produce well-behaved inks, and everyone will have their favorites, with most people remarking on the price difference ("It's so expensive!"). Nothing is really answered, just varied stories and opinions...

[PAC 1957]

It's a bit like Mercedes versus Toyota: both make decent sedans, but the packaging is nicer on the first while the price is more sensible on the second.

 

I'm glad to be able to use both. I do use the Pilot Iroshizuku inks more, and probably prefer them.

I agree with Laura, her " metaphore" is really perfect:: both Mercedes ( Iroshizuku) and Toyota (Diamine) are well known and reliable brands: They do not compete in the same market niche and price range though; : as for Iroshizuku, the bottle and the Import duties ( for Who lives outside Japan) contribute to increase their high price, however even considering the inks only, there is a " plus" in overall performance Of Iroshizuku vs Diamine, confirmed by my experience . At the end Of the day, even considering the extra price for BOTTLE and Import duties ( Iroshizuku) and the Very good quality Of Diamine inks , You more or less get what You pay FOR in both cases. Besides, according to my experience, every pen I inked with an Iroshizuku, wrote better than with other inks ( and I tried quite a few in the last..... 4 decades....

Best

Piero

Edited January 3, 2013 by PAC 1957