Diamine Beau Blue

[DanielCoffey]

INK : DIAMINE BEAU BLUE

 

PAPER : RHODIA #16 A5 white lined

 

PEN : Onoto Magna 261 Medium nib tweaked for wet flow by John Sorowka (Oxonian)

 

Scanner : IT8-calibrated Epson V600 flatbed

Colour Space : Adobe RGB

Matte : 50% grey and 100% white

Post-process : Unsharp Mask

 

 

On white paper in bright light the turquoise is a little greener than shown here but indoors the colour looks true to the scan. I guess I could describe it as "hot turquoise"...

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewBeauBlue.jpg

 

 

Here is a close-up of the swab. Saturation of this ink is low so the paper shows through. It would work well on off-white papers...

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewBeauBlueSwab.jpg

 

 

And a close-up of the shading. In a wet nib there is significant shading but the thinner strokes may be a little light for some. The ink is very wet and the surplus ink on lifting the nib will flow back up the stroke very quickly and slightly further than expected...

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewBeauBlueShade.jpg

 

 

Water-resistance is not something that this ink brings to the table. One drip of water and it is gone. On the other hand that makes it very easy to clean out of the pen...

 

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewBeauBlueWater.jpg

 

 

DRYING TIMES : The writing tests above were done in a very wet medium nib that had just been cleaned. Drying times were longer than expected... Xerox 90gsm was around 15s. Rhodia, G Lalo Vergé and Clairefontaine Triomphe took a good 45s to dry. Some wet downstrokes on Clairefontaine were still wet a full minute later.

 

SMEARING : None on any paper. This ink bonds nicely with the paper and does not sit on top, even on Clairefontaine Triomphe. A careless wipe with a damp finger, however, will result in the colour moving.

 

BLEEDTHROUGH : This ink was fairly ready to to bleed through on copy paper. Given the wet nib I used above, I recorded the following... Xerox 90gsm had moderate bleedthrough and moderate feathering. Rhodia had no bleed through and no feathering. Clairefontaine Triomphe had no bleed through or feathering. G Lalo Vergé had no bleed through or feathering.

 

FLOW AND LUBRICATION : Flow for this ink seems to be high to very high. I suspect a dry fine nib would have no issues but would put down a very light line. Lubrication was moderate in the pen tested (my medium above). The writing experience was tricky due to the moderate lubrication. There was more feedback from the paper and nib than I have been used to.

 

CLEANING : There were no colour residues left on the converter and this ink washed out very easily. It did not cling to the inside of the converter so a simple flush and rinse was all that was needed to get the pen clean.

Edited May 28, 2012 by DanielCoffey

[lapis]

Hi again! Thanks for this review. For a 'turquoise' IMO somewhat washed out, watered down, sort of like a few Herbins -- no harm meant. Still, I think I can't really get to love this colour, because it's too light green for me. But there are others out there who will really love it, I'm sure!

 

Mike

[DanielCoffey]

There is a slight colour shift that happens with Beau Blue over the first ten minutes on the paper. It lightens very much in the way that China Blue did.

 

In addition, it will display the full line width of your nib in the same way that Soft Mint does. If you compare this review with, say, Macassar, you will see the difference between this wet ink and a drier one in the same nib.

[tawanda]

Hi again! Thanks for this review. For a 'turquoise' IMO somewhat washed out, watered down, sort of like a few Herbins -- no harm meant. Still, I think I can't really get to love this colour, because it's too light green for me. But there are others out there who will really love it, I'm sure!

 

Mike

 

+1 for me on all counts. I am not a fan of Herbin in general, for the 'washed out' reason alone, alhtough Vert Empire is the exception to that rule, as it is so close to the now-discontinued MB BRG. If I were to go for a Diamine turq it would definitely be Florida Blue (nothing like Waterman FB).

[DanielCoffey]

It will be interesting to see where Aqua Lagoon and Misty Blue fit in with this ink then.

[user01]

Thanks for the review.

I like the color. But I think this ink is not for everyday use.

[Ad_Astra]

Agreeing with a few others; definitely reminds me of Herbin's Diabolo Menthe. Unfortunately, that puts it in the 'Definitely Not for Me' category.

 

Oh well, more for everyone else!

[DanielCoffey]

I was wondering when you would use an ink this light... maybe for writing on birthday cards etc? When you might use larger than normal writing in, say, a nice broad nib?

[saskia_madding]

This looks like it would be a good candidate for ink mixing, but not much more. Thanks for the review!

[tawanda]

Aqua Lagoon is similar to Aqua Blue by Diamine, perhaps a tad bluer and more saturated.

 

Misty Blue is something else. I love Misty. It is a softer, more ethereal version of Irosh Kon Peki, to my eyes. Really beautiful.

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice color bares a strong resemblance with private reserve daphne blue

[mhphoto]

Great review! I can't wait to get some of this. The color and shading are divine.