Are they fairly thin, or more saturated? Anyone here use them in Pelikan piston fillers?

All info appreciated! ;-)

Chris

My Diamine inks are rich vibrant colors, though they are very prone to sunlight fading...

They are not at all similar. Diamine is a lightly pigmented ink that dries quickly but also fades quickly. Aurora is a heavily pigmented ink that flows well, dries slowly, and does not fade quickly. Diamine comes in lots of colors. Aurora comes only in black and blue, and the blue is a bit on the purple side. Either one would work in a Pelikan.

When you say "fades quickly" or "does not fade quickly", what kind of time frame do you mean. Days, weeks, months, years? This may seem like a silly question but I have not used inks long enough to know what that means. I use several Diamine inks but have not used Aurora.

Cedar

I found my Diamine Prussian blue was a little washed out and didn't flow or lubricate terribly well in most of my pens. Only one of my pens remotely likes it.

My Aurora Black flows very well (too well in some pens, just right in others) and is not washed out at all. It dries a bit more slowly but lubricates much better. It tends to spread more on cheap paper, but I give it a higher mark than the Diamine Prussian Blue for performance. The color is a bit boring- but it's a nice black as blacks go.

I've never used Aurora Black, but Aurora Blue is a rich (slightly violet or purple) blue.

In 6 months, the ink on the page will be noticeably lighter than it was on the day you wrote it, even when stored in a file. This is my main complaint about many of the "fountain pen friendly" inks such as Waterman and Diamine: they fade too fast.

Good thread, thanks all!

Oh! That is quite a bit shorter time period than I would have guessed! I may have to watch what ink I use and where.
Thanks for the reply CharlieB.
Much appreciated!

Cedar

Just to add another, if dissenting, data point: I have lecture notes written more than a year and a half ago in Diamine Prussian Blue that have not faded in the slightest. I use these notes every semester and they're often left out in the open.
For what it's worth, I use Diamine and Waterman almost exclusively (have done for a couple of years) and haven't encountered any fading.
Best,
David

I would assume that the likelihood of an ink fading be it Diamine, Waterman, Noodlers or Aurora can be dependent on the type of paper the ink is used with, archival verses non-archival, PH neutral, cotton fibre, etc though important to the longevity of the paper itself could surely react with the ink to have it be prone to or against fading over a period of time. I would assume that paper that is not acid free for example could react with inks at different PH's in a number of different ways to make even work protected from light fade over time. But merely making an assumption with two and a half years worth of chemistry lectures behind me, and not having tested this to any degree, I would not say for definite that this could be a cause for premature fading of inks. I myself have seen no fading in a variety of Diamine inks(Monaco Red, Violet, Jet Black, Golden Brown) that I have used and let sit for more or slightly less than six months on a number of Eaton cotton fibre paper, Moleskine notebooks, G. Lalo Verge De France paper, Ampad Gold Fibre paper, Miquelrius, Clairefontaine Clothbound, and Rhodia notebooks. The major difference in Diamine versus Aurora may lie in the fact that Aurora only produces a black and blue inks, two colors that resist fading rather well no matter the manufacture. With Diamine you get more choice and variety in saturation, there are at least half a dozen blues to choose from with Diamine, and only one with Aurora, Two blacks, quartz being the darker and saturated one, and from there dozens of colors that meet every color of the rainbow and beyond from very saturated to not so much. The best thing as always is to experiment, see what you like, see what you hate, see what becomes your favorite, don't like one share it with someone who does. Most of all enjoy the fun of discovery!

I agree. Diamine Prussian Blue has very good fade resistance, in my experience.


Waterman Blue-Black fades (to green) like crazy -- starting soon after the ink hits the page! I'm a new user of Diamine Imperial Blue (a/k/a WES Imperial Blue), and, so far, the fade resistance seems good.

Good point about Waterman BB, Viseguy. That's why I started mixing it with black to obtain a nice, deep blue-black that won't turn green a few minutes later. Regards,
David

Aurora black is a great black - writes well, flows very well, dries slowly. It will do great in your pelikan.

Chris

Diamine inks come in a fantastic array of colors. Most are not highly saturatedl, but there are exceptions, like Dark Magenta. Some fantastic pastels include Mediterranean Blue and Cerise, and Passion Red is a very nice rich red. The inks dry quickly, making them really nice for marking papers.

Cheers.