Apart from the bulletprooofness factors between these two, can anyone comment on the color differences? They seem like they would be very much the same colors.

I'm looking at getting some Diamine colors -- but want to branch out from my exisiting colors. Recommendations welcome.

Thanks.

Hi,

They are quite different. Legal Lapis is a weird bluey greeny kinda almost trurquoisey kinda colour. Have to say I didn't much like it.

Diamine Prussian Blue is a much more blue blue. Understated, darkish and very nice.

Diamine inks are marvellous I have a few now including Prussian Blue and really like them.

Not waterproof but that's all Legal Lapis has going for it.

I like the color of Legal Lapis but no, it's nothing like Prussian Blue to my eye. PB shows very little lean either to green or red so I too would say it's a "blue blue". In a dry writer - it has beautiful subtle grey tones. In a wet writer, it's a nice, easy-on-the-eyes blue neither bright nor dull.

I am biased as this is my favorite blue.

I do like Legal Lapis mind you - it's a good ink and I enjoyed using it and the quality of the ink is high. I just found that I wasn't using it too much since I have a paranoid habit of waxing or taping all addresses anyway. Can't devote just a single ink to my snails (IOW, if I'm going to worry about waterproof ink, I'm SOL) so it seemed like it would be better in someone else's pens.

Diamine Indigo is probably closer in shade to LL than Prussian Blue is - Indigo reminds me of Sheaffer NOS blue-black. That greenish undertone that is seen in many blue-black inks (and in LL).

I have Shaeffer Indigo also... I love it as it reminds me of a classic 30s or 40s colour. I can imagine a wartime journal being written in such a colour.

I really love Diamine inks.

I have an Aurora 88 on order with the lovely people at The Writing Desk here in the UK and will order a couple of the new Diamine inks when it arrives to try out I think...

Thanks for the replies.

Wow, you think of legal lapis as weird green blue? I can see indigo, but not much towards trurquoisey. Maybe it is my eyes .

Regardless, sounds like Diamine Prussian Blue should still be on the short list.

Any other Diamine inks I should not overlook?

I'm very fond of Legal Lapis, both it's color and it's properties. I haven't seen Shaeffer Indigo. Is it a current color? It sounds interesting.

I can only advise anyone to try Diamine Prussian Blue - lovely stuff if you like anything that is at all blue. One of my favourites.

The Imperial Purple is great too. One of my favourites.

So is the Registrars Ink (though I am advised to flush the pen reasonably often and not to leave it sitting unused for months) - the way ti changes colour is

I will try other Diamine inks but keep changing my mind about which. Ah for the time and money to try them all

I was disappointed with the (original, plain) Black as it was not super-dark, so I tend to play with it mixing it with other stuff. But, it does give nice shading and it flows well and has all the other Diamine positives.
If you want a black that is less :ph34r: than the Aurora and Pelikan and others, it might appeal to you.

Perhaps I should try their new black, or their other new colours....

Chris

Maybe this will help:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...&hl=legal+lapis

-Bruce

The Prussian blue is a truly great ink. The color is beautiful, and the flow and lubrication are simply excellent. I actually think it should perhaps dethrone Waterman BB as the most FP friendly ink to turn to.

It is also remarkably similar to WM B-B in the less dense areas of writing. I have both in vastly different pens, right now, and it takes some doing to get similar density areas from these two drastically different nibs, but in the rare areas where the density is similar, the color is very similar also.

I recently received samples of Diamine Sapphire & Diamine Orange (through our ink trading system). Both of these colors are top notch, and I will eventually get both of them. The Sapphire is one of the New Century colors that some suppliers don't have yet but should be getting soon.

HTH,
Ann

Hi Ann,

Would you be willing to post a review of the Diamine Sapphire? I'd love to see what it looks like.

I did a search on Diamine Prussian Blue without using quotes, and it took me to an interesting link. Various articles from the "Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891"

Among other articles is one called "FAST AND FUGITIVE DYES" which does not deal directly with fountain pen dyes, but is very informative on the state of dyes and colorants from way back when.

They mention "Prussian Blue" which is a mainstay for painters too, and they mention a "Diamine Fast Red" as in lightfast. Diamine was the name of the color and not the company making it back then.

Anyway, a bit interesting.

Fast and Fugitive Dyes 1891

Betty did a review a little while back. I got some of the ink from here in an ink trade.

The sapphire goes on the page very violet and dries towards the blue, though some violet remains. I'd say it's medium flowing. It has that Diamine "pop" to its color, which I like a lot.

Stephen

The pH is significant if one has a pen section with metal trim (just another trait of Legal Lapis...pH neutrality). Legal Lapis is not only waterproof...but UV light proof....resisting solvents and detergents, carpet cleaner, UV light wands, carbeurator/fuel injector cleaners, oven cleaners.....and is pH Neutral.

Just my two cents...

It is also not competing with that blue you mention in color terms...it is in the blue-black category (classic 1950's color) NOT a blue! Why critique it against a color in whose family it does not reside?