Private Reserve Dc Super Violet

[raging.dragon]

I just got around to opening a bottle of PR DC Super Violet and testing it.

 

Using an OMAS 360 with BB nib flow is so wet I got bleed through on Rhodia paper! Results were much better on Southworth 24# 100% cotton paper, with barely noticable feathering and no bleed through. My cheap laser printer paper was totally overwhelmed by the volume of ink this combination laid down, with significant feathering and bleedthrough. This is a big, wet, nib so hardly surprising it's a torture test for paper. I won't hold these feathering and bleedthrough results against the ink.

 

Testing the same papers using this ink in my TWSBI 530, performance was excellent with both Rhodia and the Southworth 24lb cotton papers. With the cheap copier paper there was still a little feathering and bleedthrough. I would consider the feather tolerable, but wouldn't want to write on both sides of this paper. Again, I don't think it's fair to blame the ink here, as the only poor performance was on cheap paper ill suited to use with any fountain pen or ink.

 

With so much ink flowing onto the paper, the BB nib was virtually floating across smooth papers. With the EF I would have preferred more lubrication and/or more a wetter flow. However, my experience with these two pens is rather limited, so I'm witholding judgement until testing this ink in one of my old favourite pens.

 

PR Super Violet is at it's best when used on bright white paper: the colour is spectacular, similar to Diamine Imperial Purple but more intense. On the natural (unbleached) cotton paper Super Violet was less intense, still a beautiful colour but subdued enough I'd consider it for professional correspondence. However, I'm not convinced it looks better than Imperial Purple or any of several other purples on this paper. Having tried this ink on ivory paper, I'd suggest using a different colour, or brighter paper instead. I have ream of 32# HP paper being delivered tomorrow, and am looking forward to trying Super Violet on this heavy, bright, paper.

 

I observed some shading, but nowhere near as much a Dizzypen saw in her review. I believe this is because of the nibs used. The BB was so wet it flooded out the shading, and EF nibs don't tend to shade much. I suspect that with an M or drier B nib there would be more shading.

 

Overall, PR DC Super Violet is my new favourite purple ink, supplanting Diamine Imperial Purple and Montblanc Lavender Purple. I'll be using this as my daily ink for the next week or so, trying it in another pen or two, and with a few more papers. Once that's done I'll compile the results and post a full review.

Edited September 12, 2011 by raging.dragon