Diamine Onyx Black - Not What I Thought

[KingRoach]

I've had my Parker Quink black ink bottle for over 5 years and still going strong. Yeah, I never used it that much, did I? The bottle would still have been half-full or more already if I hadn't it tipped it and poured lots of ink on my carpet recently. To my eyes, the black Quink had a somewhat greenish tint, and on tissues, a lot of yellow separates from the black. I wanted to buy a mix, so I thought I'd get something that is both the same series as the rest of the inks that I will be using, as well as being more black and lacking in tints.

 

Now that my fountain pen fetish has finally re-awoken, I finally bit the bullet and bought 4 inks for mixing from Diamine. For the black, I chose Onyx Black because, in the reviews, it seemed to be the blackest black they ever blacked. It seemed uniform and opaque, in writing as well as in swabs.

 

Having received it, the Onyx Black has a VERY STRONG purple base to it. If I soil my fingers with it, the black washes away and the purple remains, very stubbornly.

 

I'm thinking maybe the purple base is permanent or waterproof, somebody tell me, while the black itself is washable, but I regret that it may also affect the mixing as black is only supposed to add darkness to the mix. It may in fact be shifting the colours slightly.

 

 

What are your thoughts on the blackness of this ink, using it independently as black ink, and also about using it for mixing?

 

If you were to replace it with a different ink for mixing, what would that one be and why?

[evyxmsj]

The Diamine inks I have tried so far are generally pretty washable. Onyx black suprised me by being a little more staining/permanent: but I find this is definitely on the red side.

 

I actually quite like the ink., though was a bit wary of putting it in my favourite demonstrator. I took the gamble once and thankfully it didn't stain. I like to use it in my dryish pen as it's appearance isn't as affected as more shading inks would be.

 

I haven't mixed much, though I did try a few drops in Noodler's El Lawrence. I couldn't tell you much on how that worked out as I gave up on getting a handle on any sort of colour consistency with that ink. It did darken it though.

[ac12]

You will find that many/most blacks are a MIX of colors.

I was surprised when I saw this with some of my black inks.

All you can do is try to mix, in SMALL quantities, like 5ml or less, to test the ink mix. That way a bad mix will not cost you the loss of a lot of ink.

If you can, I would stick to the same brand of ink when mixing.

If you mix different brands, mix in an ink vial and let it sit for a week, to see if there is a reaction between the inks. In fact that might not be a bad idea anyway, because of the WIDE range of inks in the Diamine catalog.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hello King Roach,

 

While I haven't used Onyx Black; I do agree with ac12 that if you do any mixing, you should stay within a brand... but beware of Noodlers... their inks use different bases and not all of them get along.

 

I'll also share with you what my high school art teacher told us: "Many young artists make the mistake of using black (and white) to darken (or lighten) a color, but using browns or dark blues to darken will often yield much better results."

 

At any rate... take careful notes... if you find that dream color, the last thing you want to ask yourself is how did I do that?

 

 

- Anthony

Edited February 2, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[KingRoach]

This is exactly why I said I'm staying within the same brand/series. I heard about the different bases of Noodler's and possibly other inks but my understanding is that they are usually different series, unless there is the one-off that has to be different.

 

I agree with you on taking notes. I'm working on creating a colour wheel specific to the three colours that I chose. The black is usually used in miniature amounts to give punch/contrast/visibility against white paper. I often like to write with more muted and dark tones which are nonetheless interesting in the undertones. I need to take lots of notes re: my mixes. The amount of black to be used is usually like one drop in a 2-5ml or something like that. Blacks are pretty strong and overwhelm any mix very easily.

 

And yes of course I know about not using blacks for darkening, but that is mostly because they also completely mute the hues and kill the vibrance, turning any colour rather muddy than dark. This is an epidemic to learners in the arts, but I am also wary about the minutest shifts in hues at the moment. At least until I finish my colour wheel(s).

[ParkerDuofold]

Well, you pretty much got it down. Enjoy the mixing.

 

BTW, if the mix should start bubbling... get under a table immediately.

 

- Anthony

[KingRoach]

lol if a mix starts bubbling, I won't be here to post no more.

[evyxmsj]

Well, you pretty much got it down. Enjoy the mixing.

 

BTW, if the mix should start bubbling... get under a table immediately.

 

- Anthony

 

But not under the table you are mixing on... :-)

[lordofnumpties]

@KingRoach I didn't expect this post to focus on mixing etc, but since I am also considering buying this ink, I thought I'd ask a slightly tangential question: how do you like the Onyx? Is it darker than Quink? Does it shade more or less? Thanks.

[KingRoach]

I haven't actually thought of or done a comparison about mixing black, but this is a very important one that needs to be done, so if I ever get to doing that, I will definitely post it here.

[Chrissy]

Most black inks are a mixture of different dyes. I've used Diamine Onyx Black and haven't found any of the dyes permanent. I find that traditional bar soaps wash off most of the inks I use, better than liquid soaps.

[lordofnumpties]

I haven't actually thought of or done a comparison about mixing black, but this is a very important one that needs to be done, so if I ever get to doing that, I will definitely post it here.

I'm sorry, I guess I messed up writing my last post. I was not asking about its comparison with other black inks for the purposes of mixing. I just wanted to know what the Onyx is like to write with unmixed, by itself. Specifically, I am curious about its shading properties and whether its darker than other black inks that you have used. Could you please tell me whether its a nice solid black and how which other black inks have you tried? Thanks.

[KingRoach]

I wrote two small samples with Parker Quink and Onyx Black. To my eyes, the parker has that greenish tint, a very "cool/cold" black, and the Onyx Black is visibly red-tinted (or purple depending on how you see it). It is noticeable and not neutral black. I cannot find a way to capture it on a camera that will reflect what I'm seeing in the time being.

[evyxmsj]

If it helps, I find it a nice solid black. I wouldn't be able to tell you what tint or colour temperature it has at all, unless shown side by side with another black in the same lighting etc.