Diamine - A S A Blue

[Sandy1]

Please take a moment to adjust the brightness & contrast of your monitor to accurately depict this Gray Scale.

As the patches are neutral gray, their colour on your monitor should also be neutral gray.

Mac LINK

 

Figure 1.

Gray Scale.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/INK576.jpg

Figure 2.

Swabs: Waterman Florida Blue. Diamine ASA Blue.

Swatch: Drawn with the Pink Safari + 1.1i.

Paper: HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK886.jpg

Figure 3.

NIB-ism LINK

Depicts nib line-width and pens' relative wetness.

 

WRITTEN SAMPLES: Moby Dick

 

Row Widths:

Narrow nibs: 6mm.

Other nibs: 8mm.

Figure 4.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK892.jpg

Figure 5.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK893.jpg

Figure 6.

Paper: G Lalo, Verge de France, white.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK894.jpg

Figure 7.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp. One-a-Day calendar page.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK895.jpg

 

OTHER SAMPLES:

 

Figure 8.

'HAPPY!' on Glossy Card.

Smear/Dry Time on Glossy Paper.

Smear/Dry Time on HPJ1124.

Wet Tests on HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Diamine%20-%20Asa%20Blue/INK887.jpg

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Daily writer?

• Possible.

A go-to ink?

• Almost.

USES:

 

General use is limited by bleed-through and show-through, use of dry writers / robust top-tier papers appears necessary.

 

Business:

• OK for just about anything.
• May be considered by some as being too lively. (??)
• OK for for mark-up / editing, but not so zippy.
• Not my pick for error correction or grading of assignments.

Illustrations / Graphics:

• Agreeable when a small area needs to be 'high-lighted' in Blue. (OK, this isn't Noodler's 'Baystate Blue'; but I said 'hi-lite' - not 'ig-nite'.)
• Good choice for a Medium - Dark Blue.

Students:

• Risky.
• Has problems on good quality inexpensive paper, so unless one always works single-sided, you're out of luck. So sorry.

Personal:

• If one is accustomed to using a top-tier paper, and doesn't hesitate to use Blue for personal correspondence, this ink will be welcome.
• It appears that a mono-line nib should be OK, or a somewhat narrow Cursive Italic, or a simple Oblique.

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS:

 

Flow Rate:

• Very nice.
• Ink handled the Lalo very nicely.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not noticed.

Start-up:

• Immediate.

Lubrication:

• Very nice.

Nib Creeping:

• None.

Staining:

• Not noticed. (3 days)

Clogging:

• Not seen.
• With the good flow, clogging seems unlikely.

Bleed Through:

• Yes.
• All pens on the HPJ1124 & Pulp. (Oh my.)

Show Through:

• Yes.
• All writers on the HPJ1124 & Pulp. (Oh *expletive*.)

Feathering / Woolly Line

• Not noticed.

Smear/Dry Time (Figure 8)

• Glossy: 10 - 12 seconds.
• HPJ1124: 7 - 10 seconds.

Water Resistance (Figure 8)

• -4- on the 4S Scale.

"All legible, can be easily read and/or have light staining from re-deposit of soluble ink.

Use as-is for work papers & internal use.

Adjustments to a scanner may drop-out the stain."

Smell:

• Round esters
• Reminiscent of Latex.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• None noticed.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

Clean Up:

• Fast and thorough with plain water.

Mixing:

• No stated limitation.
• I would not mix this ink.

THE LOOK:

 

Presence:

• An animated ink.
• It has sufficient character to engage the reader without overwhelming them.
• A firm cool handshake.

Saturation:

• Absolutely.

Shading:

• Huh?

Hi-Res Scans:

• Reform 1745 on HPJ1124. LINK
• Parker 45 + F on Rhodia. LINK
• Phileas + B on the G Lalo. LINK

Variance depending on pen+nib combos used:

• Not more than expected - given the range of writers.
• Reflects the pen more than the paper.

FIDELITY:

 

Is the name appropriate?

• ASA? No idea.

Are swatches accurate?

• No swatch on packaging. Tsk Tsk
• Somewhat consistent with online Diamine swatch. LINK http://www.diaminein...s.aspx?catID=14

SIMILAR COLOURS:

• Striking similarity to the Pilot asa-gao.
• (More on that later.)

PAPERS:

 

Lovely papers:

• Pure white papers.
• Does OK on the warmish Lalo.

Trip-wire Papers:

• Any that cannot prevent bleed-through and show-through.

Tinted Papers:

• With a wet writer, tinted papers could be used.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Mandatory.

OTHER THAN INK:

Presentation :

• 80 ml. bottle in a box.
• No HazMat warnings.

Country of origin:

• UK

Container:

• A squat square-based, clear glass, slope shouldered bottle, 65mm tall when capped.
• Ink level cannot be easily determined.
• The centred round opening seems snug: 20mm in diameter.
• Single tank, no sediment collector, no filling aid. Bah!
• The bake light screw cap has adequate grip.
• The cap is not child-proof.
• The cap seal seems to be some sort of plastic-coated card. (>_<)

Box:

• 58x78x58mm
• Nicely coated card stock.
• No swatch. GASP!!
• Labeled on top. Tsk Tsk Tsk
  • No kidding: useless when inks are stacked, or at/above eye level.
  • Work-around: Hire a starving artist the widely beloved Biffy Beans to draw a faux Herbin-ist picture, then affix to the box.

Eco-Green:

• OK.
• All should be recyclable or benign.

Availability:

• At time of writing, I ordered directly from Diamine in the UK.
• In the near-term, some online and B&M retailers may have this ink on offer.

ETC:

 

Majik:

• Not so much.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• The Sheaffer No Nonsense + M on the Rhodia.

Yickity Yackity:

• So close, but no cigar.
• Ah kushbaby, nothing today. Maybe next time. Hang in there.

<=-+-^-+=>|<=-+-v-+=>|<=-+/\+=>|<=-+-v-+=>|<=-+-^-+=>

 

MATERIEL USED:

 

To be relevant to most members, I make an effort to use papers, pens & nibs that are readily available. Pens are those for which I paid $100 or less, and are 'factory stock' - not customised.

 

These pen+nib combos were used:

• Pilot 78G + g-p steel F
• Parker 45 + steel F
• Sheaffer No Nonsense + steel M
• Reform 1745 + steel ungraded
• Waterman Phileas + steel B
• Lamy Safari + steel 1.1i

For lines & labels:

• Pilot Penmanship + XF with Noodler's Lexington Grey.

On these papers:

• HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.
• Rhodia.
• G Lalo, 'Verge de France', white.
• Pulp.
• Glossy paper.
• Glossy card.

Images:

• Scans were made on an Epson V600 scanner; factory defaults were accepted.
• Figures shown were scanned at 96 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Scans were not adjusted, so went straight to the file sharing thingy.

Densitometer Readings FWIW:

Red 72

Grn 116

Blu 198

Lum 124

-30-

Edited August 10, 2010 by Sandy1

[fabrimedeiros]

Hello, S1!! I love this blue, but are there any feathering on cheap paper? My nibs are quite wet (M and Broad). Do you think I wil have feathering problems with my juicy nibs on cheap paper?

 

I think ASA will be the Diamine's best seller soon.

 

Thanks for review!

 

Cheers,

 

Fabricio

Edited August 10, 2010 by fabrimedeiros

[dcwaites]

Sandy, you beat me to it.

I have a 30 ml bottle on the way. It will be interesting to see how my experience compares with yours, and how the ASA blue compares with the other Diamine inks I have.

[karinh]

Brilliant review Sandy!

 

I just got this ink today, along with a few others, and have been using it in a Pilot Pluminix/Plumix italic pen (medium sort of flow) on Reflex Ultra-white notebook paper (Aussie stuff, not very expensive) and had no bleedthrough, showthrough or feathering. In that combination there was pretty much no shading at all. I haven't had time to try it on other paper yet or in another pen. I'll be interested to see if there's a degradation in performance in a wetter pen. I know quite a few of us Aussies use the Reflex paper so just thought I'd point out that it's fine, in my experience, on that.

 

It's a lovely colour; nice and bright but not too in your face. I'm generally not a fan of bright blue but I do like this one.

[inkster]

Love your reviews - very complete and informative. Keep them coming (even if they do cost me a few bucks as I see some asa blue in my future).

[mstone]

from the scan it looks a lot like noodler's ottoman azure (one of my favorites)

[encremental]

If I hadn't just got a bottle of Noodler's Eel Blue, I think I'd be more enthusiastic. It is very similar in colour.

 

John

[Sandy1]

Hello, S1!! I love this blue, but are there any feathering on cheap paper? My nibs are quite wet (M and Broad). Do you think I wil have feathering problems with my juicy nibs on cheap paper?

 

I think ASA will be the Diamine's best seller soon.

 

Thanks for review!

 

Cheers,

 

Fabricio

Hi,

 

I didn't notice any feathering on the Pulp or on the HPJ1124. Indeed, the line-width seemed to hold quite close to the 'reference' samples, made with an i-g ink, for the nibs on all pens. If one takes a look at the NIB-ism LINK, there is a HiRes scan of the nibs' line quality. Also, there are the other HiRes samples, under The Look, so practical line quality may be seen.

 

Considering the level of saturation, I was pleased that the line quality in general was high - and that's with very inexpensive pens too! (the Pilot 78G was USD 10, Reform about $10, No Nonsense $20 - used, and so on.)

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Sandy, you beat me to it.

I have a 30 ml bottle on the way. It will be interesting to see how my experience compares with yours, and how the ASA blue compares with the other Diamine inks I have.

Hi,

 

I was waiting for someone else to post, actually.

 

As I've always maintained: FPN has strength through diversity. So indeed, I await anyone's IR on this ink.

 

Also, it will be interesting to see if future batches are different. I reckon there's a difference in QC-QA between the initial batches and later normal production. (If these were my inks, I know I'd be watching over them like a mother grizzly bear.)

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Brilliant review Sandy!

 

I just got this ink today, along with a few others, and have been using it in a Pilot Pluminix/Plumix italic pen (medium sort of flow) on Reflex Ultra-white notebook paper (Aussie stuff, not very expensive) and had no bleedthrough, showthrough or feathering. In that combination there was pretty much no shading at all. I haven't had time to try it on other paper yet or in another pen. I'll be interested to see if there's a degradation in performance in a wetter pen. I know quite a few of us Aussies use the Reflex paper so just thought I'd point out that it's fine, in my experience, on that.

 

It's a lovely colour; nice and bright but not too in your face. I'm generally not a fan of bright blue but I do like this one.

Hi,

 

Glad you enjoy the Review.

 

The Plumix is a good inexpensive pen. I have one, and think its grand. (Tempted to include it in my IR pen stable.)

 

I am really happy that you are able to use this ink on inexpensive paper.

 

I have been criticised for not using a 'cheap enough paper' in my IRs. Well, if anything's cheaper than the One-a-Day calendar Pulp, then I'll eat my oars be surprised.

 

The thing with inexpensive paper is that it is essentially 'No Name'. Like the HPJ1124, I like to think that it's made to a certain specification according to regional market requirements, but...

 

And really, I have a tough time believing that the last three Diamine inks I reviewed could not run on inexpensive paper. Just not HPJ1124 - which was a shocker.

 

So - my observation makes readers aware (again) that YMMV on the 'lesser' papers; and that there is risk to it. And it's up to the reader to be prepared to buy different paper. This is an Ink Review, and there's YMMV implicit through-out. Even though I do try to broaden the sample with a number of pens and papers. It enlarges the number of samples, that's all; it is not definitive.

 

So, I will be taking a pen with DAB and writing on anything that looks like paper, then reporting my observations.

 

[[ Do you folks still have those memo/steno pads with the pale yellow covers - ah Spinoflex, Spirofax, ??? I found those to be amazingly FP friendly, and saved a bundle in high-cost pads/journals. (Target had them on offer.) ]]

 

Cheers!

S1

[Sandy1]

Love your reviews - very complete and informative. Keep them coming (even if they do cost me a few bucks as I see some asa blue in my future).

Hi,

Glad you enjoy the Reviews.

Interesting that they cost you money - I hope that they've also saved you a bit too. (Just say 'No' to Lamy Green.)

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

from the scan it looks a lot like noodler's ottoman azure (one of my favorites)

Hi,

 

I have a pot of the NOA coming.

 

After it arrives, I'll do a comparison.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

If I hadn't just got a bottle of Noodler's Eel Blue, I think I'd be more enthusiastic. It is very similar in colour.

 

John

 

Hi John,

 

I don't have a pot of that coming, so I'll leave the comparison up to you.

 

I have an inkling that the folks selling sample-size portions of DAB will have their hands full, then empty.

 

Bye,

S1

[encremental]

Sandy - you will enjoy Noodler's Eel Blue - it is really a special ink. Smudges a little bit, though.

 

My bottle came up at a good price in the Market Place, otherwise I don't think I would have looked at it. Particularly good handling as well as an attractive colour.

 

John

[geoduc]

Thanks, S1. Another nice review.

 

You commented that the color is very close to Iroshizuku asa-gao, and given the name of the Diamine, I expect that's intentional. Given the similarity, would you consider the Diamine ink a replacement for asa-gao or is the original still worth the price premium? I have asa-gao and quite like it, but I'm willing to shift my allegiance if there is a reasonable substitute that is more economical.

[Sandy1]

Thanks, S1. Another nice review.

 

You commented that the color is very close to Iroshizuku asa-gao, and given the name of the Diamine, I expect that's intentional. Given the similarity, would you consider the Diamine ink a replacement for asa-gao or is the original still worth the price premium? I have asa-gao and quite like it, but I'm willing to shift my allegiance if there is a reasonable substitute that is more economical.

Hi,

 

You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoy the Review.

 

Well, I mentioned in the IR that there would be more coming about that observation. And there will be, as soon as I get a wee moment. Or two.

 

I also mentioned that the Twilight Blue was similar to R&K Verdigris. So, sometimes I can make work for myself, but I really do prefer to put-up.

 

If I make a statement, I like to be able to substantiate it, rather than leave it hanging. And most of the time, little Ms Smarty-pants Big-mouth should just leave well enough alone. But noooo, that would be too easy, yes?

 

Bye,

S1

[geoduc]

Thanks, S1. Another nice review.

 

You commented that the color is very close to Iroshizuku asa-gao, and given the name of the Diamine, I expect that's intentional. Given the similarity, would you consider the Diamine ink a replacement for asa-gao or is the original still worth the price premium? I have asa-gao and quite like it, but I'm willing to shift my allegiance if there is a reasonable substitute that is more economical.

 

Well, I mentioned in the IR that there would be more coming about that observation. And there will be, as soon as I get a wee moment. Or two.

 

I also mentioned that the Twilight Blue was similar to R&K Verdigris. So, sometimes I can make work for myself, but I really do prefer to put-up.

 

If I make a statement, I like to be able to substantiate it, rather than leave it hanging. And most of the time, little Ms Smarty-pants Big-mouth should just leave well enough alone. But noooo, that would be too easy, yes?

 

Bye,

S1

 

I saw your teaser in the review, but as an American I demand instant gratification. I want it nooooooooooow! :roflmho:

[Sandy1]

COMPARISON COMPARISON COMPARISON :

 

Pilot asa-gao :: Diamine ASA Blue LINK

[geoduc]

COMPARISON COMPARISON COMPARISON :

 

Pilot asa-gao :: Diamine ASA Blue LINK

 

Thanks!

[jniforat]

nice!