Handwritten Review of Diamine Umber Ink

[Breck]

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr76/fbchumley/29-DiamineUmberfinal.jpg

 

Fig. 1: The review, just about life-sized. Expertly color-corrected by friend-of-the-blog Brian Excarnate.

 

Now this is a green I could live with. It's nice and dark, but definitely green, not black with green, and not teal. The shading is quite nice, though not as pronounced as with Emerald, and it disappears in a fine nib.

 

Why they named it Umber, I have no idea.* Several of Diamine's inks are named...let's say counterintuitively.

 

 

This ink was previously reviewed by KCat, whose scan looks quite blue to me, and by RichardS, who seemed to like it as well as I do and who also included some great photos of the bottles.

 

 

*Actually, RichardS's review thread tells the tale of why this green was named Umber (second page).

 

[matje]

Hey Mface, thanks for an as per usual informative and entertaining review. Do you, or any other FPN-comrade know how this ink compares to Herbin Vert Empire?

 

When I found and put on my daily ink rotation the Herbin Vert Empire I was really pleased. Not easy for me to find a dusty enough green which still has character (I prefer dusty muted colors). But in the long run I think Diamine is more economical and the bottles seem more practical. Would appreciate opinions on these two greens!

 

Mattias

[Breck]

Hi Mattias,

 

I don't have any experience with Vert Empire myself, but Michael R's review of it shows a scan of it side-by-side with Umber, and the Herbin is definitely much more gray.

 

Umber is unmistakably green, but not too green to be uncomfortable for page after page of writing. Good luck looking for the perfect green. The thrill is in the hunt!

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Thank you for the review and the links to other reviews. I have not been able to form an opinion on the ink and will probably have to try it.

Edited January 11, 2009 by Peter from Sherwood Park

[misterh]

Hey Mface, thanks for an as per usual informative and entertaining review. Do you, or any other FPN-comrade know how this ink compares to Herbin Vert Empire?

 

When I found and put on my daily ink rotation the Herbin Vert Empire I was really pleased. Not easy for me to find a dusty enough green which still has character (I prefer dusty muted colors). But in the long run I think Diamine is more economical and the bottles seem more practical. Would appreciate opinions on these two greens!

 

Mattias

 

I have used both Diamine Umber and Herbin Vert Empire and in my experience the Vert Empire was very muted and had a lot of grey tones, whilst the Umber was a more definite green colour - although still quite muted.

 

If you would like to try the Umber, I can send you a sample - if you are interested, PM your details and I will get it sent off.

 

[matje]

Hi Mattias,

 

I don't have any experience with Vert Empire myself, but Michael R's review of it shows a scan of it side-by-side with Umber, and the Herbin is definitely much more gray.

 

Umber is unmistakably green, but not too green to be uncomfortable for page after page of writing. Good luck looking for the perfect green. The thrill is in the hunt!

 

 

Thanks a lot for leading me to Michael's review. I remembered I actually had seen it before, it's a very clear comparison.

 

all the best/m

[CharlieB]

I'm going to guess that QM2 would like this ink.

[gigipurple]

I like Umber too. It is a true green that is dark enough to be calm and "readable", but still remain green. If that makes sense to you... it does to me

 

Diamine inks are great because they have a large selection of colors and very good properties. Most of them don't feather or bleed, nor they clog pens, and they dry on the paper pretty fast too. But whoever names their inks should be shot! The names don't make sense at all. I mentioned this in another link. Have you seen their "dark brown"? Saddle Brown is much darker, but you couldn't tell by the name. BTW, Saddle Brown is a beautiful brown. Gigi

[DanF]

One of the few greens I don't feel I have to tame with the addition of a little red. Very nice straight out of the bottle.

 

Dan

[Breck]

But whoever names their inks should be shot! The names don't make sense at all. I mentioned this in another link.

 

Well, I don't know if capital punishment is called for, but their naming is definitely...well, idiosyncratic, let's say. I'd be upset if I'd ordered either this or Dark Brown based only on the name, but lucky for us we don't have to.

 

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

I bought a bottle of Diamine Umber, based in part on this review, and I like it. The colour is very close to that in this review and I do not see a blue cast to the ink. To my eye, it seems quite similar to De Atramentis Pine Green, with the Umber being ever so slightly darker. A good green.

Edited February 13, 2009 by Peter from Sherwood Park

[nickyd]

I thought this 'Old English' Diamine Umber ink was a little too bright and decided to experiment--To seven mls of Umber I added 1.75 mls of Diamine Dark brown (which,as mentioned in previous posts,is anything but dark).

The resulting mixture appears to be close in shade to Herbin's Vert Empire but 'less dense' . I've called my concoction 'Burnt Umber', for what it's worth!

[1000km]

My favourite non-blue ink by far. It's a very handsome shade of green with beautiful shading in the right pen

[Gehaha]

My favourite non-blue ink by far. It's a very handsome shade of green with beautiful shading in the right pen

 

 

EXACTLY!

 

I like it very much.

The behavior is perfect.

Likes every pen and paper (except Moleskine and B-nib).

 

Best,

Anna

[dextertje]

My bottle of Umber came yesterday and I love this green. It is nice and warm. Reminds me of Penman Emerald.

[derkleineHerrFriedemann]

Interestingly, the colour I see reminds me very much of the vintage Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Grün I use, much more then the scans of the Pelikan (probably newer bottles) posted by reviewers, of which the links I posted below.

I don't claim it is indeed so, or that the formula changed. It could be due to other factors but it is a possibility.

I like very much this natural-looking 'easy green' colour.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=49847

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=96320

 

 

 

[Titivillus]

But whoever names their inks should be shot! The names don't make sense at all. I mentioned this in another link.

 

Well, I don't know if capital punishment is called for, but their naming is definitely...well, idiosyncratic, let's say. I'd be upset if I'd ordered either this or Dark Brown based only on the name, but lucky for us we don't have to.

 

 

Guys there is a burnt umber and a green umber!

 

K

[RoyalBlue]

http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr76/fbchumley/29-DiamineUmberfinal.jpg

 

Fig. 1: The review, just about life-sized. Expertly color-corrected by friend-of-the-blog Brian Excarnate.

 

Now this is a green I could live with. It's nice and dark, but definitely green, not black with green, and not teal. The shading is quite nice, though not as pronounced as with Emerald, and it disappears in a fine nib.

 

Why they named it Umber, I have no idea.* Several of Diamine's inks are named...let's say counterintuitively.

 

 

This ink was previously reviewed by KCat, whose scan looks quite blue to me, and by RichardS, who seemed to like it as well as I do and who also included some great photos of the bottles.

 

 

*Actually, RichardS's review thread tells the tale of why this green was named Umber (second page).

 

Murderface & everyone else,

 

As mentioned in my post on RichardS' review, take a look at Inky Thoughts, where there are some explanations that should let Diamine completely off the hook. Basically, there is a difference between umber and burnt umber (as (bleep) mentions), and earth pigments can vary in appearance depending on how thickly they are applied and which locality they are taken from.

 

Here is the link: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...howtopic=116143

 

Hope this helps,

Tom

Edited July 20, 2009 by RoyalBlue