Does Diamine Ink Smear Forever?

[robzap]

Is it just me or do all of the Diamine inks never completely dry to permanence? I've tried different pens with nib widths from Extra Fine to Medium, different papers including Clairefontaine, Rhodia and G. Lalo Verge de France and they all still smear even after a month or more. I love the deep saturated colors of the Diamine inks, but if they never dry I'm not sure I want to stick with them.

 

Is this the same experience you have had with these inks? Is there some alchemy that I can use to get these to dry and not smear?

 

Thanks

[ttakacs]

I have had similar experience with Majestic Blue, but not with any other Diamine inks (and that would be more than a dozen). Have you considered that the culprit is the paper you are using?

[Basset]

Maybe you have something on your fingers? <g>

 

I have not had any smearing problems with a dozen or so Diamine inks I have tried.

 

Perhaps you should name the inks and focus the responses in on the inks at issue.

[KCat]

Haven't had that experience and I use a number of Diamine inks and all the papers you mentioned. I live in a very humid area so I would expect this to happen if it's a normal characteristic of the ink. My favorites are not the darkest colors however. I use Prussian Blue, Umber and Mediterranean blue a great deal. All without problems thus far.

 

Maybe the difference in our nibs. Are you using a very fine, wet nib? Or is it a variety of nibs?

 

You might try a very slight dilution - like one small droplet of water in a converter full (two in a Pelikan 200 size?) and see if this helps absorption without altering color or flow/lubrication. I do that with some other inks that are too saturated for my tastes and have a tendency to sit on top of the paper.

[robzap]

Maybe you have something on your fingers? <g>

 

I have not had any smearing problems with a dozen or so Diamine inks I have tried.

 

Perhaps you should name the inks and focus the responses in on the inks at issue.

 

I have a bottle of Majestic Blue and Oxblood. I've been trying samples of Red Dragon and Chocolate Brown.

 

I do live in Nashville, TN which is surprisingly humid. I guess that could have something to do with it.

 

I've used these inks with these pens:

 

Pelican M600 with 'Binderized' EF and F nibs (wet)

3 different Pelikanos with F nibs (very wet)

TWISBI 530 with EF nib

Lamy Safari with EF and F nibs

Levenger True Writer with EF, F and M nibs

 

I've tried these papers:

 

Clairefontaine Triomphe Stationary

Clairefontaine Notebook

G. Lalo Verge de France Stationery

Quo Vadis Habana Journal

Rhodia notepads

and Rhodia Webbie.

 

The G. Lalo paper does the best. It seems to be more absorbent. Maybe that's the difference.

 

I did try to dilute the Majestic Blue today, but I think I went overboard. I tried 3ml distilled water to 7ml ink. Then tried 2ml water to 8ml ink. The second experiment went better. Maybe just 1ml water will do the trick. It did seem to improve drying times.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses.

 

(or maybe it's just my grubby fingers)

Edited October 17, 2010 by robzap

[cubic archon]

I find that Oxblood smears like a big smeary thing on all sorts of paper whenever I use it, unfortunately - a shame because it's a lovely colour.

[Strang]

None of my many Diamine inks smear on any of the papers you mentioned. In fact they're quite a bit better than some brands I can think of.

[Kaych]

I have used Diamine Majestic Blue (a common problem maker for some), China Blue, and Delamere Green. No problems for me at all with a Pelikan M600 F. Drying times are consistent with other brands as well.

[robzap]

None of my many Diamine inks smear on any of the papers you mentioned. In fact they're quite a bit better than some brands I can think of.

 

This has been one of the most surprising parts of the fountain pen world. The combination of pen, ink and paper make a tremendous difference.

 

The Oxblood is a favorite of mine too. It is the most well behaved of the Diamine inks I've tried so far. I run it in the Levenger True Writer with a Medium nib. It looks great on the ivory paper in my Rhodia Webbie.

 

The other pen/ink combo that seems to work for me is Private Reserve Spearmint through an Extra Fine nib TWSBI Diamond 530.

[robzap]

Haven't had that experience and I use a number of Diamine inks and all the papers you mentioned. I live in a very humid area so I would expect this to happen if it's a normal characteristic of the ink. My favorites are not the darkest colors however. I use Prussian Blue, Umber and Mediterranean blue a great deal. All without problems thus far.

 

Maybe the difference in our nibs. Are you using a very fine, wet nib? Or is it a variety of nibs?

 

You might try a very slight dilution - like one small droplet of water in a converter full (two in a Pelikan 200 size?) and see if this helps absorption without altering color or flow/lubrication. I do that with some other inks that are too saturated for my tastes and have a tendency to sit on top of the paper.

 

Thanks KCat. I'll try and use just a drop or two of distilled water in a converter. The Pelikan converters are pretty small. My Pelikan M600 holds less than 1cc. About the only two inks that have not given me problems in this regard are J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie and Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki.

Edited October 17, 2010 by robzap

[KCat]

 

I did try to dilute the Majestic Blue today, but I think I went overboard. I tried 3ml distilled water to 7ml ink. Then tried 2ml water to 8ml ink. The second experiment went better. Maybe just 1ml water will do the trick. It did seem to improve drying times.

 

Thanks for all the quick responses.

 

(or maybe it's just my grubby fingers)

 

nobody freakin' listens to me! EVER! Sheesh!

 

drops! BAH!

 

:meow:

 

I'm just harassing you, of course. But seriously, I need to find time to write that pinned mixing/dilution post I keep saying we need. Of course, if someone else wants to get the ball rolling and cobble something together while I try to find a story in my brain in the next 24 hours, that would be lovely.

[KCat]

 

I have a bottle of Majestic Blue and Oxblood. I've been trying samples of Red Dragon and Chocolate Brown.

 

I do live in Nashville, TN which is surprisingly humid. I guess that could have something to do with it.

 

I've used these inks with these pens:

 

I did try to dilute the Majestic Blue today, but I think I went overboard. I tried 3ml distilled water to 7ml ink. Then tried 2ml water to 8ml ink. The second experiment went better. Maybe just 1ml water will do the trick. It did seem to improve drying times.

(snippity do dah)

 

Thanks for all the quick responses.

 

(or maybe it's just my grubby fingers)

 

All those seem like rather intense inks. Though I've not used any of them so I'm just guessing based on what I've seen.

 

I really don't think humidity is the issue - that much - because Houston is HUMID! Yeah, skin oils can cause issues even for the least grubby of us. This may just be a combined effect of saturated ink, slick paper (I'm not surprised G. Lalo was less of a problem), humid atmosphere and mostly fine, wet lines.

 

Let us know if you find a dilution that works to your satisfaction or if you have to give up on those particular inks. Be a shame but I've had to give up on reds and browns in the past for similar reasons.

Edited October 17, 2010 by KCat

[GreenVelvet]

I live in a climate that is VERY humid in summertime, and I do notice different ink - and paper - behavior at the more humid times. And I'm an over-writer, and thus very concerned with dry times.

 

I'm intrigued by your experience, because I've recently given away some Noodler's and PR inks because they dry so slowly that I can't bear it (not ALL Noodler's or PR inks are like this, just some of the colors), and have found satisfactory substitutes in the much faster-drying Diamine. I have found Oxblood to be one of the slower drying colors, but it is still exponentially faster than Noodler's Red-Black, for example, on any paper. I've not tried Majestic Blue, but I hear it's a slow drier as well. My other Diamines - and I have a fair number of them - are exceedingly well-behaved and quick-drying.

 

I would agree with the suggestion to add a drop or two of water, though - really does help with dry times, in my experience.

[piembi]

The only problem maker had been Majestic blue.

Have dilluted it with 20% of destilled water and now it is as well behaving as the other Diamine inks.

[Enai]

Smearing after a month or more??? :blink:

[Jadedgn]

Robzap,

 

I'm in Nashville as well and I haven't had any trouble with Noodler's inks on Rhodia paper and Staples sugarcane paper. I've just ordered 2 Diamine colors, so I'll let you know how those work out when they arrive.

 

 

~Jade

[LuckyDog10]

I love my Diamine inks and have not had any previous problems with smearing.

 

Just today, though, I noticed a few notes on my desk, which were scribbled in Oxblood and passed about the office, have a bit of smearing. This is the first smearing problem I've noticed, however, and I'm not yet prepared to blame the ink. It could be the "grubby hand" theory (and hand lotion abounds in this office, which compounds that problem), or it could be I've been so spoiled by Diamine's great performance that I have been careless and not given the ink at least a bit of time to dry.

 

The few PR inks I have seem to dry in decent time, too, with the exception of Tanzanite. But I'm keeping it anyway because I love the color!

[Northwoods]

Wet hands can cause most ink to smear. Ink doesn't "cure" on a page, it simply dries. Add moisture again and you can get smearing. I haven't seen any issues with the Diamine I use (and I've used all the aforementioned colors) except when it's humid or my hands are damp.

[wallylynn]

Is it just me or do all of the Diamine inks never completely dry to permanence? they all still smear even after a month or more.

It's difficult to understand what you're trying to say. My pencil smears, years after I've written. I'm sure it's dry, it was never wet to begin with.

 

You use the word "permanence." Do you mean water-resistant? The vast majority of inks (not just Diamine) are not water-resistant. Rain, coffee, etc will wash it away. Check out the Ink Reviews and the Test subforum. There are a lot of water tests there.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/forum/35-ink-reviews/

[bassopotamus]

I've had some issues with a few inks (don't remember which, but likely not diamine) staying smeary on Rhodia (and clairfontaine paper seems to be pretty similar). There just isn't much penetration there, and as such, some inks just kind of sit on top forever. OK, maybe not forever, but I've had stuff smear 20 minutes later. The Lalo, otoh, has never given me that problem with any inks.