Jump to content

Diamine Imperial Purple


carpedavid

Recommended Posts

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4960631969_8ee3df57a2_b.jpg

 

I've been using Diamine Imperial Purple for the past two weeks, and I can’t get enough of it. It’s a vibrant, majestic purple that makes me think of royal banners waving in a bright, sunny sky – of knights jousting on horseback and ladies waiting in…um…waiting. It is a highly saturated “red” purple that exhibits moderate shading. It is not reddish per-se, but rather red by contrast with a blue-purple or indigo.

 

Purple is the color of royalty, incidentally, due to its historically high cost of production. The dye called “Tyrian purple” was first produced by the ancient Phoenicians from the harvesting of a sea snail native to the Mediterranean. Harvesting sea snails is, as one might imagine, rather labor intensive, and the amount of dye produced by any given snail is rather small. Thus, being able to afford textiles colored by the incredibly expensive dye became a mark of wealth and power throughout the years – and eventually became associated with royalty.

 

Diamine Purple is an easy flowing ink with a nice level of lubrication, which allows the pen to easily glide across the page. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, Diamine inks occupy a sweet spot for me – the examples I’ve had the opportunity to work with are saturated, yet shaded; bold, yet well-behaved. Accordingly, there was very little feathering on the papers I tested it with, and very low show-though.

 

In my initial testing, I noticed no bleed through with a variety of paper. Recently, though, I did notice a small amount of bleed through on the ultra-thin paper of a Moleskine daily planner when using my wet-writing Pilot Falcon. This combination is about the worst fountain pen/ink combo that most people are likely to encounter, and most inks perform comparably.

 

Drying time was good – on Moleskine and Rhodia paper, it took about eight seconds to dry. On garden variety copier paper, it took about three seconds.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4961225642_6b2497c92c.jpg

 

Diamine inks are available in a 30ml plastic bottle and an 80ml glass bottle, both of which are utilitarian in appearance. The smaller plastic bottle has a neck that is very small in diameter. I found that some of my larger pens, like a Lamy 2000, would not fit all the way in, which made getting to the ink a bit of a challenge. My recommendation would be to go for the larger bottle.

 

Imperial Purple, despite its regal associations, is probably not appropriate for a conservative business environment – it is slightly too vibrant for that. It might be fine for an office that’s a bit more creative, however, since it’s easy to read on both off-white and white paper. I’d also recommend it for correspondence, journaling, or other personal use.

 

My ink collection has grown enough that I now have several varieties of purple, and I’d say this sits in the top – somewhere between J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune (which is more conservative) and Iroshizuku Yama Budo (which is a bit more wild). It is definitely one that I’m glad to have in my collection.

 

Review Notes: for the wide strokes, I used a Lamy 1.9mm steel calligraphy nib on a Lamy Joy. For the narrow strokes, I used a medium steel nib on a Pelikan M205. The paper is Rhodia 80gsm from a No. 16 Rhodia Bloc Pad.

 

Note on this review: a sample of this ink was provided for review purposes by Diamine Ink.

seize the dave - a little bit about a lot of stuff: ink reviews, poetry, short fiction, and more
my ink reviews
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 23
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • lovemy51

    3

  • geoduc

    3

  • tocororo

    2

  • Truppi327

    2

Very nice (as usual). I'll add this ink to the next sample order.

 

I agree with your observation on Diamine inks. I've purchased samples of a number of them recently and have been very pleased by their behavior and color. They strike a nice balance without being compromised.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review. I really enjoy your reviews. They always display the inks in the best way and are always accompanied by a valid and detailed description. I have to agree with your assessments on Diamine inks. They are well behaved and display great shading, which is why I've bought a few. Thank you for the great review.

"No one can be a great thinker who does not recognize that as a thinker it is his first duty to follow his intellect to whatever conclusions it may lead. Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study, and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think." -J.S. Mill, On Liberty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything like Herbin Violette Pensee?

Best,

Mike Truppi

 

<img src="http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5673/inkdz2.png" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60"/><img src="http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60"/><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qVJOiluU9_4/THoFdqPGYOI/AAAAAAAAA1w/gmV637q-HZA/s1600/InkDropLogoFPN.jpg" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60" /> 8/24/10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A nice purple.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right

to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers,

and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Revelation 22:14-15

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely review, as always :) I've recently ventured into Diamine inks, after reading so many wonderful reviews on FPN. I have purple coming out my ears at the moment, but hey, I'm adding this one to my list too.

Tamara

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything like Herbin Violette Pensee?

 

I was wondering the same thing. A look at the Swab Shop at Goulet Pens suggests that Imperial Purple leans to the reddish purples, and Violette Pensee tends to the blues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CD

 

Thx for the wonderful review on a truly Regal [Purple] Ink, I recently got a bottle of it as well & I Love all aspects of the color, as I Love Purples of All Stripes :)

You can liken me as being in a Purple Haze :| hahaha

 

Well Done.

 

Cheers,

LF

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything like Herbin Violette Pensee?
I was wondering the same thing. A look at the Swab Shop at Goulet Pens suggests that Imperial Purple leans to the reddish purples, and Violette Pensee tends to the blues.

 

I love that swab shop! However, while I know Brian color corrects the scans, my monitor isn't calibrated so I am never 100% sure. I wonder if someone could post a comparison of both inks if possible.

 

I agree that Waterman Purple seems a close match. Maybe the three together? This assumes some real purple looney out there reads this post. :P

 

Regarding the comment about Noodler's Purple, my NP seems WAY darker than this ink could be, but there are batch variations.

Edited by Truppi327

Best,

Mike Truppi

 

<img src="http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5673/inkdz2.png" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60"/><img src="http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60"/><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qVJOiluU9_4/THoFdqPGYOI/AAAAAAAAA1w/gmV637q-HZA/s1600/InkDropLogoFPN.jpg" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" height="60" /> 8/24/10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own both Violette Pensee and Imperial Purple, and use both regularly. The comments above are spot-on --> Violette Pense tends toward blue (a true violet), while Imperial Purple towards red (a true purple). Definately my two favorite inks on that side of the color spectrum!

 

Brian's Swabs are pretty darn close to what I see in my writing...

 

 

Jose

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely review.

 

I wonder, how does it compare to Waterman Violet?

 

M

 

I have both Diamine Imperial Purple and Waterman Purple. The Waterman is brighter, clearer, and too sweet looking for my taste. Imperial Purple is much darker, and seems more serious to me.

I've been on a quest to see if I could commit all Seven Deadly Sins in a single day. Finally, it dawned on me I shouldn't try for the One Day Wonder Prize for all seven in one day. It's simply out of any question as you can't commit decent sloth while busily ticking the other six off your crowded "to do" list. -- ViolinWriter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything like Herbin Violette Pensee?

 

 

My experience is that Diamine Lavender is very close to Violette Pensee

 

hmmm, i find diamine lavender much too reddish!!

 

the funny thing is, when i try to scan them the lavender looks bluer :headsmack:

 

sooooo, i took a pic and this is the closest i can get. Diamine Lavender on top and JH Violet Pensee on the bottom:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/z.jpg

 

the pic is terrible, but i assure you the color is very close, to my eyes, anyways... :happyberet:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow, i just saw the swab shop at goulet and was stunned by how close JHVP and Dimine Lavender are :headsmack:

 

IS-D7061.jpg IS-H130-77.jpg

 

https://www.gouletpens.com/Articles.asp?ID=144

 

....not the samples i have!!!!

 

anyways, getting back to the topic, that review, Dave, is great!!! i really enjoy all your reviews. but i do have kinda like the same question: is it DIP, more to the blue or the red??

TIA!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything like Herbin Violette Pensee?

 

 

My experience is that Diamine Lavender is very close to Violette Pensee

 

hmmm, i find diamine lavender much too reddish!!

 

the funny thing is, when i try to scan them the lavender looks bluer :headsmack:

 

sooooo, i took a pic and this is the closest i can get. Diamine Lavender on top and JH Violet Pensee on the bottom:

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/z.jpg

 

the pic is terrible, but i assure you the color is very close, to my eyes, anyways... :happyberet:

 

Interesting. I wonder if there's batch variation going on? My Diamene lavender is just a bit bluer than my violette pensee. I'm going to post a purple comparison in the next couple of days and those two inks will be included.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting. I have Diamine Majestic Purple. Judging by the mugshots on the Diamine site, Imperial is a bit denser, but for hue there's not much to choose between them. They're on consecutive rows about 3/4 of the way down the page on the following:

 

http://www.diamineinks.co.uk/showproducts.aspx?catID=67

When you're good at it, it's really miserable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...