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Diamine Shimmer Inks - First Impressions!


The Good Captain

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Having had samples of some of these amazing inks since May, it has taken a lot self-control not to leak any images of them. So it was great to get the go-ahead from Diamine earlier this week, and we're allowed to put up some more detailed information on Friday 28th August, 2015.


That's TODAY!


Now, there have some changes over the last few months and some colours have been altered and decisions made about whether there should be gold or silver particles in any particular one but the people at Diamine did listen to those of us who passed comments and opinions and the resultant ten colours are the ones that will be on the shelves soon. I'm sure Chrissy and the others who've been looking at them, will do much better and in-depth reviews than I tend to do but there is a reason for my brevity.


That is that I believe all opinions about a particular ink (no pun intended) are subjective. There really isn't any way of communicating something link ink/paper/pen correlation on a computer screen. For all the best will in the world, monitor calibration; a person's eyesight and so on, have a vast impact on how someone might perceive an ink's qualities and characteristics.


So I don't tend to do that. My scanner and computer are pretty accurate in terms of colour reproduction but I just point out that the rest of you could quite possibly comment that the inks are different that the images I've uploaded. Well' that's just the way it is. We all know about the differences between nibs of the same make, width etc, not to mention paper batches, so all I want to show is a brief introduction to this new range of colours and let you all make up your own minds when you've tried them out.


The written examples were done with a Sailor Sapporo, Broad nib (that tends much more to a Western Medium) and on Rhodia 80gsm dot paper. There were no problems with the pen: nib; feed and converter all came out of the tests totally unscathed. I decided to use the Sailor and not my usual Safaris, to try to put those of you with doubts about using this type of ink in a 'good' pen, at ease. However I will say that as I don't soo my using this sort of 'effect' ink in the course of normal daily writing, I don't imagine using them in a piston-filling pen - purely for reason of volume and nothing to do with perceived value of that any writing instrument.


So take a look and ENJOY!


fpn_1440603827__diamine_shimmering_seas.



fpn_1440604125__diamine_blue_lightning.j



fpn_1440604139__diamine_brandy_dazzle.jp



fpn_1440604163__diamine_golden_sands.jpg



fpn_1440604177__diamine_magical_forest.j



fpn_1440604201__diamine_sparkling_shadow



fpn_1440692383__diamine_blue_pearl.jpg



fpn_1440692400__diamine_night_sky.jpg



fpn_1440692418__diamine_purple_pazzazz.j



fpn_1440692432__diamine_red_lustre.jpg


Finally, these last two pics were sent from Diamine and are 'photos' rather than scans. They certainly give an idea how things might look with indirect lighting.


fpn_1440604684__shimmering_ink_images_1_



fpn_1440604709__shimmering_ink_images_2_


To sum up, these are a great lot of inks that can only go on to expand Diamine's involvement in the market place and it's nice to see the awareness of the necessary diversity, to stay up there at the top! Well done!

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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ohh someone jumped the gun - we were told not to put these up till 28th as you stated but you jumped early, I am telling :P (Joking)

 

Your handwriting is neater than mine so I will let it stand - no point us both putting up the same ink.

 

I only got 2 samples of the ink Night Sky and Blue Pearl.

 

Night Sky I feel could easily be used to replace a normal black ink as it only shimmers when the light hits it just right.

 

Blue Pearl on the other hand is an amazeballs colour.

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ohh someone jumped the gun - we were told not to put these up till 28th as you stated but you jumped early, I am telling :P (Joking)

 

Your handwriting is neater than mine so I will let it stand - no point us both putting up the same ink.

 

I only got 2 samples of the ink Night Sky and Blue Pearl.

 

Night Sky I feel could easily be used to replace a normal black ink as it only shimmers when the light hits it just right.

 

Blue Pearl on the other hand is an amazeballs colour.

Quite agree about the 28th but I noticed that Bhavna had already posted some - then I realised that it was already the 28th somewhere in the world so I did mine, just an hour early, before bed. I don't think anything will mind and why don't you put yours up too? The more angles on this type of ink, the better, I reckon.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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I wouldn't worry about it. There are already plenty of reviews on the net. Diamine's promotional machine must have been in overdrive.

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Hi,

 

Many thanks for the treats! :thumbup:

 

Perhaps Ms Blue-Black will have some glitter to complement the sequins on a little Black dress, or one of those inks might be just the thing the next time I sign a letter resigning my position.

 

Hmm, I thought to match 'glitter' ink with a piston filler: When homogenising the ink by gyrating the pen, there'd be lots of room in the reservoir cylinder to get a good result without introducing much in the way of air bubbles. (?) A Reform 1745 might have a bright future ahead!

 

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Okay, I'll bite. Thanks for the appetizer. Well done is your review, too!

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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I am not as excited as everyone... they look quite similar to the sparkly gel pens I had when I was a kid.

 

Golden Sands is the only one I would buy,,, just cause I love gold ink... :D

 

 

 

C.

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"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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I am not as excited as everyone... they look quite similar to the sparkly gel pens I had when I was a kid.

 

Golden Sands is the only one I would buy,,, just cause I love gold ink... :D

 

 

 

C.

 

I think I'm in the minority as well. I actually really enjoy the J Herbin 1670 series. I like the packaging, the historical stories behind the inks, and of course the inks themselves. In fact, I even enjoy the slow release of new colors. Shimmertastic?! I don't know. It feels so My Little Pony. So Party Store. It kind of cheapens the whole the 1670 experience. Just my opinion which may change. I'll probably end up with a bottle of Golden Sands as well.

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Blue Lightning and Purple Pazzazz would be my choices.

 

I wonder if these inks are standard colors with just the shimmering thing added or a totally new formulation..

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I wonder if these inks are gonna go the way of the initial releases of the 1670 inks? I'm waffling between getting bottles and samples, they all look so good in the reviews, but the question is, am I going to have any pens that do as much justice as the pens in these reviews? XD

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I wonder if these inks are gonna go the way of the initial releases of the 1670 inks? I'm waffling between getting bottles and samples, they all look so good in the reviews, but the question is, am I going to have any pens that do as much justice as the pens in these reviews? XD

All you need is just one (yes, just one) wet pen... which can be as simple and cheap as a dip nib or Jinhao X450. Pull the nib further forwards slightly (1-1.5mm) on an X450 from its standard seating and it increases its wetness.

Edited by Intellidepth

Noodler's Konrad Acrylics (normal+Da Luz custom flex) ~ Lamy AL-Stars/Vista F/M/1.1 ~ Handmade Barry Roberts Dayacom M ~ Waterman 32 1/2, F semi-flex nib ~ Conklin crescent, EF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen EEF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen semi-flex M ~ Jinhao X450s ~ Pilot Custom Heritage 912 Posting Nib ~ Sailor 1911 Profit 21k Rhodium F. Favourite inks: Iroshizuku blends, Noodler's CMYK blends.

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I am not as excited as everyone... they look quite similar to the sparkly gel pens I had when I was a kid.

 

Golden Sands is the only one I would buy,,, just cause I love gold ink... :D

 

 

 

C.

 

Haha I totally agree with that. Being able to put it in a fountain pen makes it more fun I guess.

 

Blue Pearl looks great, contrast to the Herbin Bleu Ocean with gold flakes.

 

When are these inks released?

 

Arieut

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  • 2 weeks later...

Putting the names aside, I think there is an excellent choice of inks. I'm hoping that more will follow, and although I wouldn't use them every day, I can see justifications to purchase some, or all of them. I always have at least one pen ready with Herbin's Stormy Grey, but I think that the range from the shimmer tasting selection is probably going to lend itself more to "occasions" and greetings cards.

That said, I'll wait until I have some to hand; who knows, after trying them I might find one or more that make it into everyday rotation - I do try to avoid using the same pen and ink on consecutive days.

Would be interested to know which, if any, other FPNers are going for.

Edited by Powelley
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  • 3 weeks later...

Great review. Those are quite sparkly. The Golden Sands and the Purple Pazzaz look very nice. I wonder if they have the potential to clog up a nib/feed.

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