Robert Oster Austrialian Shiraz

April 13, 2017

Robert Oster Signature Australian Shiraz

In wine terminology Australian Shiraz is French Syrah. If you go down the wine-making rabbit hole like I did, you can get a lot of information about the differences between them (or not, depending on who is writing the article), but my understanding is that they are the same grape.

The color of the ink is a bit difficult to describe. Anderson Pens describes it as a rich shade of burgundy, but I don't see much brown in it. There's some red, some purple, some pink, a little brown. It's an interesting color, but I wish that it had a little more shading to show off the complexity of the color.

I mistakenly titled the review below as Shiraz instead of Australian Shiraz - the full name of the ink is Robert Oster Signature Australian Shiraz. So if you're like me and go straight to the S's when trying to find it on various seller's website's, it won't be there.

April 13, 2017

Is it just the imaging that it looks more brownish on Tomoe River and OCM PC than on the other papers?

This isn't a color for me, but I know many people like this range.

April 13, 2017

This looks like a color I could really enjoy. Thank you for the review.

April 13, 2017

NIce review of a nice color. I'm not all that much into it (the color itself) but it certainly is a good reproduction of the wine color. Purple, brown and pink... you nailed it. It also resembles very well and unsurprisingly Diamine's Syrah. But the way I work it out, this Robert Oster version costs three times as much (depending of course on where you live and what you order).

Mike

April 13, 2017

Is it just the imaging that it looks more brownish on Tomoe River and OCM PC than on the other papers?

This isn't a color for me, but I know many people like this range.

It does appear a little more brownish on those papers, especially the OCM PC, but I think it's more of an illusion since the papers have something a cream tone to them. I would classify the OCM PC as a cream paper even though it is described as natural white; the TR is the white 52 gsm, which is more ivory than the optic white of CF Triomphe or other papers.

April 13, 2017

Great review.

April 14, 2017

Great review. Thank you.

April 14, 2017

NIce review of a nice color. I'm not all that much into it (the color itself) but it certainly is a good reproduction of the wine color. Purple, brown and pink... you nailed it. It also resembles very well and unsurprisingly Diamine's Syrah. But the way I work it out, this Robert Oster version costs three times as much (depending of course on where you live and what you order).

Mike

I was curious because it didn't seem that much more expensive in the US. So I did a little research (i.e. fell down a price comparison rabbit hole ), and here's what I found (I converted the Euro prices to USD to get the price per mL).

In the US: RO inks are .32 per mL. Diamine are .19 per mL in the 80 mL bottles and .25 per mL in the 30 mL bottles.

In Germany (or at least from http://www.papierundstift.de/): RO are .38 per mL. Diamine are .12 per mL in 30 mL and .11 mL in 80 mL.

From Appelboom: RO are .35 per mL. Diamine are .14 per mL in 30 mL and .11 per mL in 80 mL.

It is more expensive, especially for you. That's about what GvFC is per mL here. I was surprised at the price difference, but I suppose it has to do with Diamine's shipping costs.

However, I will admit to such an intense dislike loathing of the 80 mL Diamine bottles that I'm willing to pay a little extra for a little less so I don't have to look at the bottle.

Also, maybe I'm jaded & I know I've been conditioned by the marketing machine, but in comparison to Iroshizuku, CdA, GvFC, etc., I tend to think anything under $20 for a 50-60 mL bottle is reasonable.

April 14, 2017

I was curious because it didn't seem that much more expensive in the US. So I did a little research (i.e. fell down a price comparison rabbit hole ), and here's what I found (I converted the Euro prices to USD to get the price per mL).

In the US: RO inks are .32 per mL. Diamine are .19 per mL in the 80 mL bottles and .25 per mL in the 30 mL bottles.
In Germany (or at least from http://www.papierundstift.de/): RO are .38 per mL. Diamine are .12 per mL in 30 mL and .11 mL in 80 mL.
From Appelboom: RO are .35 per mL. Diamine are .14 per mL in 30 mL and .11 per mL in 80 mL.

It is more expensive, especially for you. That's about what GvFC is per mL here. I was surprised at the price difference, but I suppose it has to do with Diamine's shipping costs.
However, I will admit to such an intense dislike loathing of the 80 mL Diamine bottles that I'm willing to pay a little extra for a little less so I don't have to look at the bottle.

Also, maybe I'm jaded & I know I've been conditioned by the marketing machine, but in comparison to Iroshizuku, CdA, GvFC, etc., I tend to think anything under $20 for a 50-60 mL bottle is reasonable.

How kind and comprehensive of you to note all of that information! Exactly. Especially Bug Box is very expensive here, and in Japan, GvFC, De A and R&K are likely expensive for those citizens there. I took for the D prices I noted D's own site although of course, Ds are less expensive through CP and TWD. It's almost a hobby in itself to make tables of which inks in which countries have the best prices (including amounts and shipping)....

Mike