The Smell Of Diamine Imperial Purple

[Nerdyhistorian]

Hi all,

 

I have a few Diamine inks in a bottle: Monaco Red, Turquoise, Burgundy Red, Tudor Blue and Imperial Purple.

 

When I opened the bottle of Imperial Purple last week for the first time (newly bought last year) I noticed a very strong smell. The other inks don;t have such a strong smelll. I can't really say it smells like rotten food, it seems very chemical to me. And the other inks smell the same, I feel, just not that strong.

 

My inks are stored in box inside a drawer, out of sunlight.

 

Is this normal for this ink?

[silverlifter]

Mine has a chemical smell, but I wouldn't describe it as "strong"; I have to really have a good snort to smell it.

 

Decant a little into a clean glass receptacle and check for signs of mould, or other solids in the ink.

[Eclipse157]

My imperial purple isn't the strongest-smelling Diamine I have, but it does have a noticeable smell. It's lightly corky tho, not the solvent-like odour that comes from Noodler's bulletproof inks...

[usk15]

Diamine Sargasso Sea smells too, pretty damp/rotten.

[MsRedpen]

Hmm, I did not notice it with the Imperial Purple, but Syrah.. that one has a musty cork smell. Otherwise, nothing wrong with the ink.

 

Few years ago, IIRC, there was a thread, mentioning a specific red dye used by Diamine which is causing that smell. If I find it - will add a link.

[The Good Captain]

Graphite does as well but that is 'norma' according to Diamine, albeit some years ago. Still a great ink though.

[lapis]

Norma is a great ink?

[sansenri]

I don't have Imperial but Sargasso does smell damp, sort of corky, or earthy also, not rotten though.

 

I can smell it also when I write. Nothing wrong with it however.

[Fermata]

I am no ink expert but if something smells 'off' would that not suggest that the ink has gone 'off' and if you continue to use it does that not mean that you risk transferring the offness/bacteria to your pen and then possibly to other inks?

 

Ink is cheap and I don't think I could justify taking the risk of keeping bad ink.

[kronion]

Is this normal for this ink?

i experience the same. It smells even when I fill a pen and later open the cap - I love the color, but hate this "feature"...

[Olya]

Some Diamine inks have a musty smell, at first reminiscent of something damp, not rotting, but not quite right either.

 

I have also read on a thread a while ago that it is due to a certain pigment and find it easily believable, as some of my Diamine blue inks have this smell (lighter or stronger), but others don't, some are nearly odourless.

 

There are many discussions on this with people checking whether their ink is off.

 

I have noticed this smell with Sapphire Blue, Imperial Blue, Asa Blue, Royal Blue, Presidential Blue.

Not with Oxford Blue, Kensington Blue or Blue Black.

 

That said, I noticed the smell only when I got an 80ml bottle of Asa Blue, not with the 30ml, but a deeper sniff of the 30ml confirmed the smell (same with Royal Blue).

 

After a while I got used to the smell and don't find it as offensive as I used to, but still like to use similar colours of inks by other makers, which smell either more pleasant or not at all (eg J Herbin Eclat de Saphir is almost the same colour as Diamine Sapphire Blue, but has barely a smell, so I use EdS a lot more than SB).

Edited April 30, 2020 by Olya

[ScarletWoodland]

I haven't used my Imperial Purple or Sapphire in an age, so don't recall noticing the smell with them. It is very noticeable in my recent purchases Sargasso Sea and Iridescink Philip though. It's a kind of musty and slightly citrussy chemical smell to my nose. Nothing to worry about but it can take some getting used to.

[Nerdyhistorian]

i experience the same. It smells even when I fill a pen and later open the cap - I love the color, but hate this "feature"...

Exactly! I have a Metropolitan filled up with it, and yeah....

[lgsoltek]

The purple dye Diamine uses has this musty odour, as confirmed:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316424-diamine-lilac-satin/?p=3749805

[Phonz]

Well…now I know I have the real thing! 😷

[Doc Dan]

So, we are saying that if it stinks it is genuine and good to go. 😄

[Penguincollector]

  Mine stinks. Whether for good or ill, I added lavender oil to it and use it only in inexpensive c/c pens. I don’t have many purple inks, and really like the color, but it really does smell like it turned. No SITB or weirdness detected otherwise, though.

 
  Unrelated to the ink but related to smells, I have a Parker 45 Insignia from Brazil that has a smelly section and I used vinegar and other things to no avail. So it’s my smelly pretty pen.