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View Full Version : Opinions on De Atramentis standard inks



Woody
January 11th, 2014, 10:11 AM
There are a couple of colors that catch my eye, and you don't hear that much on this brand of ink. What do you all think of it? I think the color Blue Steel is rather popular.

Tracy Lee
January 11th, 2014, 12:58 PM
I am actually a big fan of De Atramentis inks. For me, they work wonderfully well in my Visconti pens, as well as the the Deltas. Good, consistent flow, some nice shading in some of them, and so far they don't feather. I keep a bottle of Indigo Blue (not a blue ink fan but this one is a nice shade), Ocher Yellow, Jane Austen, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Baked Apple which is one of their scented inks. I am a bit horrified by scented ink and didn't pay attention when I bought it. The smell is tolerable, and fades quickly and I love the color so it does get used. They have a nice range of colors to choose from, and the price of bottle seems very reasonable and comparable to other good inks like Diamine. I say give a bottle a try, or better yet, order some samples from Goulet.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Cookies
January 11th, 2014, 01:36 PM
De Atramentis makes some great inks. I think they aren't spoken about much because they aren't carried that widely. They are consistently the wettest inks around, so if you have some dry pens that need curing De Atramentis is a great choice. Pigeon Blue, Steel Blue, Alexander Hamilton/Aubergine/Puccini, Thomas Alva Edison, Petrol and Mint Turquoise are my favorites. The amount of inks they have available can be overwhelming and there are many repeats, so I'd recommend starting with their standard line (http://www.isellpens.com/category_s/1974.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=1974&show=270&page=1).

pengeezer
January 11th, 2014, 04:10 PM
Wow......if that's their standard line,what else do they have for colors?


John

DrChumley
January 11th, 2014, 05:35 PM
I've got two bottles, and have tried a few samples, and like them all immensely.

Aubergine is my go-to purple for most things, even thought I like Alexander Hamilton just a bit more.

I also purchased the scented Lily of the Valley. The color is nice enough, but the scent...well...let's just say that it smells more like my grandmother's rosewater perfume mixed with hand soap than it does Liliies of the Vally.

I'm with Cookies, though...they have been the most consistently wet inks around. Augergine flows almost too well.

I have the Indigo Blue and Ochre Yellow on my to-buy list.

blopplop
January 11th, 2014, 05:39 PM
I've had/have:

Patina Green
Violets
Myrhh
Field Flowers
Hyacinth
Lotus
Orchids
Steel Blue

Good vibrant colors that are definitely good flowing inks. Only reason I haven't tried more is because I'm quite frankly overwhelmed by how many color choices they have.

Dave

DrChumley
January 11th, 2014, 05:45 PM
One concern I do have, however, is that they don't come in boxes. (At least from GPC, they don't.) I like to display all my inks on a shelf, so without the boxes, I'm a little concerned of the light exposure. If you don't have your ink out in the light, it shouldn't be a problem, but I can't display these inks without risking too much light exposure.

Cookies
January 11th, 2014, 09:12 PM
Wow......if that's their standard line,what else do they have for colors?


John

They have some crazy collections. Magic school, historical people, tons of scented colors...

Waski_the_Squirrel
January 11th, 2014, 09:32 PM
I've tried a few samples, but only purchased one bottle of this ink. I have to say that the inks are "ok" but I haven't found one that excites me. I got into the brand because I was interested in scented inks, but I found that the two scented inks I tried did not smell like what they claimed (Green Tea and the Scotch flavors). Also, I found that with the scented inks and the other inks, I might think the color was good, it did not excite me.

Scotch, for example, was a decent Golden Brown and even had some shading, but I liked Noodler's Golden Brown so much more. The "Pine Green" color actually matched my mental image of pine green quite well (and my father is a forester), but it also didn't excite me. Honestly, the dried sample in my notebook looks exactly like "Green Tea". Both have the essence of a pine green, but manage to look washed out.\

My favorite was "Fir". It is a scented ink (and really does smell like fir), but, more importantly, has the color that the "pine green" should have. In all the samples I have tried, this is one of the few that stands out. Most are just mediocre and do absolutely nothing for me.

klpeabody
January 11th, 2014, 10:58 PM
I have only tried two colors: Cement Grey and Mint Turquoise. Both are lovely colors with good flow; no complaints. The Cement Grey may be on the slightly dry side. I had no problems having the bottles shipped because they were packed with plenty of bubble wrap. I keep all my inks stored away from sunlight is never an issue. I agree that with some pens and paper, DeA may put down a wider line but not always. I do think the pen+paper+ink trifecta is the key. For example, on cheaper paper I did notice that tendency but did not observe it in my Stillman & Birn journal. I say take the plunge with one bottle and see what you think. You can also try samples before committing, and get a better idea of the brand that way.

Woody
January 12th, 2014, 01:01 PM
I like Sebastian Bach so I think I'll try that one.

Laura N
January 12th, 2014, 02:02 PM
My favorite is Sherlock Holmes, a very nice dark blue. And you can pretend to be Benedict Cumberbatch.

I just like saying Benedict Cumberbatch, I'll admit it.

raging.dragon
January 12th, 2014, 02:20 PM
The DeAtramentis inks I have (Steel Blue and Sepia) are almost too wet and tend to feather (probably because of the wetness). They're fine in some pens, but not others, and I don't find myself using them much. Some other DeAtramentis colours, like Aubergine and Black Currant, are beautiful enough that I'd still consider them. Inks within any brand can vary quite a bit, so if there are any specific inks you're interested in you should probably search for reviews of those inks to confirm they look and behave as expected.

Larry Barrieau
February 1st, 2014, 04:22 PM
I'm new to fountain pens and inks, does anyone know of a source to find out the reasons why companies name the inks in the way they do? Why did they give Alexander Hamilton an eggplant color, Jane Austin a green, Zhivago is black, ? etc. It would be interesting to know, did the creator of the color tell why? I know that some Noodlers colors have a story about them and it is fascinating to hear them. I wish they were all published somewhere.

Larry

TerraNoir
February 1st, 2014, 07:36 PM
I've only tried a handful of their colors through GPC. Though I am quite fond of their Fog Gray. Though I do agree I think they are best suited in pens that are a bit dry or people who prefer a bit wetter ink. I noticed that it does turn my Fine nibs more of a F/M or a solid Medium. But I really enjoy it especially since I'm rather new to this hobby and rather nervous about going to a nibmeister.

odd_soul
February 9th, 2014, 04:39 PM
I LOVE De Atramentis inks. They are the most consistent inks I have tried and the colors are fantastic! So far, I own Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Alexander Hamilton, and Giuseppe Verdi. I may soon get Steel Blue. I do find, however, that if any ink I have is going to bleed or feather, it's going to be the DA inks. But most of the paper I use is high quality, so I don't have to worry about it. I just sometimes have to make sure not to put these inks in my super wet pens.