DanielCoffey
June 1st, 2012, 05:43 AM
Since some folks were talking about browns, here is the wonderful Diamine Macassar...
===
INK : DIAMINE MACASSAR
PAPER : RHODIA #16 A5 white lined
PEN : Onoto Magna 261 Medium nib tweaked for wet flow by John Sorowka (Oxonian).
Scanner : IT8-calibrated Epson V600 flatbed
Colour Space : Adobe RGB
Matte : 50% grey and 100% white
Post-process : Unsharp Mask
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassar.jpg
Here is a close-up of the swab. There was a slight metallic green sheen to this ink when laid down exceptionally wet but I was unable to reliably capture it on camera...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarSwab.jpg
And a close-up of the shading. This ink would be a fair candidate for shading and might look good from a flex nib if someone could oblige...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarShade.jpg
Now, Diamine never says any of its regular inks are water resistant but there was something in this one that stayed on the paper. I saw a faint grey grid remaining in the soapy soak. If you dropped a page of Macassar in the sink, while 90% of the ink would wash away, there would be enough behind to salvage what you had written...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarWater.jpg
I wanted to see what was in this ink so I dabbed the swab q-tip onto kitchen paper and let it dry. A few drips of cold water caused almost everything to rush for the edges but there was a grey circle in the middle where the q-tip had rested. There is definitely something water resistant in this ink...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarChroma.jpg
DRYING TIMES : The writing tests above were done in a very wet medium nib that had just been cleaned. Drying times were longer than expected... Xerox 90gsm was around 15s. Rhodia, G Lalo Vergé and Clairefontaine Triomphe took a good 45s to dry.
SMEARING : None on any paper. This ink bonds nicely with the paper and noes not sit on top, even on Clairefontaine Triomphe. A careless wipe with a damp finger, however, will result in the colour moving.
BLEEDTHROUGH : This ink showed less tendency to bleed through on copy paper than the other Diamines that I have reviewed recently. In fact I would say this ink is fairly tolerant to copy paper. Given the wet nib I used above, I recorded the following... Xerox 90gsm had slight bleedthrough and low feathering. Rhodia had no bleed through and no feathering. Clairefontaine Triomphe had no bleed through or feathering. G Lalo Vergé had no bleed through or feathering.
FLOW AND LUBRICATION : Flow for this ink seems to be medium. I suspect a dry fine nib might have issues but would we well worth trying. Lubrication was excellent in the pen tested (my medium above). The writing experience was very enjoyable.
CLEANING : There were no colour residues left on the converter and this ink washed out fairly nicely. It did not cling to the pen insides but a more thorough wash was needed to get the pen clean. Dark dye and saturated ink means a little more work needed to clean.
===
INK : DIAMINE MACASSAR
PAPER : RHODIA #16 A5 white lined
PEN : Onoto Magna 261 Medium nib tweaked for wet flow by John Sorowka (Oxonian).
Scanner : IT8-calibrated Epson V600 flatbed
Colour Space : Adobe RGB
Matte : 50% grey and 100% white
Post-process : Unsharp Mask
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassar.jpg
Here is a close-up of the swab. There was a slight metallic green sheen to this ink when laid down exceptionally wet but I was unable to reliably capture it on camera...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarSwab.jpg
And a close-up of the shading. This ink would be a fair candidate for shading and might look good from a flex nib if someone could oblige...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarShade.jpg
Now, Diamine never says any of its regular inks are water resistant but there was something in this one that stayed on the paper. I saw a faint grey grid remaining in the soapy soak. If you dropped a page of Macassar in the sink, while 90% of the ink would wash away, there would be enough behind to salvage what you had written...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarWater.jpg
I wanted to see what was in this ink so I dabbed the swab q-tip onto kitchen paper and let it dry. A few drips of cold water caused almost everything to rush for the edges but there was a grey circle in the middle where the q-tip had rested. There is definitely something water resistant in this ink...
http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/fountainpennetwork/ReviewMacassarChroma.jpg
DRYING TIMES : The writing tests above were done in a very wet medium nib that had just been cleaned. Drying times were longer than expected... Xerox 90gsm was around 15s. Rhodia, G Lalo Vergé and Clairefontaine Triomphe took a good 45s to dry.
SMEARING : None on any paper. This ink bonds nicely with the paper and noes not sit on top, even on Clairefontaine Triomphe. A careless wipe with a damp finger, however, will result in the colour moving.
BLEEDTHROUGH : This ink showed less tendency to bleed through on copy paper than the other Diamines that I have reviewed recently. In fact I would say this ink is fairly tolerant to copy paper. Given the wet nib I used above, I recorded the following... Xerox 90gsm had slight bleedthrough and low feathering. Rhodia had no bleed through and no feathering. Clairefontaine Triomphe had no bleed through or feathering. G Lalo Vergé had no bleed through or feathering.
FLOW AND LUBRICATION : Flow for this ink seems to be medium. I suspect a dry fine nib might have issues but would we well worth trying. Lubrication was excellent in the pen tested (my medium above). The writing experience was very enjoyable.
CLEANING : There were no colour residues left on the converter and this ink washed out fairly nicely. It did not cling to the pen insides but a more thorough wash was needed to get the pen clean. Dark dye and saturated ink means a little more work needed to clean.