Diamine Matador

INK : DIAMINE MATADOR

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/foun...iewMatador.jpg

Here is a close-up of the swab. There is no metallic sheen to this ink and the swab shows it is a purer, darker red than Diamine Wild Strawberry....

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/foun...atadorSwab.jpg

And a close-up of the shading. This ink is only a moderate candidate for shading. Maybe reviewers with different nibs will be able to show better results...

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/foun...tadorShade.jpg

As expected, this ink is in NO way water resistant but then Diamine never said it was...

http://www.dcoffey.co.uk/images/foun...tadorWater.jpg

DRYING TIMES : The writing tests above were done in a very wet medium nib that had just been cleaned. Drying times on Xerox 90gsm was between 5s to 10s. Rhodia and G Lalo Vergé were around 30s. 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 : Since the ink is so saturated, some bleed through may be expected on copy papers with wet or fat nibs. I would not expect bleeding on dry or fine nibs or when the ink is used on a good quality paper. Given the wet nib I used above, I recorded the following... Xerox 90gsm had high bleed through and moderate 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 to high. I suspect even a dry fine nib will put down a good line. The ink seems "wet" and is not reluctant to penetrate the paper. 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 nicely. It did not cling to the pen insides and a simple fairy/water then rinse was all it took to get the pen clean. I found a few gaps in the converter that some red had crept into but it soon got the idea who was boss. Easy to clean.