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Thread: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

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    Default Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Today I'm reviewing Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink.

    Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink is a blue-black iron gall ink. This was the first time I’ve ever used an iron gall ink and I was pleasantly surprised with it. I thought the colour was more blue than I imagined it might be and I loved the way it wrote quite light then darkened immediately once it was on the page.

    It flowed very well and lubrication at the nib tip was nicely smooth as I wrote across the page. I enjoyed writing with it despite not being a great fan of blue-black inks.

    It didn’t seem to lean as grey as some blue-black inks I’ve seen and I think it’s an attractive blue-black colour.

    The fact that it’s lightfast and waterproof is an added bonus.

    Diamine Registrar’s ink must not be left in pens for long periods of time and users should practice good pen maintenance by frequently flushing pens filled with iron gall inks.

    Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink is available in small, round 30ml glass bottles as well as 100ml bottles.

    • Flow Rate: Very good - not dry
    • Lubrication: Very smooth.
    • Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.
    • Start-up: Immediate.
    • Saturation: Not saturated.
    • Shading Potential: Plenty of shading seen.
    • Show-Through: Hardly any on the papers I used.
    • Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen.
    • Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen.
    • Staining (pen): Easy enough to clean out after a few days.
    • Staining (hands): Clean after one wash.
    • Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.
    • Water resistance: Waterproof and lightfast.
    • Availability: Available from Diamine Inks and many other outlets.

    Diamine Registrars.jpg
    Last edited by Chrissy; April 30th, 2020 at 03:01 PM.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quite surprised, given your extensive ink experience, that this is your first iron gall. Do you plan to try others? (I like ESSRI and R&K Salix but have yet to try Diamine Registrar's.)

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by catbert View Post
    Quite surprised, given your extensive ink experience, that this is your first iron gall. Do you plan to try others? (I like ESSRI and R&K Salix but have yet to try Diamine Registrar's.)
    I don't feel that I need iron gall inks in my life so have no plans to try any others. I have tried some waterproof inks, that are fine for my purposes without containing iron gall.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Thank you for the fine review, Chrissy.

    Alas, Diamine Registrar's is one ink that I've had unpleasant experience with. A bottle precipitated out with chunks of solid matter on the bottom. I thought it was due to evaporation or the like from a bad cap seal, but after I disposed of the bottle and reached for the second and unopened bottle of two that I'd bought, I found it was suffering the same fate. Did the two bottles indicate a bad batch? Or was it improper handling somewhere along the "chain of custody"? I'll never know.

    Old Montblanc blue/black in the 50ml bottle (typically $20-25 on eBay) and ESSRI in the 80ml bottle will remain my mainstays in the blue/black iron gall category.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Great review as always Chrissy!

    My experience with IG inks has been using R&K Salix and Scabiosa, Pelikan 4001 BB, Montblanc Midnight Blue (the older one) and MB Blue Black (older still), all of which I have enjoyed. I still haven't tried Diamine Registrar's, ESSRI, Akkerman or any of the KWZ IG inks.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Thanks for the review of this excellent ink. One of my favourites, especially as it handles crappy work paper so well.
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Thank you for the fine review, Chrissy.

    Alas, Diamine Registrar's is one ink that I've had unpleasant experience with. A bottle precipitated out with chunks of solid matter on the bottom. I thought it was due to evaporation or the like from a bad cap seal, but after I disposed of the bottle and reached for the second and unopened bottle of two that I'd bought, I found it was suffering the same fate. Did the two bottles indicate a bad batch? Or was it improper handling somewhere along the "chain of custody"? I'll never know.

    Old Montblanc blue/black in the 50ml bottle (typically $20-25 on eBay) and ESSRI in the 80ml bottle will remain my mainstays in the blue/black iron gall category.
    My 30ml bottle was sealed with plastic around it's cap before I opened it and it appears to be in perfect condition. It came to me directly from Diamine a few months ago so I would expect it to have been the newest stock available at that time. I have no idea what might happen to iron galls in ink over time. Mine has been kept in a shoe box on the floor of the coolest, north facing, bedroom in the house.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by catbert View Post
    Quite surprised, given your extensive ink experience, that this is your first iron gall. Do you plan to try others? (I like ESSRI and R&K Salix but have yet to try Diamine Registrar's.)
    I don't feel that I need iron gall inks in my life so have no plans to try any others. I have tried some waterproof inks, that are fine for my purposes without containing iron gall.
    Likewise. I use my iron galls quite sparingly. There's always the underlying concern about maintenance, and there are plenty of other blue-blacks.

    Anyway, thanks for another great review. Very glad to see you active here again.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Dear Chrissy,

    great review of a fantastic ink! :-)

    About it's color change, the tint will become even less saturated and darker over the next months resulting in a cold black from a wet nib... fascinating.

    Every strong ig ink developes a deposit of crystals (as the microscope shows), that's normal - don't shake it up before filling a pen.

    Hmm, one single point: you say "Flow Rate: Very good - not dry". I would say this is a dry to very dry ink...

    Best wishes
    Jens

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Today I'm reviewing Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink.

    Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink is a blue-black iron gall ink. This was the first time I’ve ever used an iron gall ink and I was pleasantly surprised with it. I thought the colour was more blue than I imagined it might be and I loved the way it wrote quite light then darkened immediately once it was on the page.

    It flowed very well and lubrication at the nib tip was nicely smooth as I wrote across the page. I enjoyed writing with it despite not being a great fan of blue-black inks.

    It didn’t seem to lean as grey as some blue-black inks I’ve seen and I think it’s an attractive blue-black colour.

    The fact that it’s lightfast and waterproof is an added bonus.

    Diamine Registrar’s ink must not be left in pens for long periods of time and users should practice good pen maintenance by frequently flushing pens filled with iron gall inks.

    Diamine Registrar’s Archival ink is available in small, round 30ml glass bottles as well as 100ml bottles.

    [LIST][*]Flow Rate: Very good - not dry[*]Lubrication: Very smooth.[*]Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.[*]Start-up: Immediate.[*]Saturation: Not saturated.[*]Shading Potential: Plenty of shading seen.[*]Show-Through: Hardly any on the papers I used.[*]Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen.[*]Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen.[*]Staining (pen): Easy enough to clean out after a few days.[*]Staining (hands): Clean after one wash.[*]Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.[*]Water resistance: Waterproof and lightfast.
    ...
    .................................................. .................................................. .

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/136145166@N02/albums

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post

    ...This was the first time I’ve ever used an iron gall ink and I was pleasantly surprised with it.
    This sentence blew my freaking mind!

    That’s said. I love this colour and love the colour change. I find the ink somewhat dry but insanely well behaved especially on crap paper.

    The only issue I’ve had was that it did stain/leave a residue on a demonstrator wing sung 601 and its collector which is somewhat unsightly.

    When investigating a new ink, your reviews and a couple other people’s usually sway me one way or the other. Often saving me money. So thank you, please keep them coming

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by INeedAFinancialAdvisor View Post
    The only issue I’ve had was that it did stain/leave a residue on a demonstrator wing sung 601 and its collector which is somewhat unsightly.
    Some ascorbic acid should flush that out. Crush up a Vitamin C tablet in some water and go to town!
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by SchaumburgSwan View Post
    Dear Chrissy,

    great review of a fantastic ink! :-)

    About it's color change, the tint will become even less saturated and darker over the next months resulting in a cold black from a wet nib... fascinating.

    Every strong ig ink developes a deposit of crystals (as the microscope shows), that's normal - don't shake it up before filling a pen.

    Hmm, one single point: you say "Flow Rate: Very good - not dry". I would say this is a dry to very dry ink...

    Best wishes
    Jens
    Thanks for your comments. I didn't find it dry in any of my Lamy pens on any of the papers I used. It flowed very well and I didn't hear much feedback from the steel nibs.

    Another way I rate whether an ink is dry is how wet it swabs. I don't dip my cotton buds into my ink bottle. I use the converter in the pen to drop two drops onto the cotton bud so that it's not completely soaked with ink. Then if it swipes wet and glistening, rather than feeling dry, I rate it as not dry. This ink swiped really wet from a half filled cotton bud, and I did the first 5 swabs on my extra papers without adding any more ink to the cotton bud.

    That's why I rated it as not dry. I've written with dryer inks than Diamine Registrar's. YMMV because all pens and papers are different. Ink is not the only factor.
    Last edited by Chrissy; May 1st, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    I also found Diamine Registrar's flowed nicely. Not dry as I'd heard about IG inks. Nowhere near as dry as Diamine Twilight or Damson or Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. It's quite nice to use, really.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Imma have to try this one.

    Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by TSherbs View Post
    Imma have to try this one.

    Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk
    Imma = I'm going to


    Save you looking it up,

    Johnny is such a Luddite

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny_S View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by TSherbs View Post
    Imma have to try this one.

    Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk
    Imma = I'm going to


    Save you looking it up,

    Johnny is such a Luddite
    another 19th century group (American): the Know Nothings (Their motto: "I know nothing"). True story. Not a comment on Johnny here. I'm just enjoying one of the ironies of the 19th century. It's enjoy the ironies...or cry...these days.

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Get this: I actually discovered a small bottle of Diamine Registrar's in my cabinet (!). Who put that there? The ink fairy exists!

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    I also found Diamine Registrar's flowed nicely. Not dry as I'd heard about IG inks. Nowhere near as dry as Diamine Twilight or Damson or Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. It's quite nice to use, really.
    Crissy, azkid,

    I see. I can't proof my impression, no test capillars are at hand. I have at least one pen always inked with DRI, right now a very wet 1915 eye dropper... before that ESSRI it felt a bit wetter here.
    Agree 4001 BB is dry... much drier than Herbin Perle Noir.

    Best wishes
    Jens
    .................................................. .................................................. .

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/136145166@N02/albums

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    Hi,


    ok, so I did just a side by side comparison with some ig inks

    I took a very dry nib (a Swan manifold xf), put it in a dip pen holder to test them for wetness:


    IG_comparison_dryorwet.jpg

    Paper: Clairefontaine 90 g/m2

    So I found

    very dry:
    Diamine Registrar's
    Akkermann #10 (I can't tell them apart by any criterium ;-) )

    dry to very dry:
    Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

    dry:
    ESSRI
    Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black

    wet:
    Herbin Perle Noir


    Sure this is about subjective impressions while writing, not a scientific experiment...
    Anyway the results are quite in line with experiences in other nibs here.

    Best
    Jens
    Last edited by SchaumburgSwan; May 1st, 2020 at 08:09 PM.
    .................................................. .................................................. .

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/136145166@N02/albums

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    Default Re: Ink Review: Diamine Registrar's Archival Ink

    That's interesting. I maybe to get another couple of samples of that stuff and try it again in some different pens.

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