EFNIR: Diamine Manggis

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Diamine Manggis

This is review #256 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:


Post-recording notes: Dried so fast on the slide that I had to re-wet it to get the coverslip to stick. I don't really have any other inks quite this color: It would be purple on the page were it not for the solid goldish green sheen. It's so dark that it looks black from this nib except with very good lighting. (When diluted, the ink is pink, which is how it looked under the microscope.) Functionally, the ink works in this nib and the sheen is easily seen on any paper. But if you want to see the underlying color, you'll want a bigger nib.

Cleaning wasn't too bad, but this ink is highly concentrated and it may want to stick in some places, requiring either a swab or pen flush to get it to let go. Of course, you can just let the next ink take care of it, unless you have a reason for obsessing.

I may have underestimated how dry it is - look how fine that line is! I didn't notice the ink running dry even in longer writing sessions, though. (Honestly, I think flow is almost never going to be an issue with such a fine nib.)

Errata: "brigh" should be "bright".

Zoomed in photo (It's hard to tell, but you're seeing the sheen.)


Screenshot (Text is dark and desaturated.)


Scan of Completed Review (This is pretty much what my eyes see. Check the dry-time smear for the underlying color.)


Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (Like the zoom, you're mostly seeing the sheen.)


Line width (One of the lines used for dry time. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 248µm. With 256 inks measured, the average line width is 295µm.) (Don't know why this was so black to the camera - my eyes saw lots of color - see the next image.)


Other ((Different line.) My eyes could see the color and the sheen, but the camera wouldn't picked them up. I had to drastically over-expose to get this, which washes out the paper and the edges, but is a lot closer to what my eyes saw.)


Microscope image (400x. Even my phone camera wouldn't capture the color correctly, so I was fiddling with the microscope camera's controls and this not accurate but cool image resulted...)


Microscope image (400x. Closer to accurate color, but still nowhere near the color range. Each color also seems to be at a different depth.)


Previous Review: Noodler's Apache Sunset.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Holy riot of ferocious comets and floating brains!

I can clearly see the green sheen in everything, and I am a sucker for sheening inks. I'm almost grateful, though, that I can't get it. That would violate my Ink Embargo.

The plot deepens. I love the story!

This seems a fascinating ink, and thanks to Liz not only for showing it to us, but making Tuesdays special.

[LizEF]

Holy riot of ferocious comets and floating brains!

I can clearly see the green sheen in everything, and I am a sucker for sheening inks. I'm almost grateful, though, that I can't get it. That would violate my Ink Embargo.

- you do a fabulous job of translating images into text! Small favors. There will be a readily-accessible irresistible ink soon enough.

The plot deepens. I love the story!

Thank you!

This seems a fascinating ink, and thanks to Liz not only for showing it to us, but making Tuesdays special.

You're very welcome!

[mizgeorge]

Goodness! Is it Tuesday already - I have no idea what happened to the past week.

Thank you as always Liz. This is an ink I have and tend to ignore because of my preference for broader nibs. It's not a happy combination and leads to inevitable horrible smearing. As I'm not a huge sheen fan, it doesn't worry me that much, but I have used it in some drawings (tropical flowers) and the results were pretty - a definite magenta but with occasional hints of that green sheen, which worked well. I must dig it out from the Diamine drawer of shame (which consists almost entirely of oversaturated sheening inks) and try it again. I might even try writing with it with one of my finer nibs.

I do hope the High Wizard isn't up to any shenanigans. I don't think my nervous system could take it...

[penwash]

To complement, (not to detract from) Liz's excellent review, here's a sketch which I created last year (?) to showcase this very ink!

If anyone had never seen a Manggis, this is what the actual fruit looks like.
As Liz pointed out, in a wash, the color gracefully shift from purple to pinkish, which is exactly how it looks on the fruit in real life. I think Diamine did a good job with this aptly named ink.

[LizEF]

To complement, (not to detract from) Liz's excellent review, here's a sketch which I created last year (?) to showcase this very ink!

Beautiful, @penwash! Thank you for the addition.

[LizEF]

Goodness! Is it Tuesday already - I have no idea what happened to the past week.

This ailment seems to be going around - my September vanished in the blink of an eye! Now October is almost over and I have almost no recollection of it. And I have way too much to do before it's over!

Thank you as always Liz.

You're welcome!

This is an ink I have and tend to ignore because of my preference for broader nibs. It's not a happy combination and leads to inevitable horrible smearing. As I'm not a huge sheen fan, it doesn't worry me that much, but I have used it in some drawings (tropical flowers) and the results were pretty - a definite magenta but with occasional hints of that green sheen, which worked well. I must dig it out from the Diamine drawer of shame (which consists almost entirely of oversaturated sheening inks) and try it again. I might even try writing with it with one of my finer nibs.

Sounds lovely (as penwash's drawing shows). I think art is an excellent use for this ink.

I do hope the High Wizard isn't up to any shenanigans. I don't think my nervous system could take it...

Tune in next time...

[Yazeh]

What an intriguing ink and such an excellent review and such interesting inky contributions. I love it when other users contribute their experiences.

Thanks for making Tuesdays so fun and hope Quin has all of himself with him, when he joins hs fellow heroes!

[LizEF]

What an intriguing ink and such an excellent review ...

Thank you!

... and such interesting inky contributions. I love it when other users contribute their experiences.

Amen!

Thanks for making Tuesdays so fun ...

You're very welcome!

... and hope Quin has all of himself with him, when he joins hs fellow heroes!

Indeed!

[Jaguarish]

For more pics of this ink see this post where I used some very broad nibs and compared it to Van Diemen's Aurora Australis.
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...824#post386824

[LizEF]

For more pics of this ink see this post where I used some very broad nibs and compared it to Van Diemen's Aurora Australis.
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread...824#post386824

Thank you!

[AndyLogan]

Very nice review, been considering getting this ink.

[LizEF]

Very nice review, been considering getting this ink.

Thank you, Andy! If you decide to get it, I hope you enjoy it!