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Posts in the Diamine category

Diamine Red Dragon

Diamine Red DragonDiamine Red Dragon bottle

I suppose the argument could be made for some kind of confirmation bias, but I think this ink is very aptly named. Diamine Red Dragon is a bold red with a sort of aged, muted quality to it. I envisage beautiful, detailed illustrations of some fantastical dragon in an old, leather-bound book. The cover is worn and the pages are foxing, yet the images retain an almost magical realism to them– like a moment captured from a world long relinquished to fairy tale and myth.

Red Dragon is a relatively well-behaved ink with some barely visible feathering when flexed on Rhodia paper. No bleeding with normal writing, even on the copy paper I did a quick test on. The shading is on the subtle side, but becomes quite noticeable in brighter light. I never had any flow issues with the ink, and it cleaned out of my pens just fine. To me, this ink has a somewhat similar feel to its brother, Diamine Oxblood, but with far less brown mixed in. Overall, Diamine Red Dragon is a really nice red that would be well suited for anything from drawing to personal writing!   Diamine_Red_Dragon_01

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Diamine Oxblood

Diamine OxbloodDiamine Oxblood

 

Diamine Oxblood is one of the company’s best selling inks in the world to the point where it can be downright difficult to get your hands on. The color is a dense red that is reminiscent of its namesake. Since the ink is so saturated, it bleeds like crazy on cheap paper, but there is almost no bleeding on Rhodia unless you are really trying to get it to bleed. The ink exhibits some lovely shading in broader nibs and is a very matte tone. I have noticed that even when dry, patches where a lot of ink has been deposited can still smear. The ink is not waterproof and is barely legible when exposed to water. It is a very wet ink, so dry times are quite long, even with fine nibs, and it looks much darker on more absorbent paper. But if you’re looking for a deep, blood red, then look no further. This ink met my expectations and more. One of the most often recommended dark red inks, Oxblood is a happy addition to any ink arsenal!

Diamine Oxblood review
 
Diamine Oxblood water test
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