Ink Review: Diamine Purple Rain

By Jessica Coles

Purple inks.  Purple inks are by far my favorite. When I hear about another purple ink, it’s only a matter of time until I have it in my pen.

I heard about Purple Rain from Diamine when it first came out, but I only came into possession of my bottle recently; this ink belongs to a line that was only released in Germany.  Other inks in the line are Calligraphy Passion, November Rain, Skulls and Roses and Smoke on the Water which can all be found at Fountainfeder in 30mL or 80mL bottles (3.70 Euros and 9.70 Euros).

Of course, I couldn’t help but get the larger bottle!  Shipping from Germany was not bad at 4 Euros and the packaging kept the ink bottles quite secure.

I inked up a new pen (Online Calligraphy pen, also from Fountainfeder) immediately and fell in love with the dark purple ink. Purple Rain feels a bit on the dry side of normal when writing, but I never found it bothersome.

If the purple wasn’t enough, a change of the angle of the light to the ink reveals a beautiful gold sheen.

This gold sheen is somewhat subtle and at times cannot be seen until the page is moved around under the light.  I love that characteristic since I get the colors of both the ink and sheen – this also helps with the office appropriateness!

In the two photographs below, I tilted the paper first towards me and then towards the light to give an idea of the level of sheen.

The sheen did make color comparison difficult, however.  Below, Purple Rain seems to contain more red than the other swatches, but the main ink color is very close to Private Reserve Purple Mojo.

I am quite happy to have added Purple Rain to my collection. The ordering was easier than I had imagined it would be – don’t worry about ordering overseas for your ink! While the shipping may take slightly longer, expanding your search will greatly benefit your collection!

 

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• Papers: Birmingham Pen Company A5 Slim Notebook ($8.99)
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
• Ink: Diamine Purple Rain (30ml for $16)

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Disclaimer: All items in this review were purchased by me.  For more information, visit our About page.