Van Dieman’s Professional Natura Dualis Dual Tone Ink Overview

Van Dieman’s released a collection of Professional Natura Dualis Dual Tone inks ($23 per 40ml bottle) in 2025. Dual Tone inks are Van Dieman’s answer to a line of multichromatic inks. The challenge for writing an overview of these inks was how quickly they kept selling out. I was able to grab a few samples from Vanness Pen Shop and the remainder of the inks came as samples from a generous reader.

• Last Light
• Harvest Tide
• Overcast
• Underflow
• Nightfall
• Sea Spray
• Riverbank
• DayBreak

This collection of multichromatic inks is pleasingly varied. While all are fairly light saturation the colors are all pretty usable The Harvest Tide is probably the lightest and would work best with a wider nib or a dip pen to be usable. Last Light, Underflow and Nightfall are the deepest tones.

Ink Color Comparisons:

I am surprised that despite feeling like so many inks are multichromatic these days, I couldn’t find many inks that were super similar. With Sea Spray, the closest was Vinta Sirena 1952 and they are quite similar. Underflow looks most like Vinta Perya Blue but is a little more greenish and the undertone is more purple than pink. But they are close. If you have the Vinta versions, you probably won’t need the Van Dieman’s versions or vice versa.

I assumed that Nightfall would be similar to Sailor Studio 123 but its more bluish than purple. The same with the Sailor 50 States Hawaii. But they are similar enough that you probably don’t need all three (says me, who has all three so the irony is not lost on me).  Troublemaker Milky Ocean is a similar color but without the multichroma.

I really thought I had more pinky inks that would be similar but Daybreak in very dusty and leans more to the reddish side than a pink/magenta hue. Diamine Potpourri is a bit darker but is probably the closest.

The closest ink I could find to Harvest Tide was Van Dieman’s own Lost Love Letters which is a little more bluish and feels more pond swampy while Harvest Tide is green with a pink undertone, like sunset on lake water.

Riverbank was the hardest to compare and therefore the most unique for me. Its a latte brown with a pinky undertone. Troublemaker Moon River was the closest I could find but its more reddish burgundy.

The last two inks are Overcast and Last Light. Sailor Byakuya is close to Overcast but Byakuya is a a little darker green where Overcast is bluer. Byakuya feels more brownish in writing and Overcast is more purply in writing. Ink Institute Mexican Hens is a light purple but doesn’t have the multichroma of the Van Dieman’s. Last Light is a bit darker than Ferris Wheel Little Robina. Birmingham Periwinkle is a similar hue to Last Light but without the multichromatic quality.

Overall Opinion:

I like this collection from Van Dieman’s. The limited palette of multichromatic inks provide an easily accessible collection that’s not quite as intimidating as the Sailor Studio collection which is probably most likely to have the most similar tones. If you’re looking to try (or add to your) multichromatic inks, this is a good place to start. I do think the bottle shape and design might be devisive.

Do you have any of these inks or can you recommend any other similar multichromatics?

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Tools:

• Paper: Odyssey Notebooks A5 Grid 68gsm Tomoe River and Ink Swatching Guidesheets
• Pens: Dominant Industry Ink Muddler, Sailor Hocoro Dip Pens, Zebra G Dip Nib and Tachikawa T-40 Nib Holder
• Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by Vanness for the purpose of review. Many other were donated by a generous Patron. Please see the About page for more details.