Diamine Chocolate Brown: Ink Review

Diamine Chocolate Brown has such a rich hue! It feels like writing with a melted chocolate bar. Read on about this dark brown ink!

Supplies Used:

• LAMY AL-star with medium steel nib (also EF and B nib)
• Rhodia No. 16 dotpad, 80g white paper
• Tomoé River white paper
• Moleskine notebook

Smear Test (Dry Time):

• Slow– This ink has a very very long dry time. When we tested it on non-absorbent Tomoé River paper, it took incredibly long to dry. You might want to go with a more absorbent paper to cut the dry time.

Drip Test (Water Resistance):

• Low-You can still tell that there was ink there, but it spreads out and lines virtually disappear.

Saturation:

• High– Basically not difference between the first swipe and the third! This ink is highly saturated and isn't going to give you much shading.

Ease of Cleaning:

• Easy– It may take slightly longer than an ink with a lighter hue, but it will clean up quickly.

Shading:

• Low-This is a dark ink, so it is harder to see shading. There is a small amount but when compared to others, the shading is low.

Flow:

• Medium– While wet, it flows nicely from the pen.

Packaging and Aesthetics:

• 30ml plastic bottle, and ink samples available!
• The bottle has a skinnier opening than others, but it's still easy to fill a pen. If ink was low, it could be problematic.
• Pleasing design but not necessarily a desk piece.

Summary:

We think Diamine Chocolate brown is an ink you should check out. It was really fun to work with and is serious enough for workplace writing. While it does have a long dry time, it's not something that would make it unusable. It was fun to write and do some art with!

It's also great because it comes in a variety of sizes (and prices!). You can get a 30ml bottle or a 2ml ink sample.