Diamine Syrah: Fountain Pen Ink Review

Diamine Syrah fountain pen ink bottle, and 3 swabs of the color on white paper with a marble background

Diamine Syrah is a warm burgundy fountain pen ink with pink undertones. Like most Diamine inks, this one is also well-behaved. It might not have any special characteristics, but there is something to be said for consistency. It's dark enough to be professional looking, but has some personality. Check out our full review to see what we think of this ink!

Diamine Syrah fountain pen ink writing sample on white dot grid paper

Diamine Syrah fountain pen ink writing sample on white blank paper

Ink Review

Supplies Used:

LAMY AL-star with medium steel nib
Rhodia No. 16 dot pad, 80g white paper
Tomoé River 52 gsm white paper
Leuchtturm1917 80g notebook

Smear Test (Dry Time):

20 seconds – This ink did not feel very wet-writing, but it took a little bit longer to dry versus other Diamine inks we've used. It was smear-proof at 30 seconds, so it should work in a variety of writing situations.

Drip Test (Water Resistance):

Medium – As you can see on the drip test, the water did make the lines smudge a bit, but you can still see the original lines so while your notes might be smudged, they won't just disappear if you get them wet.

Saturation:

Medium/High – As you can see between the 1st and 3rd swab there isn't a lot of difference between them, so this is a pretty saturated ink.

Ease of Cleaning:

Medium –Unlike some other burgundy or darker red inks, this one was actually pretty easy to clean out of my pen. It was also easier to clean off my hands than some other inks, but it would still stain fabric.

Shading:

Medium – This ink is a great shader with larger nib sizes. As you can see, the Medium LAMY nib showcases some of the shading you can expect with this ink.

Flow:

Medium – Like most Diamine inks this is a middle of the road ink in terms of flow.

Packaging and Aesthetics:

Diamine Syrah is a great ink in terms of packaging. It's available in an 80mL glass bottle, a 30mL plastic bottle, and a pack of 18 cartridges.

80 mL bottle of Diamine Syrah with swab next to it and text above on white background

30 mL bottle of Diamine Syrah with swab next to it and text above on white background

A pack of Diamine Syrah cartridges with swab next to it and text above on white background

If you're interested in similar colors, check out our Swab Shop where you can compare colors side by side.

Summary:

While it would be very easy to compare this color to a rich wine, it's got more body than that. Depending on the paper you use, this ink leans red or pink, but it always looks nice. It's not got anything drastically different, but Diamine has a reputation for consistent, high quality inks, and this is no exception.

Diamine Syrah fountain pen ink drawing and ink color swatch card white marble background

Diamine Syrah fountain pen ink drawing sample on white paper

This color is available in 80ml, 30ml, as well as our 2ml ink sample size.

Posted by Adrianne L.