Diamine Classic Green ink is a new shade of dark green ink from Diamine Ink Company. Diamine Classic Green is a forest/olive type green that closely resembles Diamine Evergreen, but is slightly darker. Although Diamine Classic Green is a dark green color ink it is definitely a different shade than Diamine Sherwood Green, Diamine Emerald and Diamine Green Black, which are more true green varieties.
Below are the various characteristics about this UK manufactured ink that I hope you will find helpful:
Testing Factors for the Diamine Classic Green Ink
I used a J. Herbin Glass dip pen, which has an extra fine nib on Rhodia Block N. 18 paper. The Rhodia paper works well with fountain pen inks and the glass dip pen makes it easy to test the ink qualities.
Bottle Sizes
We carry this Diamine Classic Green ink in both a Diamine 30 ml plastic bottle and a larger Diamine 80 ml glass bottle, which presents well. The Diamine Classic Green 80 ml bottle has a wide bottom, sits flat and can be placed on any of its four sides for using those last few drops of ink. The 30 ml plastic bottle has smaller opening but is functional for those who wish to test this ink prior to purchasing a full 80 ml bottle.
Cost
The Diamine Classic Green ink is a reasonably priced imported ink from the UK. The 30 ml ink bottle retails for $7.00, where the 80 ml ink bottle retails for $15.00.
Dry Time
Using the J. Herbin Glass tip pen (which is equivalent to an extra fine nib, the dry time was a reasonable 5 seconds. There was absolutely no smudging after the ink had completely dried.
Bleed Through
There was very small almost imperceptible bleed through on the back of the Rhodia Block N. 18 paper, using a extra fine nib. Additionally, the 1 swab, 2 swab and 3 swab lines did not bleed through at all on the Rhodia bloc paper.
Feathering
Using the J. Herbin Glass Pen and Rhodia Block N. 18 paper there was no feathering at all. The Diamine Classic Green ink produced very clean and crisp lines.
Water Test
After letting the Diamine Classic Green ink dry for approximately 3 minutes, I ran a wet cotton swab over the ink. There was a slight color smear, but not much and the lines remained intact and distinct, but did contain additional feathering.
Shading
Even with an extra fine nib, there was some shading, which clearly showed using the swab.
Conclusion About the Diamine Classic Green Ink
Good value, high quality imported ink, beautiful color with a good dry time with very little feathering and bleed through. This is a beautiful dark green color that I will continue to enjoy.
Can you test this ink on cheap-ish/uncoated paper? I’m looking for an ink that is dark green, green/black, or evergreen, but I need it to perform well on field notes paper.