Diamine Imperial Purple ink is a fantastic purple colored ink from Diamine ink company. Diamine offers a litany of various ink choices in both its regular ink and its shimmering gold and silver flecked inks. Diamine, which is manufactured in the UK is known for great flow, ease of use, inexpensive price and being an easy to clean ink. Diamine Imperial Purple ink does not disappoint. This purple fountain pen ink is a true deep purple color, not too light, not too vibrant or to muted. For true purple, Diamine Imperial Purple Ink is one of the best overall colors you can buy.

Diamine Imperial Purple Ink

We noted the following characteristics when testing Diamine Imperial Purple ink that you may find helpful:

Testing Factors

We used a J. Herbin glass spiral dip pen during this review on Rhodia block paper. The dip pen is equivalent to a fine nib.

Bottle Sizes

Regular Diamine ink comes in a large Diamine 80 ml. glass bottle of ink or a smaller “sample” sized Diamine 30 ml. plastic bottle. The Diamine glass bottle is a distinctive shaped bottle unique to Diamine ink, which can be placed on multiple sides in order to gather those last few drops of ink. The glass bottle has a large opening while the smaller 30 ml. plastic bottle is functional in that it can travel well and doesn’t take up small space, but its opening is smaller which is not as conducive to gathering those last few drops of ink. However, the small size and inexpensive price makes the plastic 30 ml. bottles a top selling product at Pen Chalet.

Cost

Diamine Imperial Purple ink is well priced at $15.00 for the large 80 ml. bottle and only $7.00 for the 30 ml. plastic bottles. This is reasonable price for the size of these imported UK and respected inks.

Dry Time

Using the J. Herbin glass dip pen on Rhodia paper, we experienced a dry time less than 5 seconds, which is super reasonable and quick.

Bleed Through

We experienced absolutely no bleeding using Diamine Imperial Purple ink, even when using a dipped cotton swab on Rhodia paper.

Feathering

Under normal use we experienced no perceptible feathering with Diamine Imperial Purple ink.

Water Test

We ran a soaking wet cotton swab over an ink sample after letting it dry for about 3 minutes, which produced some feathering and significant ink smearing. Diamine Imperial Purple ink is definitely not waterproof.

Shading

We did experience a bit of shading using Diamine Imperial Purple ink, as the wetter lines are a deep dark purple, with the lighter dryer lines are a bit lighter. Not real distinct shading, but you may experience some with certain nibs and applications.

Conclusion about the Diamine Imperial Purple ink

We love Diamine inks, they hold up well, have a wide variety of colors to choose from, and have great ink characteristics, all at a reasonable price. Diamine Imperial Purple ink is a dark enough color that it can be used as an everyday ink, in an office setting, but still is a fun dynamic ink suitable or letters, cards, journals, etc. Happy writing!