A Few Van Dieman’s Inks

My first foray into Van Dieman’s inks was sometime last year when I received a complementary sample vial. I started to see a few online pen shops carry this brand of ink. I did a swatch from the sample vial of Blackened Seas (The Midnight Series) and knew I would eventually want a bottle of this stunning blue/black ink color.

Van Dieman’s Ink is a small business run by a husband & wife team located in Tasmania. They design and mix their own bottles of inks. They are high quality inks that have been tested for flow and viscosity. Suitable for all major brands of fountain pens and also for dip pens and brush work.

Over the last few months I saw additional ink colors in different series appear on my radar. Most recently I came across their Underwater Series and just the names of the new ink colors really intrigued me.

In one of the boxes I received I notice some ink inside the box.

I immediately checked my hands to see if the lid was cracked when I pulled the bottle out of the box. Nothing on my fingers. I then gave the cap a quick twist and found the lid was slightly loose. Given the amount of ink inside the box, the lid must have come loose during shipping.

Check out this lovely sheen in Sea Urchin. This ink color looks black in certain lighting, but also appears to have some purple undertones. Look at that green sheen!

Another beautiful ink color is Sea Turtle. It’s a bright green color with a bright pinky-red sheen.

Here is Parrot Fish a stunning shimmering ink color. It’s a bright teal color with bright/light blue-purple shimmering particles. Absolutely stunning to look at!

I have not put this gorgeous ink into a pen. I noticed after I shook the bottle and opened it, I saw a sparkling glob sitting on the side of the bottle’s neck. That told me that this ink needs a bit more mixing. Anyways, I’m looking for a really wet pen to partner with this ink. I’m not too sure what to expect with this shimmering ink. I will come back and update this post with the results.

Here’s my Van Dieman’s swatches in my ink journal. Disregard my Papier Plume Red Beans & Rice swatch that I forgot to swatch on a different page. Hahaha!

The three swatches at the bottom of my swatch page are sample vials of colors I wanted to try before committing to a purchasing a bottle. I’m really intrigued with Royal Starfish as it’s a pretty purple ink color with some green-gold sheen.

I’m looking forward to cleaning a few pens and filling them with these lovely Underwater inks. I will be back to share my experiences and especially with the shimmering Parrot Fish ink.

Inks: Van Dieman’s Underwater Series: Sea Turtle, Sea Urchin, and Parrot Fish (shimmer). The Midnight Series: Blackened Seas

Journal: Stalogy 365 B6