Diamine - Sunset

Diamine Sunset - Ink drop

This is one very potent orange! Diamine Sunset has been around for many years now, and I can see why they keep filling bottles. At first, if you’re like me, you might think that it’s just going to be a garish explosion of orange, but there’s more to it. The specific balance of orange and red make it much more interesting than a quick look at the swatches may lead you to believe.

Diamine Sunset fountain pen ink color range

Diamine Sunset is a beautiful blend of reddish orange. It reminds me of a slightly over-ripe mandarin orange. In swatches, it’s a bold and intense sledgehammer of dark, yet very bright orange that almost overwhelms the senses. In wide areas filled with the ink, the intensity of color is always amplified, and I can see how it can be too much with this ink. Don’t give up on it yet, though!

Ink Swatches on Cosmo Air Light and Tomoe River

In normal writing, the intensity is tamed. It’s still a beautifully potent color, but it doesn’t assault you the way it does in the wider areas of real estate with swatches. I really like it on both coated and uncoated papers (even office copy paper) for regular writing. In written strokes, it presents as a tiny bit darker compared to the swatches, and I really like what I see. For me, I see it as an interesting alternative for situations where I might want something with more pop than a scarlet or burgundy, and I don’t want to jump into the browner burnt oranges. When you lean back in your chair and look at a page of writing, it’s more restrained than I anticipated.

Writing sample on Cosmo Air Snow paper

In terms of writing experience, I didn’t find anything to put me off. In flow, it was neutral to slightly wet in the juicy Jowo medium that I used for testing over the week. I didn’t have any problems with hard-starts and found it quite comfortable on all paper types. On coated papers, there’s a darkened stroke edging. If you look very closely, you may find a hint of sheening on the edge on some, but you really have to look for it. I didn’t find any feathering or spreading on any of the papers tested. Drying times were average or slightly better on all types, too.

Diamine Sunset ink writing samples

Sunset is a great name for this ink. It’s the kind of sunset that you might see over the ocean on a tropical beach. I like this ink. You probably don’t need the 80 ml bottle, but you won’t regret picking it up in the 30 ml bottle. Enjoy!

Diamine Sunset - Swatch Card

Diamine Sunset - Comparisons

Diamine Sunset - 80 ml Ink Bottle