Wow! Van Dieman’s Fire Coral is exactly the kind of red that I can happily use as an everyday ink. This ink compares nicely against many of the more commonly considered reds. Fire Coral is from their seventh series called Underwater.

Fire Coral is clean, focused, and beautiful! I’d call it a scarlet, but in writing it tricks the eye and a pinkish black cherry influence flexes into view adding a touch of fuchsia to the overall color. I really like the overall color. As you can see in the splatter and macro images, it produces a nice, darkened edging in areas of saturation.

There’s a bit of shading, but it definitely darkens more than it lightens. The splatter shows hints of a subtle, gold-mustard sheen, but it never really develops strength in written strokes.

In writing, it performed very well on all six test papers. It didn’t cause any problems on office copy, which is always nice. Plus, drying was really quick across the board, which really helps, too. Van Dieman’s Underwater series continues to impress, and I definitely recommend Fire Coral!