Diamine Evergreen ink review

Diamine Evergreen is one of the more special greens that have passed through my hands in recent memory. I tested the sample in my Kaweco Sport Classic with broad nib. I can tell you right away that I like this ink but read on to find out more details.

Bottle and pricing

Bottle capacity: 80 ml / 2.7 oz
Price: $12.95
Price / ml: $0.16

Color and saturation

Right off the bat, Diamine Evergreen starts strong with an interesting and rather unique shade of green. I have tested plenty of green inks but I can still be surprised. I'm of the opinion that Diamine Evergreen should have been called Diamine Avocado because that's exactly the shade of green - avocado - that comes to mind. It is dark, organic, and not too saturated, making it well suited for official use.

In the photocopy sample (at the bottom) I compared Evergreen to Diamine Green Black and De Atramentis Black Green, both of which I own a bottle, and both of which are also dark, somber inks. There is some resemblance between these three inks but Diamine Evergreen immediately stands out as - at the risk of repeating myself - the more organic of the bunch, and that imparts it more character in my opinion.

I've also done a comparison with Noodler's Green and Noodler's Marine Green, two of the darker inks I've tested but these are both more saturated as well as brighter and they don't resemble Evergreen much.

Shading

Diamine Evergreen does a great job in the color variation department. The broad nib helps with that, but I have a feeling medium and even fine nibs will exhibit plenty of shading. In addition to the shading, if you look closely you will see an almost reddish sheen in the dark sections where the ink had a chance to dry in a thicker layer.

Feathering

None.

Bleedthrough

As expected, there's a little ghosting on very cheap paper but otherwise there's no bleeding and both sides of the paper can be used without fear.

Flow, lubrication, and smoothness

Diamine Evergreen is a wet ink. It flows really well through the Kaweco Sport. At times it feels a little too wet. If the paper is particularly spongy, it soaks right into it. For me that's fine because I love wet inks, but if you don't, you could always try it in a pen with a dry nib or one that has flow issues.

Drying time

On absorbent paper it dries within normal parameters, around 10 seconds or so, but on glossy paper it can take up to 30 seconds. Fairly average drying times for how wet it is.

Smearing when dry

None.

Water resistance

Diamine Evergreen is not meant to be water resistant but when I put it under running water for 1 minute it didn't wash off completely, so I guess you might stand a chance to recover some of your writings if they get drenched in water.

Conclusion

It looks like I started 2015 on a positive ink-reviewing note because I really like Diamine Evergreen. From the exquisite color to the great shading, to the wet flow, there's much to like about it and nothing really to critique. As such, I highly recommend Diamine Evergreen, especially if you are looking to emulate the appearance of "avocado".

Following are the two samples on photocopy, and Clairefontaine 90g paper, respectively.