Diamine - Bilberry

Diamine Bilberry - ink drop and bronze sheen

Diamine Bilberry is a lovely blurple from their standard line. These are some of the most attractively priced inks on the market. The name Bilberry refers to a fruit native to Europe and northern North America. Closely related to the blueberry, they’re also known as huckleberries or whortleberries. They’re often used as pastry fillings or to make preserves. The dried berries and leaves have been used to make medicines, and during World War II, British pilots ate bilberries in the belief that they would improve their night vision.

Like the berry itself, Diamine Bilberry is a deep, purplish blue-black. It’s a full-bodied, rich, royal ink. It isn’t a strong shader, but when it does, it gives a beautiful contrast of light and dark shades. As you can see in the splatter, this ink loves to sheen. The beautiful bronze sheen fills areas of pooling, and prominently edges stroke profiles on some papers. This is a color category that can be a bit boring, and it’s qualities like these that make Bilberry stand out.

Diamine Bilberry - ink swatch and drying

As a writing ink, Bilberry performed well across the five papers that I used for testing. Kokuyo was best, with Rhodia nearly as good. Stroke profiles were well-defined on both of these coated papers, with no feather or bleed. Stroke edge sheening was slightly stronger on Kokuyo. Drying times were 20 seconds on Kokuyo and 30 seconds on Rhodia. Performance on Apica, Mnemosyne, and office copy paper was good, but not quite as sharp. The premium papers showed some sheening and halo. Drying times were from 20-30 seconds on the premiums and a quick 5 seconds on office copy. This ink was very usable on all five papers, and it was surprisingly good on office copy.

Diamine Bilberry isn’t a strong shader, but it’s a very consistent, reliable ink across different papers. The sheening on quality papers adds some bling, but its usability on office copy papers is a real virtue, as well. The color is rich and luscious. To me, it’s prettier than most alternatives in its category. If you’re looking for something a bit different from your standard business blue blacks, it’s easy to recommend Diamine Bilberry.

October 2020