PenBBS - 182 April Diamond

PenBBS - 182 April Diamond - Ink drop

Today’s ink is April Diamond, which is No. 182 of the PenBBS inks. PenBBS makes some of the nicest shimmer inks available, and they have a wide and interesting range of both strong and rich, and muted solids. April Diamond is one of several soft, delicate fades that I have reviewed from their collection. Diamond is the birthstone for the month of April, and although I don’t believe PenBBS has a birthstone series, that’s likely the origin of this beautiful ink’s name.

Visually, April Diamond is a gorgeous, delicate, muted lavender-blue. The base color is quite complex, and it shifts between pale mid-blue and violet. It was hard to capture accurately, but there’s a subtle, yet certain, pink undertone, as well. Although this is a soft, somewhat muted ink, it never fades from view, and maintains a high visibility and clear legibility. It’s very easy on the eye. It’s a shading ink, and the dance of lights and darks gives the ink personality and flair.

PenBBS - 182 April Diamond - Ink swatch card

As a writing ink, April Diamond is full of surprises. Strokes were clean and crisp on all six test papers. It’s a wet ink, with smooth flow. I was shocked to find that it’s nicely water-resistant, as well! Shading was best on Mnemosyne, but was very nice on all premiums, and office copy, too. Halo only really developed on Kokuyo, but that didn’t hurt it on the others. Coated premiums dried in 10-20 seconds, uncoated papers were 10-15, and office copy was 5 seconds. This is a nice, versatile writing ink.

I definitely recommend April Diamond. It’s a gorgeous ink, and a great writer, too! PenBBS inks are very affordable (particularly if you order on Alibaba/AliExpress, but there are options in the US and EU, too), and they come in a couple of different bottle sizes.