In the make-up and cosmetics world its referred to as a “dupe”. This term is often used when trying to find a. cheaper version of an expensive item or one that might have only been available in a limited edition kit. While the ink I want to dupe is neither expensive nor rare necessarily, I was hoping that I could use an ink I already own rather than buying yet another bottle of ink.

As you may have already guessed from the photos or if you have been following my daily writing journey this year, the ink I have been using is Monteverde Birthday Cake. The 30ml bottle I had cost about $12 at the time of purchase. So, there’s a bit of irony as I try to dupe it with inks that range in price from $12 – $40+ per bottle.

This was not an exhaustive search across every purple/violet ink currently available. Rather, this was a search through my personal collection. We all do it, right? We often buy colors we love over and over again. I like dark smokier purple/violets and so I tend to buy similar hues from different brands.

The Inks

In the end, I found about 27 or so bottles of purple/violet or purple-adjacent inks in my collection. There may have been a couple more but this seemed like a good range. Using a sheet of Col-o-ring paper in my FOLIO pad, I was able to swatch each bottle, one after the other, to get a bird’s eye view of the color range.

Several bottles were much too reddish purple. And several colors were too sheeny for everyday use (for me) like Troublemaker Grapevine and Lamy Azurite (see below).

The Short List

In the end, I found three close matches for me. The closest was Monteverde Mulberry Noir but it is a bit darker. Sydney Lavender has a similar smoky quality but it is much more reddish. Waterman Tender Purple was also a close dupe and probably closest in color but its a bit more saturated and the color sheens a bit.

So, what do you think I decided to do?

Off-Topic!

In the process of doing this experiment, I discovered that one of the inks I had dramatically changed colors. What was once “Canterbury Raisin” from Birmingham Pen Company had turned turquoise. this was from their earlier ink batches and the bottle was labelled “made in Germany” so it is at least four or five years old. My inks are stored in drawers to keep them out of the sun so this was quite a surprise. I have a swatch on the lid of the bottle showing the color to be closer to Sailor Manyo Fuji — a bit of a shifting color but definitely a purple color. I talked with some of our Patrons about it and they each had a similar tale of an ink in their collection shifting colors. Has this happened to you?

In Closing

If you decide to attempt a similar experiment with a favorite ink color, remember that the pen nib size and the paper you use may alter the experience. In my case, I am using Stalogy paper and a Fine nib in my Sailor Pro Gear Slim as my daily carry. I discovered when I switched nib to an EF, the ink color altered slightly with more shading range making my experience less consistent. This is definitely something to consider when deciding if you like an ink: try it in a couple nib sizes and on a few papers. This is a prime example of YMMV.

Tools:

• Paper: Col-o-ring FOLIO ($40)
• Pens: Toronto Pen Company Brass Folded Nib (no longer available) and Nib Holder (start at $8) plus Zebra G titanium dip nib ($25 for 10) in a vintage nib holder
• Ink:  Too many to list

The post Finding a Ink “Dupe” in My Collection appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve broken the inks into groups of five so the colors can be compared to each other and to already familiar inks.

The first group is Black, Sepia Black, Pine Tree, Caramel, and Orange.

Diplomat Black is much more accurately called a blue-black ink.

Sepia Black is very close to Kobe Antique Sepia but has more shading.

Diplomat Caramel is quite close to the ever-popular KWZ Meet Me In St. Louis from 2019 – Butterscotch. the colors are nearly identical but Caramel has great shading.

Diplomat Pine Tree was actually tough to match. Not only is it a strange-ish color but also looks different in every light. Bungubox Nostalgia was the closest I could find that is similar in more lighting.

Diplomat Orange is just like Bungubox Fresh Oranges. Orange is a good option since it is cheaper, not to mention the fact that Fresh Oranges is currently not produced!

The second set of inks includes Diplomat Moss Green, Deep Green, Caribbean, Royal Blue, and Deep Blue.

Diplomat Moss Green has a base color identical to Diamine Ultra Green but the shading and sheen are close to Monteverde Green.

Diplomat Deep Green has a base color just like that of Monteverde California Teal with shading and sheen similar to Lamy Crystal Peridot.

Diplomat Caribbean is a touch darker than Kobe #48 Water Source Marche.

Diplomat Royal Blue and Deep Blue have the same base color which is close to Monteverde Blue (now called Malibu Blue). Royal Blue is closer to a washable blue while Deep Blue is what I would call a Royal Blue.

The final set of Diplomat inks contains Red, Burgundy, Orchid, Purple, and Lilac.

Diplomat Red is a slightly more saturated version of Diamine Classic Red. A bit on the pink side of a true red.

I believe Diplomat Burgundy is closer to true red than Diplomat Red. Diamine Red Dragon is a close match.

Diplomat Orchid would be better named Hot Pink. It is nearly identical to Bungubox Sweet Love Pink, complete with gold halo sheen.

Diplomat Purple is a bit less saturated than Manyo Akebi but has a hint of the same sheen.

Diplomat Lilac is a wonderful purple similar to Papier Plume Violet although a touch less blue.

So that concludes the overview of all 15 Diplomat inks. I swatched each ink in both Tomoe River 52 gsm Paper and Cosmo Air Light 83 gsm paper to give you an idea of the colors on each paper type.

I covered up one swatch which made it into these pages but isn’t part of the Diplomat ink line. Oops!

Finally, here are all 15 Diplomat ink swatch cards. In my opinion, Lilac and Orchid are absolutely the best inks in the line, with Sepia Black and Pine Tree being the most original colors. Other than disputing the color names, I have nothing bad to say about the new Diplomat inks! As I use them further, I’ll post other reviews diving deeper into individual colors and their performance in a pen. Hopefully, though, this helps when browsing for a new ink!

• Swatch Cards: Col-o-ring cards (100 for $10)
• Paper: Musubi Tomoe River Folio and Musubi Cosmo Air Light Folio (Approximately $35 for 384 pages and $25 for 208 pages)
• Ink: Diplomat inks ($11 for 30mL each or $2.60 for 4mL sample)

DISCLAIMER:  The inks in this review were provided at a discount by Vanness Pens for the purpose of this review.  All other items in this review were purchased by me.  Please see the About page for more details.

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