Diamine Inkvent 2023: Day 14 — Rainbows End
Day 14!
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already two weeks into Inkvent! And for day fourteen of Diamine Inkvent, we have Rainbows End.
The color/properties:
Rainbows End is yet another Chameleon ink. It’s a type of shimmering ink where, depending on the angle at which you’re viewing it and the lighting that you’re in, the particulates appear to change color. In my experience thus far, the effect has been mostly underwhelming, but I’ll give this one a slight break. I’ve noticed subtle changes between purple, red, and even rose gold.
The base color is what I can best describe as “blurple.” It’s definitely purple, but I can see a lot of individuals looking at it and perceiving it as a blue, in what could be the latest iteration of the viral “blue or white dress” phenomenon. They’re wrong though: it’s purple. There’s some soft shading, but not a lot of contrast between the light and dark tones, and it can be difficult to notice through the shimmer.
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
How did it perform?
Rainbows End performed well. It had a medium-wet flow and I didn’t experience any clogs or hard starts with any of the nibs during my tests. The nib felt well lubricated, and the shimmer distribution was even and consistent. Overall, I think it was a great writing experience. There wasn’t any bleed-through or feathering on the test papers, either. Cleaning was easy, as well. The color didn’t linger and neither did the shimmer, and it didn’t leave the notorious haze on the inside of the pen that a few of the previous inks did.
Ink splat
Ink droplets
My personal thoughts…
I’ll admit, when I opened day 14’s door and swatched it, I didn’t care for Rainbows End. There wasn’t anything wrong with it — it just wasn’t doing it for me. But I have to say, it’s grown on me a lot since then. It’s one of the few chameleon inks that actually seems to work, but above all else, it’s different. There’s a sense of unfamiliarity I get from looking at it. It’s kind of neat. I’ll give it a loving home in my ink locker.
Written in a Leuchtturm1917 notebook
More Images/Info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 3 nib units including a Fine, Medium, and Broad. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook
Scan of the writing sample