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Van Dieman's Ink

Van Dieman's Underwater - Parrot Fish - Shimmer Ink

Van Dieman's Underwater - Parrot Fish - Shimmer Ink

$15.95 USD
$15.95 USD $15.95 USD
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Reformulated and Improved

2022 sees a complete reformulation of the entire Underwater Series, utilizing new technology and higher quality ingredients, keeping the same beautiful colours, inspired by the colours of our planet's oceans, seas and rivers. All our reformulated inks now contain a minimum of 95% Australian ingredients and are, as ever, handmade in micro batches in Launceston Australia. Our reformulated inks now have better flow, less feathering and bleeding, and higher quality dyes. We have also minimized the number and quantity of additional chemicals added, and all our dyes and additives are approved for food and cosmetics. Give your pen a try of the new reformulated Wilderness Series.

Parrot Fish

Van Dieman's Underwater is the 7th series from Van Dieman’s Ink. Inspired by the Flora, Fauna, regions and mystery of the ocean, this collection of sixteen fountain pen and shimmer inks contains some of our most unique and experimental inks to date. 
The Parrot Fish is one of the most colourful fish imaginable that live in our oceans, and it was the inspiration for this bright and bubbly ink. This ink has a perfect turquoise base colour and a vibrant purple shimmer.

30ml Box

50ml Box

  • This is a bottle of Dye Based Shimmer Ink Ink
  • This ink is suitable for dip pens and brushwork
  • Check your fountain pen manufacturer for compatibility with shimmer inks
  • Shake bottle before use
  • This ink has particulate matter - exercise extreme care and maintenance when using in a fountain pen, and flush regularly.

Try all 16 inks in this series.

Ink Data

Surface Tension: 43.9mN/m


What is this?Surface Tension affects the flow of an ink through a pen, and how quickly it is absorbed into paper. Ink with a high surface tension generally flows and dries slowly, while a low surface tension causes faster flow and dry time, but can cause ink to gush, and also feather or bleed. Water has a surface tenstion of 72mN/m. Most inks are in the range of 40-60mN/m



pH: 7.6


What is this?The pH of an ink defines it's alkalinity or acidity. The pH is important for the dye in the ink to achieve the correct colour. Inks with a pH between 6.5 and 8.5 are generally neutral and safe to use in all pens.



Saturation: Light to Moderate


What is this?The saturation of an ink is the percentage of pure dye content in the mix. Generally but not always, higher saturation increases sheening and decreases shading, while also improving flow wetness but causing slower drying time. Very light inks can have as little as 2% dye content, while extremely saturated inks have upwards of 20%.



Sheen: Very low to None


What is this?The sheen of an ink is the secondary, often shiny colour that appears when the ink is swatched heavily or pools in script. The sheen colour depends on the specific dyes in the ink, while the intensity depends on the saturation of dye. Some inks will never sheen, while some will sheen on almost any paper in any amount.



Shading: Moderate to High


What is this?Shading is an ink's ability to create a range of different tones, from light to dark, depending on how heavily it wets the page. Generally but not always, inks with a lower saturation of dye are more effective at producing shading effects, but the kind of dye used also impacts this.



Shimmer: Moderate to High


What is this?Shimmer is a pigment added to inks to create a sparkly effect. There are a wide variety of shimmer forms and colours, each with its own qualities. Most inks contain no shimmer, and those that do can contain shimmer in differing quantities. Highly shimmered inks do carry the potential of clogging pens, especially ones with finer nibs. Van Dieman's only uses extremely high quality shimmer pigments that lower (but do not completely remove) the risk of this.



Flow Wetness: Moderate


What is this?This, quite simply put, is how well an ink flows through a pen, but also dictates how quickly an ink will seep into a page. Flow is affected by both the surface tension and saturation of an ink, but also by other additives such as humectants and surfactants. Inks with a high flow wetness can sometimes, but not always, feather and bleed more than other.

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