Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of An Ink Review—today I’m swatching and testing Diamine Anthal Violet. This one is a really pretty purple that can lean more purple-ish or swing a little more bluey-ish depending on how wet your pen is. I even show that with the same pen: if it’s writing drier you’ll get a lighter look, and if you prime the feed and let it run wetter, the color deepens and you can coax out a bit of sheen when you lay it on heavy. I also do my water resistance test, and I’m going to be honest with you: this ink does not have a good amount of water resistance. I personally wouldn’t trust it on the outside of an envelope because it may wash away. Then we get into chromatography—both water and rubbing alcohol—where you can really see the components hiding in there: gray left behind, bright purple, pink along the edge, and even some blue tones showing up in the alcohol strip. Finally, I run it across a big stack of papers, and you get the full “feather like a chicken” truth. It’s gorgeous on nicer papers like HP Premium 32 lb, Rhodia, Midori MD, Tomoe River, and Hobonichi, but some cotton fiber and cheaper notebook papers get wiggly, feathery, and can bleed. If you love purples and you like seeing an ink change personality with pen flow, Anthal Violet is a fun one.