Diamine Inkvent Ho Ho Ho: Ink Review

Overview

Ho Ho Ho made its debut as Day 6 of Diamine’s original 2019 Inkvent advent calendar — first released as part of the 2019 Inkvent Calendar, it’s now available on its own as part of the Blue Collection. True to its Santa-suit name, it’s a bright, saturated red with a warm lean toward orange: a no-frills, festive workhorse rather than a special-effects ink, and one of the more straightforward standards in a lineup otherwise packed with shimmer and sheen.

Colour

Ho Ho Ho is exactly what the name promises — a bright, consistent cherry red tone that reads as festive without tipping into novelty. It leans a touch toward orange rather than sitting in true crimson or burgundy territory; one reviewer described it as a vibrant red that leans just a bit toward orange, close in family to Diamine Tulip. In large swabs, that orange undertone actually mutes slightly compared to how it appears in regular handwriting.

On a swab, Ho Ho Ho shows a slightly deeper, less orange-leaning red than it does in a written line — the ink looks a little less orange in large swabs than it does in writing. It’s a good ink to swatch for reference since the pooled version gives a fuller sense of the base red before the orange undertone shows through in finer strokes.

Writing Experience

This is a well-behaved, no-drama ink in typical Diamine fashion. Testing found an average flow with no hard starts or skips, and other reviewers describe it laying down a nice wet line when writing. It’s not a specialty performer in any one direction — no standout wetness, no dryness complaints — just a dependable red that behaves the way you’d expect from Diamine’s core lineup.

Shading

There isn’t any. Multiple independent tests confirm no shading, no sheen, and no shimmer from this ink — Ho Ho Ho is a flat, single-tone red through and through. If you’re after a dual-shading or dramatic ink, this isn’t it; it’s built for consistent, uniform colour rather than tonal variation.

Sheen & Shimmer

Both are absent. This is a straightforward matte red with no shading or sheen of any kind — no special particles, no light-reflecting sheen pooling at stroke edges. It’s a “what you see is what you get” ink, which suits its role as a dependable holiday red rather than a showpiece.

Dry Time

Testing measured an average dry time of 30 seconds, which sits comfortably in the middle of the pack for fountain pen inks — not the fastest-drying option, but not sluggish either. Expect it to behave predictably across most nib sizes without needing to budget extra time before turning the page.

Paper Performance

Menorah Paper — On smoother, less-absorbent stock, Ho Ho Ho’s red-orange stays clean and vivid, with good, even coverage. Because there’s no shading or sheen to lose, the ink’s appearance stays fairly consistent regardless of paper finish — what changes most is how crisp the line edges look.

B7TRN Paper — On more absorbent or lower-quality stock, results are less forgiving: testing on standard copy paper found some feathering and bleeding in most nib sizes. This is an ink that rewards fountain-pen-friendly paper — on premium or coated stock it performs cleanly, but budget office paper will show its limits.

Water Resistance

Water resistance is rated medium — testing found medium water resistance, meaning the ink will survive light moisture exposure without vanishing outright, though it isn’t a substitute for a genuinely waterproof or pigmented ink. Treat it as reasonably durable for everyday notes, but not bulletproof for anything that absolutely must survive a soaking.

Cleaning & Maintenance

Cleaning is easy and unremarkable in the best way — consistent with Diamine’s broader reputation for being suitable for use in all brands of pen, both modern and vintage, thanks to a water-based, acid-free, non-toxic formulation. It flushes out of converters and feeds without any special effort, and its gentle chemistry is part of why it’s considered safe for vintage fillers.

Sources referenced: Mountain of Ink ink review; Fountain Pen Pharmacist ink review; Pure Pens product listing; Random Musings from the Downs Inkvent Blue Edition review.