Private Reserve - American Blue

[Sandy1]

• Please take a moment to adjust the brightness & contrast of your monitor to accurately depict this Gray Scale.
• As the patches are neutral gray, the colour on your monitor should also be neutral.

Figure 1.

Grey Scale.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN049.jpg

Figure 2.

Swabs: Waterman Florida Blue. Private Reserve American Blue 300% to 33%.

Swatch: Drawn with Prelude CI + B.

Paper: HP1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN209.jpg

WRITTEN SAMPLES: Moby Dick

 

Narrow Nibs:

To more accurately depict how narrow nibs are used, a 4mm row height is used for 2 rows: one written in mixed case, and the other printed in upper case. The third row is the normal 8mm height used for the wider nibs. It does look dreadful, but I hope it is useful.

 

Figure 3.

Paper: HP1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN211.jpg

Figure 4.

Paper: Rhodia

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN212.jpg

 

Note: The Clairfontaine 'Triomphe' was not used. It seems to be far too similar to Rhodia to add much useful information about the ink.

 

Figure 5.

Paper: G Lalo Verge de France, Ivory.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN213.jpg

 

Figure 6.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp from a one-a-day cartoon calendar.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN233.jpg

 

OTHER SAMPLES:

 

Figure 7.

Wet samples, Smear / Dry Time.

Paper: HP1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN210.jpg

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Daily writer?

• Quite possible. May be a bit too animated. (Well, what do you expect from one who uses Quink BlBk as my standard office ink?)

A go-to ink?

• If seeking an extra bit of 'oomph' to depart from a standard Blue, such as Waterman, MB, Pelikan, etc., then PRAB may be for you.

USES:

 

Business:

• It seems to lack gravitas, but is well animated.
• May be dismissed as too flashy / shouting.
• Or welcomed as being fresh & invigorating. (??)

Illustrations / Graphics:

• Very much depends on the density achieved.
• For larger areas such as charts, graphs, where the ink may be used for cross-hatching, or loaded into a hi-liter, parallel pen or similar, it will claim and occupy space without having to cover it entirely.
• One must be careful that this ink does not overtake other less vibrant colours.
• High saturation, and lack of feathering & shading make this a candidate for narrow tight lines.
• May do nicely as a 'Dark Blue'.

Personal:

• In the lighter densities I could easily go for this.
• In the darker densities, it is a tad too business-like, but still can be used for friendly but not 'personal' personal correspondence.
• It has an interesting hint of wholesome mischief. (So sorry BDSM enthusiasts - just use PRCC, OK?)

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS:

 

Flow Rate:

• Tends to be pretty good - although it failed from the Charleston on the G Lalo.
• Reasonable manners.

Nib Dry-out:

• Ten minutes uncapped: Prompt start-up on all pens.

Start-up:

• OK.

Lubrication:

• Better than most.

Nib Creep:

• None.

Staining:

• Not seen.

Clogging:

• Unknown, but being so saturated there may be longer-term problems, especially if ink is kept unused in the pen for extended periods.
• Wouldn't leave in a pen longer than is useful.

Bleed Through:

• Not on any of the papers used, but watch out for lighter, lesser quality stock.

Show Though: (New)

• On the papers used, one could write on both sides.

Smell:

• Fruit / berry esters - not unpleasant or over powering. Unscented.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• None noticed.

Archival:

• Likely no more or less than any dye-based FP ink.

Water Resistance:

• Imaginary.

Smear Results:

• Rather OK. Less than 5 seconds on HP1124.

Smudge Test:

• Some concerns were expressed about 'fully dry' times of the PR inks. So I drew some wee circles to be 'scrubbed' with my thumb: one circle every 5 minutes. They're not shown because after 5 minutes the ink was 'scrub-proof'. Paper was the HP1124. Perhaps the ink was reformulated to address that issue. (?)

Bulletproof:

• Makes no such claim.

Clean Up:

• Much slower than expected, but thorough with plain water. (Plileas slowest again!)

Mixing:

• No stated prohibition / limitation.
• I have no inclination to mix with it. (Well, maybe 1/2 drop of Solferino.)
• I have taken the liberty to dilute it with still bottled water to 80%. This is a personal preference to ensure the ink is positioned more forward, so that the animated quality of the ink is more apparent. As such, it is not part of the Review proper, but may be of interest. Comments in the Review do not address this sample.

Figure 8.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN227.jpg

 

THE LOOK:

 

Saturation:

• High.

Shading:

• Little. Depends on nib+feed.

Feathering:

• Next to none.

Variance depending on pen+nib combos used:

• Really quite consistent, all things considered.

FIDELITY:

 

Is colour name appropriate / accurate?

• Name is not informative.
• The litho-ed label on the bottle and the box sports a tiny swatch-like thingy, which is quite close to the colour & density of a 1-pass swab.

SIMILAR COLOURS:

 

Figure 9.

• The PRAB is the innermost circle, and alternates with the comparison ink.
• The circles are drawn counter clockwise; with the same pen+nib throughout.
• Others? Please chime in.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN226.jpg

 

PAPERS:

 

Lovely papers:

• Crisp white paper, without optical brighteners.

Trip-wire papers:

• None apparent. This could handle bottom tier dirty whites, such as pulp - see Figure 6.

Tinted Papers:

• The high saturation and animated colour give this ink a pretty good chance at looking good on tinted papers.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• If one wants shading to be evident, then a smooth white paper such as the Rhodia or Clairefontaine 'Triomphe' may be considered.

OTHER THAN INK:

 

Presentation :

• 50ml. bottle.

Country of origin:

• Not stated.

Container:

• A squat oval-esque glass bottle, 53mm tall.
• The centred round opening is 33mm in diameter.
• The text on the label & box is in English language only.
• Single tank, no filling aids, no sediment collector. Tsk.
• The hard black plastic screw cap has OK grip, but is only 10mm high so may not be so easy to grasp.
• The cap is not child-proof.
• The cap seal is the dreaded coated card stock. (>_<)

Box:

• Nicely coated.
• Labeled on front of box c/w swatch.

Eco-Green:

• All bits easily recyclable.

Availability:

• Available from several online sources based in UK & North America.
• In North America, it may be available from fine stationers & pen shops.
• Other areas: Please chime in.

ETC:

 

Majik:

• Possible, but would take more than ivory dice & a crow's wing to get this going - it's just not sufficiently 'complex'.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• From what we see in the written samples, I'd pick the Charleston + M on the Rhodia.

Yickity Yackity:

• I mostly use this ink from a UK Duofold F nib, and enjoy it a fair bit.
• I was expecting a colour a little more evocative of the Blue stripes as in 'stars & stripes'.
• While this ink does have the animated confidence that is an 'American' trait, this ink somehow falls just a tad short - off the rim. (Erhm - maybe I shouldn't use it from a UK Duofold. Ooopsie!)
• When this pot's empty, it may well be replaced.
• Ah kushbaby, this is too simple, it is en face. Another ink that's not for you. So sorry. May your asa-gao keep you amused.

|^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^||^=-T-+^|

MATERIEL USED:

 

These pen+nib combos:

• Pilot Human Engineering + XF steel nib - mostly for lines & labels; loaded with Visconti Bordeaux.
• Pilot 78G + F g-p steel nib.
• Phileas + F steel nib.
• Pelikan M200 + M series M g-p steel nib.
• Waterman Charleston + M 18K nib.
• Sheaffer Prelude + stock CI Stub B nib.

On these papers:

• HP 1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.
• Rhodia.
• G Lalo 'Verge de France' ivory.
• Pulp: one-a-day cartoon calendar page.

NOTES:

 

1. I use only papers, pens & nibs that are readily available, not too pricey and 'stock' - not customised. If some pens/nibs are not currently produced, I'll use them if there are NOS or restored pieces readily available at OK prices. As appropriate, I'll include an implement outside of those guidelines, which will be ID-ed as a *Dealer's Choice*.
2. Figures were produced on an Epson V600 scanner; factory defaults were accepted. Originals scanned at 150 dpi & 24 bit colour to produce .jpg files.The image was not adjusted other than cropping and straightening using iPhoto on a MacBook.
3. Scanner Densitometer Readings were generated from the Drawn Swatch in Figure 2: Red 28; Green 69; Blue 197; Luminosity 86.

-30-

Edited May 5, 2010 by Sandy1

[Ed Ronax]

Excellent review and a really nice blue.

[Sandy1]

empty post - please ignore this

Edited May 6, 2010 by Sandy1

[Lloyd]

Excellent review. You sure are setting a high standard in ink reviewing.

Have you compared this to PR DC Supershow blue?

[ChemErik]

Great review. I'm still fairly new to FP's, but of the roughly dozen inks I've tried this is one of three I'm considering as a daily work pen ink. The others being Aurora Blue and Diamine Presidential Blue.

Your comparison adds more fuel to wanting to try Eclat de Saphire.

Definitely a great ink for a business setting.

[Sandy1]

Excellent review. You sure are setting a high standard in ink reviewing.

Have you compared this to PR DC Supershow blue?

Hi,

 

Glad you appreciate the Review.

 

I do not have the Supershow Blue. I've looked at the Reviews of that ink, and it may well be a little too 'zippy' for my taste. (I am so boring, yes?)

 

Do you think it is so special that it needs my attention? Am I missing an extraordinary ink??

 

Also, I am trying pretty hard not to accumulate huge amounts of ink on the basis of my curiosity. That said, Pear Tree provides those cute samples, which I think is an excellent idea. (Now, even if they didn't retail full bottles of the Pilot 'imasuzuki' inks, it would be wonderful if they sold samples of those inks.) But if I were to get a sample of the Supershow Blue, I could not bore my readers to tears with descriptions of the bottle, cap & box - my Review would suffer the error of omission.

 

Bye,

Sandy1

[Sandy1]

Great review. I'm still fairly new to FP's, but of the roughly dozen inks I've tried this is one of three I'm considering as a daily work pen ink. The others being Aurora Blue and Diamine Presidential Blue.

Your comparison adds more fuel to wanting to try Eclat de Saphire.

Definitely a great ink for a business setting.

Hi,

 

Well, I'm glad my Review steered you away from PRAB. That alone makes doing a Review 'worth it' to me : I want to do a sufficiently objective review and provide good scans so that people can make-up their own mind. 'Thanks, but no thanks' is a great reply. A bottle of PRAB was prevented from languishing in the 'For Mixing Only' portion of your ink shelves & cupboards.

 

I think the Herbin EdS is pretty amazing. I hope this is one of the inks that Herbin makes available in the larger bottles - just for convenience. If you wish, send me a PM with any specific properties you require, or are curious about for your daily writing ink, your line of work and the sort of pen & paper will be used most often.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Excellent review and a really nice blue.

Hi,

Glad you like it.

I did this review partly because previous reviews seemed to show several different inks.

I have no idea if PR had changed the colour over time, or if there are inconsistencies in the manufacture, or ?? As mentioned in the Review, PRAB no longer seems to have trouble drying-out, so perhaps it was reformulated and that also bumped the colour a tad. Hmm

Anyway, this is what I got from the stuff that's in my bottle. Enjoy!!

Bye,

S1

[PatientType]

Love this ink! This is my standard use washable blue. It looks great and, as your review confirms, handles well. Thank you for taking the time to make such a thorough assessment.

[Sandy1]

Love this ink! This is my standard use washable blue. It looks great and, as your review confirms, handles well. Thank you for taking the time to make such a thorough assessment.

Hi,

 

I didn't think that one would consider it to be 'washable' - especially given the high saturation.

Hey, I learned something!! Thanks.

 

S1

[dcwaites]

Excellent review. You sure are setting a high standard in ink reviewing.

Have you compared this to PR DC Supershow blue?

Hi,

 

Glad you appreciate the Review.

 

I do not have the Supershow Blue. I've looked at the Reviews of that ink, and it may well be a little too 'zippy' for my taste. (I am so boring, yes?)

 

Do you think it is so special that it needs my attention? Am I missing an extraordinary ink??

 

Also, I am trying pretty hard not to accumulate huge amounts of ink on the basis of my curiosity. That said, Pear Tree provides those cute samples, which I think is an excellent idea. (Now, even if they didn't retail full bottles of the Pilot 'imasuzuki' inks, it would be wonderful if they sold samples of those inks.) But if I were to get a sample of the Supershow Blue, I could not bore my readers to tears with descriptions of the bottle, cap & box - my Review would suffer the error of omission.

 

Bye,

Sandy1

 

If you are interested, I could probably pop a couple of those sushi fish-shaped (cleaned and gutted, of course) soy bottles of DC Supershow Blue into the mail.

 

David.

[jandrese]

Impressive review. Mix this ink 5 parts to 1 with PR Tanzanite makes an awesome sapphire blue color.

[Sandy1]

Impressive review. Mix this ink 5 parts to 1 with PR Tanzanite makes an awesome sapphire blue color.

Impressive review. Mix this ink 5 parts to 1 with PR Tanzanite makes an awesome sapphire blue color.

Hi,

 

There's the mix as mentioned.

Swabs are 1, 2 & 3 passes top to bottom.

PRAB to the left. Mix in the middle. PRTanz to the right.

Concentric circles have the mix in the centre, then alternating with PRAB and PRTanz respectively.

 

Bye,

S1

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue/FPN234.jpg

[figment7]

OMG! I love this review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You do what I do with an ink! I absolutely love the fact that you consider the "intended demeanor" of the ink, it's user & most importantly, it's audience or reader. I absolutely love this section of your review; A go-to ink?

• If seeking an extra bit of 'oomph' to depart from a standard Blue, such as Waterman, MB, Pelikan, etc., then PRAB may be for you.

USES:

Business:

• It seems to lack gravitas, but is well animated.
• May be dismissed as too flashy / shouting.
• Or welcomed as being fresh & invigorating. (??)

Illustrations / Graphics:

• Very much depends on the density achieved.
• For larger areas such as charts, graphs, where the ink may be used for cross-hatching, or loaded into a hi-liter, parallel pen or similar, it will claim and occupy space without having to cover it entirely.
• One must be careful that this ink does not overtake other less vibrant colours.
• High saturation, and lack of feathering & shading make this a candidate for narrow tight lines.
• May do nicely as a 'Dark Blue'.

Personal:

• In the lighter densities I could easily go for this.
• In the darker densities, it is a tad too business-like, but still can be used for friendly but not 'personal' personal correspondence.
• It has an interesting hint of wholesome mischief. (So sorry BDSM enthusiasts - just use PRCC, OK?)

THIS SECTION OF YOUR REVIEW, FOR ME, SAYS IT ALL.

WRITE WELL WITH YOU FAVORITE FOUNTAIN PEN AND A SUITABLE INK BUT,

ALWAYS WRITE WITH YOUR HEART, USING COLORS THAT CONNECT WITH THE HEART OF THE ONE YOU ARE WRITING TO !!!!!!

[Sandy1]

OMG! I love this review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You do what I do with an ink! I absolutely love the fact that you consider the "intended demeanor" of the ink, it's user & most importantly, it's audience or reader. I absolutely love this section of your review; A go-to ink?

• <snip>

 

THIS SECTION OF YOUR REVIEW, FOR ME, SAYS IT ALL.

WRITE WELL WITH YOU FAVORITE FOUNTAIN PEN AND A SUITABLE INK BUT,

ALWAYS WRITE WITH YOUR HEART, USING COLORS THAT CONNECT WITH THE HEART OF THE ONE YOU ARE WRITING TO !!!!!!

 

 

Hi,

 

I'm glad you like the Review.

 

As this ink was included in my wee One Of The Ten (OOTT) series of 'keystone' Blue inks, I contributed a second Review of PRABl on 15 Nov 2010, which can be found here : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/174613-private-reserve-american-blue/?p=1751922

And the OOTT Summary can be found next door in the ICS&T Forum https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/196998-one-of-the-ten-blue-inks/?p=1997029

 

Bye,

S1