Private Reserve - American Blue

[Sandy1]

Please take a moment to adjust the brightness & contrast of your monitor to accurately depict the following Gray Scale.

As the patches are neutral gray, their colour on your monitor should also be neutral gray.

Mac

My link

Wintel PC

My link

Figure 1.

Gray Scale.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/INK576-1.jpg

 

Note Well: This is the 'regular' version of PRAB - not the fast dry reformulation recently released.

 

Figure 2.

Swabs & Swatch

Paper: HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/c5a8abad.jpg

Figure 3.

NIB-ism My link

N.B. Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

 

WRITTEN SAMPLES: Moby Dick

 

Row Height is 8mm.

 

Figure 4.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/4daaf4ba.jpg

Figure 5.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/2e99835d.jpg

Figure 6.

Paper: G Lalo, Verge de France, white.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/29551822.jpg

Figure 7.

Paper: Royal, 25% rag.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/0f0d3f4f.jpg

Figure 8.

Grocery List

Paper: Pulp. One-a-Day calendar page.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/8a842ac6.jpg

OTHER SAMPLES:

 

Figure 9.

'HAPPY!' on Glossy Card.

Smear/Dry Time on Glossy Paper.

Smear/Dry Time on HPJ1124.

Wet Tests on HPJ1124.

Wet Tests on Royal.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20-%20American%20Blue%20OOTT/df9d97bb.jpg

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Daily writer?

• Very possible.

A go-to ink?

• Quite possible - one of the more animated Blues.

USE

 

Business:

• Easily.
• May be dismissed as too flashy; or welcomed as being fresh and invigorating.
• Lacks the snap to be used for mark-up, editing, etc.
• Not very suitable for error correction or grading of assignments, but could be press-ganged into service.

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 at less than full coverage.
• One must be careful that this ink does not overtake less vibrant colours. (Dilution may be useful in such situations.)
• High saturation, and lack of feathering & shading make PRAB a candidate for narrow tight lines.

Students:

• Not quite. (So sorry.)
• May be too vibrant for study notes that would be read numerous times.
• Not so very robust; unlikey to survive domestic mishaps.
• May do quite well on 'lowest bidder' papers
• A fairly good choice for hand-written assignments - only if what's written is as brilliant as the ink itself.

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.
• For pro forma business writing, I'd give PRAB a pass; favouring a simple retiring Dark Blue, or the stealthy 4001 Royal Blue.
• Billet doux are simply not within reach - even with a barge pole.
• I've found that PRAB seems best suited to nibs no wider than Medium. (?)
• To get the desired Look from PRAB, one may well consider the percentage of coverage. So nib-width, ink density, and row height all seem to be important. (Ms Fussy again.)

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

 

Flow Rate:

• Bordering on enthusiastic.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not noticed.

Start-up:

• Immediate.

Lubrication:

• Better than average.
• The 51 and the M200 ran well on the textured G Lalo.

Nib Creeping:

• None.

Staining:

• None after 3 days.

Clogging:

• Not seen.
• PRAB seems highly saturated with dye-stuff, so I'd not keep it in an unused pen.

Bleed Through:

• Not on papers used.
• With high saturation, be watchful of lesser papers.

Show Through:

• Not on papers used.
• One could use both sides of a sheet.

Feathering / Woolly Line:

• Yes - from all save the 51 on the Royal.

Smear/Dry Time:

• Glossy: 5 - 7 seconds.
• HPJ1124: 15 - 20 seconds.

Water Resistance:

• HPJ1124 and Royal:
• -2-
  • "Over half is legible.
  • May provide basis for 'best guess' restoration. (Think Dead Sea scrolls.)"

Smell:

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

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not noticed.

Archival:*

• Not claimed.

Clean Up:

• Due to saturation, many rinses are required, and a bit of a soak wouldn't be amiss.

Mixing:

• American Blue its fine as it comes from the pot, but ...
• Dilution seems a fine idea. (Even at 50%, RPAB holds together nicely.)

* At time of writing, one FP ink meets standards for 'permanence' set by ISO. That ink is not PRAB.

THE LOOK:

 

Presence:

• This ink will engage the reader, but hold them at a distance.
• A tasteful 'power tie' for one's pen.

Saturation:

• Very high.

Shading:

• Rare. Accidental.

Variance depending on pen+nib combos used:

• Surprisingly little.
  

High Resolution Scans:

• From 51 on HPJ1124 My link
• From 502 on Rhodia My link
• From Estie on G Lalo My link
• From Safari on Royal My link

FIDELITY:

 

Is the name appropriate?

• No idea. (Well, its not Royal Blue now is it?)

Are swatches accurate?

• Better than most.

SIMILAR COLOURS:

• Not so many Medium-Dark Blues combine coolness and animation with such finesse.
• The discontinued Parker Penman Sapphire is widely considered to be a similar colour.
  
  • (This was tangentially addressed here My link. A somewhat more in-depth comparison of PRAB to PPS is planned, but is rather far down my To Do list.)

PAPERS:

 

Lovely papers:

• Crisp white paper.
• Can handle dirty-white papers and those with optical brighteners.

Trip-wire Papers:

• Can't think of any within reason.

Tinted Papers:

• Could work well on any sensible tint, especially from a wetter writer.

PrePrinted Paper:

• PRAB seems a rather inappropriate ink for forms.
• As it is animated, it won't come to rest on the forms; ease of reading may be less than optimum / awkward. Please, use the Pelikan Royal Blue or Lamy Green for forms.
• For grids, etc., PRAB may be an excellent choice - it will generate separation from the construct.But as mentioned, it may overtake less animated colours, so is a good choice for emphasizing key data/info without using 'hot' colours.
  

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Really more a matter of preference over performance.

OTHER THAN INK:

 

Presentation :

• 50 ml. bottle in a box.
• No HazMat warnings.

Country of origin:

• Not stated.

Container:

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

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, PRAB may be available from independent stationers and pen shops.

ETC.

 

Majik:

• Possible, but would take more than 7-sided dice and a crow's wing to get this going - its just not sufficiently complex to be synergistic.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• Even though the writing experience was marginal, the 51 on the Royal is the PP&PP. The Royal paper is a very pure white; that, in combination with the narrow nib and 8mm line height, depict PRAB very well. The tactile weight and soft texture of the Royal complete the package to a T.
  

Yickity Yackity:

• The PRAB continues to be a classy ink, but inevitably shares the limitations of a darker saturated ink.
• It ameliorates those limitations by being well animated and having decent manners.
• Very happy to use this one when I use a narrow nib.
• Ah kushbaby, I imagine this is on your top shelf too, but off to the left-hand side, (a bit gauche for you, non?).

{=x|x=}~{=w*w=}~{-=-[♢]-=-}~{=w*w=}~{=x|x=}

 

MATERIEL USED:

 

To be relevant to most members, I make an effort to use papers, pens & nibs that are readily available. For pens, I use those for which I paid $100 or less, new or used; and are 'factory stock' - not customised.

 

For the 'One Of The Ten' suite of inks, the same set of pens are used. My link

 

• Parker 51, Flighter^✩, Mark I + 14K XF nib.
• Pelikan M200 + M200-series g-p steel EF nib.
• Waterman England 502 + some-flex 14CT 2A nib.
• Sheaffer 330 + inlaid steel M nib.
• Esterbrook J + 9968 firm steel B nib.
• Lamy Pink Safari + steel 1.1i nib.

^✩ I cannot determine if this pen is a true 'Flighter' - set-up for use at low atmospheric pressure.

 

For lines & labels:

• Pilot Penmanship + steel XF with Montblanc Racing Green.

On these papers:

• HPJ1124 24 lb. Laser Copy.
• Rhodia.
• G Lalo, Verge de France, white.
• Royal, 25% cotton rag.
• Pulp.
• Glossy paper.
• Glossy card.

_________________

 

IMAGES

• Scans were made on an Epson V600 scanner; factory defaults were accepted.
• Figures shown were scanned at 96 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Scans were cropped and straightened; no other changes were made.

_________________

 

DENSITOMETER READINGS (FWTW)

Red 67

Grn 91

Blu 193

Lum 106

===============

 

-30-

Edited November 15, 2010 by Sandy1

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

The Private Reserve American Blue is the seventh ink to be reviewed in the 'One of the Ten' (OOTT) group of Blue inks.

 

Numerous prior Ink Reviews of PRAB were done, and indeed I have contributed one such. Not a huge amount has changed since then, but to include PRAB in the One Of The Ten series, some changes in preparation and format were required. Consequently, this IR is likely needed more for the Comparisons than as a free-standing IR.

 

When complete, the intention is to have the OOTT inks reviewed in the same manner, and compared in the same manner to the maximum practical extent.

 

Hopefully the OOTT reviews and comparisons will assist practitioners in choosing their lynch-pin Blue/s, and avoid unintentional purchase of equivalent ink/s. (As was seen in the comparisons of the Cd'A Blue Sky to Cd'A Blue to Sheaffer Skrip Blue.)

 

Also, the OOTT results should give common ground for claims, rumour and scuttlebutt to be discussed. Or be considered irrelevant, and so be ignored.

 

Bye,

Sandy1

[geoduc]

Thanks for another excellent review, S1. I haven't used this ink myself, but it looks very close to Visconti blue - I'll look forward to seeing the comparison.

 

By the way, I purchased a bottle of MB royal blue based on your earlier review and am very happy with the color and the behavior. It fills my need for a more sedate business blue quite nicely.

 

This review series has been very useful - thanks for all of the hard work you've put into it!

[lovemy51]

hi, sandy. as geoduc pointed out, it does reminds me of the visconti blue. i, too, am looking forward to seeing a comparison of the two.

thx for the great review, as always!

[inkster]

Another very complete review. Really apreciate the time and effort it takes to put this kind of review together.

 

I'm a user and liker of PRAB.

[Sandy1]

Thanks for another excellent review, S1. I haven't used this ink myself, but it looks very close to Visconti blue - I'll look forward to seeing the comparison.

 

By the way, I purchased a bottle of MB royal blue based on your earlier review and am very happy with the color and the behavior. It fills my need for a more sedate business blue quite nicely.

 

This review series has been very useful - thanks for all of the hard work you've put into it!

Hi,

 

You're welcome.

 

I too look forward to some of these comparisons! Even though I've used many of the OOTT series inks for years, some of the things revealed in both the Reviews and Comparisons are new to me. So, in good faith, I cannot write only about my personal use or impression of the inks. (And that would be soooo desperately boring.)

 

I'm glad that you're enjoying the MBRB - it is 'one of those' inks that, once one has it, its difficult to imagine how one'd managed without MBRB.

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

[Sandy1]

hi, sandy. as geoduc pointed out, it does reminds me of the visconti blue. i, too, am looking forward to seeing a comparison of the two.

thx for the great review, as always!

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I reckon the PRAB :: VB comparison should be done by month-end. I just hope that the prior problems with posting new topic/s were resolved.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Another very complete review. Really apreciate the time and effort it takes to put this kind of review together.

 

I'm a user and liker of PRAB.

Hi,

 

I'm glad you appreciate the Review.

 

One thing I rather like about doing a Review of an ink that's been in use for quite a while is that it is likely that numerous people have at least tried (sampled) the ink, so have personal experience to add to the texture of a Review. (Not as if I anticipate every Member who's every held a pen inked with PRAB will chime-in.)

 

Bye,

S1

[alexander_k]

Excellent, insightful review. What's your experience with smudging, especially on glossier paper, long after writing?

[Sandy1]

Excellent, insightful review. What's your experience with smudging, especially on glossier paper, long after writing?

Hi,

 

The Smear/Dry Time sample, and the Written Sample on glossy card were generated about 2 weeks ago. I used my finger to 'scrub' them; neither smudged.

 

I think a person needs to be pretty careful about choosing their paper for use with FPs & common inks.

• The glossy paper I use is that found in magazines: it is designed for high-speed lithographic [full colour] printing on roll-fed presses, where dry times are critical to the printing & bindery processes at speed. The Noodler's bullet proof inks really don't take to that type of paper. Pelikan Bl-Bk does amazingly well. (Smear/Dry Time) IIRC, the amazing duo-tone rotogravure uses a somewhat different process. At times, the final pass/es through the press is/are a coating to dry the ink / protect the image.
  
• The glossy card stock is likely printed on sheet-fed presses, which operate at a lower speed than the roll-fed presses. Some sheet-fed presses are not full-colour, but print specific colours (usually logos/corporate colours), use petroleum-based inks, and 'art' inks. e.g. metallic. Those inks may be printed hours or even days apart; and use different methods of printing. e.g. Litho+Serigraph; flocking. Most glossy card stock has a separate laminate coating applied to protect the image after printing. That laminate is not designed to be receptive to most inks - (most) FP inks being easily repelled. So if I write on a glossy card, I often wait overnight to test for curing of the ink. At times, the laminate is applied to the multi-colour surface - not the (inside / back) surface upon which hand-writing is usually done.
  • I intend to look at some inks that are purported to print on anything (?!?) But my sampling will likely be limited to dip pens - not FPs.
    

I do not keep a Journal or similar, so have very very few ex/samples of personal writing with most of the inks which I've reviewed. I write to/for others, not myself. Nor do I typically write on the material you mention.

 

Some time ago, there was a problem with the Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue: it did not 'cure' within a reasonable time. To me, that was a deal breaker. (Ink Review Link) Yet other people continue to use PRDCSSBl with unbridled enthusiasm. So - was there a 'bad batch', that didn't cure thoroughly within a reasonable time? Perhaps.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited November 16, 2010 by Sandy1

[TWRDO]

Thanks for another great review! Looking forward to the comparisons.

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Herbin Eclat de Saphir (OOTT) My link

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Herbin Eclat de Saphir (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue (OOTT) My link

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Herbin Eclat de Saphir (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Visconti Blue (OOTT) My link

[welch]

- Yet another wonderful review, Sandy1. You should make a book out of these.

 

- I find PR AB just great for work note-taking. Some weeks I want a purplish blue, like Diamine Sapphire. Other weeks I want a blue-blue, and I use PR AB. (Most weeks I wing-it with Penman Sapphire...)

 

- I usually read your grocery list. Did you buy 10 pounds of "boar's ribs"?? (I'm a fan of barbecued ribs, but boar's ribs would be a bit exotic in this land where we worry about ink "color" but not "colour".)

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

A book?

Hmm :hmm1:

Then people would need to pay for stuff they can get for free on FPN; and how could such a book have an ending (or plot) when new inks are constantly being unleashed upon us? Rather like a murder mystery when new characters pop into the storyline.

Ah, the grocery list. Well, yes I did purchase the ten pounds. Wild boar, not to be confused with feral swine, such as 'hogzilla', are to be found across Europe and points east. boar link The critters were imported to the S-SE of the USA for sport hunting and as a form of open ranching. Great for BBQ.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Herbin Eclat de Saphir (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Visconti Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Montblanc Royal Blue My link

[Sandy1]

Links to Comparisons:

Comparison to Pilot asa-gao (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Sheaffer Skrip Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Herbin Eclat de Saphir (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Visconti Blue (OOTT) My link

Comparison to Montblanc Royal Blue My link

Comparison to Noodler's Ottoman Azure My link

 

Edited January 18, 2011 by Sandy1