Review - Parker Quink - Permanent Blue

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

YES! This review is for one of my favorites- Parker's Quink Permanent Blue; while it is no longer available in this country, it is still available in Europe- that's where I got mine. This is a current production ink, made in France, by the Newell-Rubbermaid cartel.

 

I just love this ink- the flow is excellent; the color is rich without being overbearing and it works well in every pen I've put it in; even in one of my most troublesome pens- (not the one used for this review, though). Best of all- I paid $4.29 for a 2 ounce, (57 ml), bottle. If you pursue this, it will pay to get several bottles, (I paid $10.14 for shipping two bottles from the UK). To calculate the price; however, I took the base price of $4.29 and added 50% of the shipping cost, (since that was split between two bottles). These calculations are hazy because I'm not sure if shipping one bottle would have been less and whether getting more bottles would have been higher- so I went with this ad-hoc formula.

 

If you have any questions or suggestions, just lmk.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 4, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[Leftytoo]

Thanks for the well done review. I too like these medium "common" blue inks and it was nice that you added a comparison with similar inks.

 

After using lots of inks I always find that if I have a bottle of either Parker or Waterman, and another of Pelikan, that one will work perfectly and without fuss in any pen including the old timers.

 

Bob

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

Here is where I got it:

 

PilotFish Pens

 

I have also included a sample of my orignal notes; be warned, it is not pretty, nor is it grammatically correct.

 

Here is a verbatim translation of my hand-written notes in case you can't read my sloppy writing; please know that those notes were meant for my own use while I prepared this review. They were never meant for publication, but I wanted you guys to see how great this ink is on any kind of paper.

 

Flow: 5. Has no problem keeping up with my juicy broad nib on (this) Sheaffer.

Lubrication: 4. Just a touch of dryness with this fat nib- less so with medium to finer nibs.

Bleed Through: 4 None on the Staples paper, but I did get a few random specks on the notebook paper.

Nib Creep: 5 None detected.

Feathering: 5 None detected, even with this juicy, fat nib.

Shading: 4 Not bad- you can still tell it is (fountain) ink and not a (roller ball)- but not as shady as (J. Herbin) and some (Waterman) inks.

Saturation: 4.5 This is a deep ink- it does not look remotely washed out on premium or cheap paper. Good saturation overall. Comes across slightly paler on finished papers designed for computer use.

Final Thoughts: I really like this ink- it is excellent for business, home or school. It has great flow- not dry at all. Rich color too! I’d give it an overall score of 4.5 out of 5.0

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 4, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

Thanks for the well done review. I too like these medium "common" blue inks and it was nice that you added a comparison with similar inks.

 

After using lots of inks I always find that if I have a bottle of either Parker or Waterman, and another of Pelikan, that one will work perfectly and without fuss in any pen including the old timers.

 

Bob

 

Hello Bob,

 

Thank you for the kind words. I agree too- I've never had a problem with Parker Quink inks- always excellent flow and smooth performance in any pen- new, old or even troublesome.

 

Thanks again,

 

Sean

[opus7600]

Given the abysmal results from the water resistance test, just what does the word "permanent" mean in the ink's name?

[corniche]

Given the abysmal results from the water resistance test, just what does the word "permanent" mean in the ink's name?

 

Greetings Opus,

 

Ironically, the permanency of the ink is on skin and fabric, not paper. The name distinguishes it from Parker's Washable Blue, the latter being more skin and clothes friendly. Also, the Permanent Blue is a nice, rich blue while the Washable Blue looks pale and literally... washed out. Besides the color, (which I am quite fond of), this inks real virtue is its flow ability; it writes smoothly and beautifully on all types of papers and even in the dogs of pens.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 7, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[Gojira]

Thanks for the review. I've been meaning to buy a bottle to try out but thought better of it since my experience with Quink Washable Blue has been...well, a wash-out, pun intended.

 

Love the new Quink Blue-Black though. Almost as good as the old Solv-X stuff.

[streeton]

Thanks for the review. I've been meaning to buy a bottle to try out but thought better of it since my experience with Quink Washable Blue has been...well, a wash-out, pun intended.

....

agree about the Parker washable blue and also Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, both these inks are so faded after a few days that I wonder how they can possibly be used except maybe for practice writing.

[Gojira]

You can add Caran d' Ache Blue to the list of washed-out blues. This is their standard blue, not part of their Colours of the Earth series. About the same as Quink and Pelikan Royal Blue.

[corniche]

"...Love the new Quink Blue-Black though. Almost as good as the old Solv-X stuff."

 

Greetings Gojira,

 

Funny you should mention these- I'm preparing to do a "triple threat" review... I'm waiting for delivery on a 4 oz. bottle of vintage Quink Blue-Black with Solv-X. When it arrives, (this week I'm hoping), I plan to do side by side reviews for the current Quink b/b, vintage Quink b/b, (late '40s era), and vintage Waterman's b/b, (early '50s era); I may also lump in the current Waterman b/b, although I've already done that one seperately. I can't wait.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[JEBennett]

Thanks for the review. I've been meaning to buy a bottle to try out but thought better of it since my experience with Quink Washable Blue has been...well, a wash-out, pun intended.

....

agree about the Parker washable blue and also Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, both these inks are so faded after a few days that I wonder how they can possibly be used except maybe for practice writing.

 

My understanding with regards to those royal blues (Waterman Florida Blue and Montblanc Royal Blue included) that are eradicable by sulphides is that, put plainly, many papers in common use today are saturated in sulfur residues from processing. These inks, designed to be erased, are being placed on paper containing their eraser.

 

I have a cheap composition notebook from way back when that I wrote out my first cartridge of Lamy Blue on, and the text is basically gone at this point.

[Albus]

Thanks for the review. I've been meaning to buy a bottle to try out but thought better of it since my experience with Quink Washable Blue has been...well, a wash-out, pun intended.

....

agree about the Parker washable blue and also Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, both these inks are so faded after a few days that I wonder how they can possibly be used except maybe for practice writing.

 

My understanding with regards to those royal blues (Waterman Florida Blue and Montblanc Royal Blue included) that are eradicable by sulphides is that, put plainly, many papers in common use today are saturated in sulfur residues from processing. These inks, designed to be erased, are being placed on paper containing their eraser.

 

I have a cheap composition notebook from way back when that I wrote out my first cartridge of Lamy Blue on, and the text is basically gone at this point.

 

How ironic. I like the way you put it "These inks, designed to be erased, are being placed on paper containing their eraser."

 

What a joke! I do find my Lamy blue quite permanent, at least better than Pelikan 4001.

[Black Rose]

How does this ink hold up over time for fading?

 

As was mentioned by streeton, the Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, while visually appealing to me, fades quite quickly.

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

Parker Quink Permanent Blue is my favourite blue.It is about the only ink my wife uses.

[corniche]

How does this ink hold up over time for fading?

 

As was mentioned by streeton, the Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, while visually appealing to me, fades quite quickly.

 

Hello Black Rose,

 

As we speak- there are experiments taking place to try to find this out! I wrote on several types of papers back on December 31, 2010 with Qpb from two different bottles and J. Herbin Bleu Myotosis. So far, I haven't had any problems with Qpb; however, there are people here at FPN who live in Australia and the Pacific Rim, who have experienced fading problems, (they must get a cut-rate version over there).

 

I will be posting updated scans next week, but I will tell you, I really like the ink and haven't had any problems with it.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[Black Rose]

Thanks Sean.

 

I think I may just have to order myself two bottles of QPB.

 

Factoring in the shipping cost, it works out to be the almost the same cost per bottle as what I can get Quink Blue Black for locally.

[Black Rose]

My two bottles of QPB arrived today.

 

Took 12 days to arrive from the UK.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Black Rose

[corniche]

My two bottles of QPB arrived today.

 

Took 12 days to arrive from the UK.

 

Hello Black Rose,

 

Yes, that is about how long it took to get my order too. Be sure to let us know what you think of it- I feel responsible.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[Black Rose]

I'm going to try it out as soon as I figure out which pen I will try it in and flush that pen out.

 

I just let the bottles sit out of their boxes last night to adjust to the temperature change - they spent about 6 hours sitting in the mailbox at around -7C.

I was concerned the ink might freeze or have cracked bottles, but no problems.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Black Rose

[milkb0at]

Quink blues and blacks are the "default" ink in many places here in the UK. If you find a stationery shop (WHSmith, for example) which stocks fountain pens and ink, it is mostly likely to be Quink (although I will point out that bottles are harder to find now than cartridges).

 

When I was at school, many years ago, I preferred the washable blue since it meant I could use my eraser pen.