Mont Blanc Blue/black Vs. Midnight Blue

February 3, 2012

A year or two ago I had a spasm and bought the last two bottles of Mont Blanc Blue/Black that I could find. This is because the ink was discontinued, and it works especially well in my Mont Blanc 100 year pen. Silly I know. Anyway, I finally got around to trying MB Midnight Blue, which replaced Blue/Black. Unlike say, Irish Green, which is way different from British Racing Green, the new Midnight Blue looked at first glance very similar to Blue/Black. I wondered how similar, so, I did some testing.

First, I did a water test to see if Midnight Blue had any permanence like Blue/Black, which has an iron gall component. Although not shown here (I destroyed the paper trying to remove the ink), Midnight Blue does have a permanent component that looks iron gallish.

Second, I did some paper chromatography. For this I dotted 1 microliter spots of undiluted Blue/Black and Midnight Blue onto filter paper (actually J. Herbin blotting paper) along with samples of the same inks diluted 1:100 with ddH2O. Since the diluted samples were very light I dotted another 1 microliter over top the first. After allowing the ink to dry completely I subjected the spots to chromatography using both ddH2O and chloroform as solvents. Here are the results.

The chromatography results indicate that there is predominantly one dye in both inks, but that it is more concentrated in Midnight Blue matching the subjective impression (below). The also appears to be a purplish dye in the Midnight Blue, which also jives with the subjective impression that it has something extra, a little visual pop compared to Blue/Black. In addition, the lack of migration in chloroform indicates that there are no polar dyes in the ink. Finally, the gray spots left behind in the diluted samples on the ddH20 side show the permanent component, which is presumably the iron gall.

Here is a writing sample, done on Staples bagasse paper using the same pen for each ink, my MB Virginia Woolf with medium nib. Flow with this pen is typically medium, not too wet, not too dry, and the nib width is pushing broad.

Boy, these look very similar on paper. There are, however, some important differences. The main difference is in the writing experience. The new Midnight Blue is a much better behaved ink. It writes wetter, and smoother, and there are fewer episodes of poor ignition, that is, it usually flows from the nib as soon as the nib hits the paper. See the incomplete letters on the top as evidence that Blue/Black has poor ignition. At least with the Virginia Woolf pen, Blue/Black is frustrating and unusable. My 100 year pen must be a wetter writer to make Blue/Black tolerable. As mentioned above, Midnight Blue also has a slight purple element that gives it a little something extra. Both inks shade, although Blue/Black shades better, probably because it is less concentrated. Dry time with both can be on the slow side. Also, both dry a little fainter, and more gray than would otherwise be expected.

I liked the old Blue/Black for use in at least one specific pen. I also liked the old timey appearance of the ink. That said, my hoarding of Blue/Black is in retrospect unwarranted. Midnight Blue is the better ink. It is more usable, looks better, and is just as permanent. It's a winner in my book.

February 4, 2012

Superb comparison. Thanks!

February 4, 2012

Good info. Answered all my questions.

March 10, 2012

I just went into my local Mont Blanc dealer in Melbourne and tried all the nibs. Not sure what inks were in the pens, but I did ask the lady for a bottle of MB Blue/Black ink.

She gave me a bottle of Midnight Blue. When I noticed I asked if she had stock of the "new" stuff, Blue/Black. She politely pointed out that I was mistaken, the Midnight Blue is the new stuff.

Anyway, I bought the bottle and am now awaiting the arrival of my 149 and 146 pens to try it out. I also have a bottle of the Mystery Black, and cartridges of the same (which are in my 147 traveller). I've always been a fan of black inks, but must confess being curious about Blue/Blacks.

Your comparison here has laid my fears, that the two inks were radically different in color and appearance, to rest.

Thanks for the review. Dying to try it out for myself.

March 10, 2012

I just went into my local Mont Blanc dealer in Melbourne and tried all the nibs. Not sure what inks were in the pens, but I did ask the lady for a bottle of MB Blue/Black ink.

She gave me a bottle of Midnight Blue. When I noticed I asked if she had stock of the "new" stuff, Blue/Black. She politely pointed out that I was mistaken, the Midnight Blue is the new stuff.

Anyway, I bought the bottle and am now awaiting the arrival of my 149 and 146 pens to try it out. I also have a bottle of the Mystery Black, and cartridges of the same (which are in my 147 traveller). I've always been a fan of black inks, but must confess being curious about Blue/Blacks.

Your comparison here has laid my fears, that the two inks were radically different in color and appearance, to rest.

Thanks for the review. Dying to try it out for myself.