Namiki Blue (cartridge)

[Yuri]

I did not manage to properly scan each page so they

look different. First page is cosest to real life.

 

Here you go, enjoy or hate it ;-)

 

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/1.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/2.jpg

 

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Ink Comparison:

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http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/3.jpg

 

Waterman Florida Blue is more dence that it should be, it is

because it was sitting in my Pelikan for month or more, so

some water evaporated I guess.

 

Bellow, I made close up fragments, they better reflect

how inks look alive.

 

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Namiki Blue close up:

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http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/p1.jpg

 

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PR Lake Placid Blue close up:

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http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/p2.jpg

 

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Noodler's Blue close up:

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http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/syuri/p3.jpg

 

 

--Yuri

[tntaylor]

Great ink review (especially the comparison chart). Good idea to describe the color of this ink in terms of its similarities to other inks; regardless of scanner misrepresentations or monitor variation, if you know what one of the other colors mentioned looks like, you can still get an idea of this particular ink.

 

Unfortunately for me, I'm not into blues. I might check the site to see if anyone has done a similar comparison with browns, though.

 

Nice one!

 

t!

[southpaw]

Very nice review! The comparisons are a big help, as are the close-ups. The Namiki cart that came with my VP is sitting in a cup on the shelf - along with a bunch of other carts I've never touched. I prefer it straight from the bottle - ink, that is . Thanks for the neat review - some good formatting that all of us should consider when doing ink reviews.

[Roger]

Good job, Yuri. Like all good reviews, it requires some thinking. (For me, that is. But, I've never been a fast learner.)

[Apollo]

Nice review, Yuri. I really like the blue tone of Namiki's cartridge ink and I agree about it's similarity to PR Lake Placid Blue. It's one of those "true blue" colours, no hint of violet at all unlike Waterman and Pelikan blue inks.

[Maja]

Excellent review, Yuri

Thanks for posting the comparison picture with the other inks...and the closeups. Much appreciated!

[wimg]

Hi Yuri,

 

Thank you very much for an excellent review. I like the comparison and the close-ups too!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Yuri]

Guys and Gals,

 

thank you all for your warm and encouraging words about my review, that make me eager for another ones ;-)

 

It seems that many of you like close ups and comparison. I just did it because it just best way I found to workaround the problem with monitor/scanner/color/colorspace issues we are meeting here. Everyone has several ink samples, so I just tried to make a reference point out of some well know inks. That way our eyes and brains can easier compensate for lack of proper calibration.

 

As for close ups. I think it helps to estimate better a color of an ink. Looking at small

writing (1-2 pixels) I can not catch nounces of ink color variation, but zoomed writing helps tremedeously.

 

I love reading ink (and not only) reviews here, but not always could get an idea about color, so did what seemed natural to me.

[Goodwhiskers]

I finally put my one cartridge of Namiki/Pilot Blue in my Vanishing Point, on the fine-point nib unit I recently got.

 

This ink is fairly well-behaved on bad paper, with almost no feathering, and with no bleed-through until I try to make it bleed through. This ink does shadow into bad paper, so it's not for two-sided writing on bad paper. It behaves better than Namiki/Pilot Blue-Black and much, much better than Namiki/Pilot Black.

 

Then I water-tested this blue ink. It's impressively water-resistant , like the sibling Blue-Black and Black inks by Namiki/Pilot, just fine for addressing envelopes and packages, and just fine for writing or recordkeeping in environments where accidental water exposure (including work-break beverages) is likely, but I don't know how fraud-resistant this ink is.

 

This ink is also available bottled, in a nicely shaped bottle with a highly useful internal dipping well like Levenger's (and Omas'?). It's medium-priced in bottles.

Edited May 15, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[Dudley]

love the review, always curious about namiki's blue

[Goodwhiskers]

Compared to Noodler's Luxury Blue, Namiki/Pilot Blue is lighter, yet brighter.

 

They behave about the same on bad paper: not bleeding through and not feathering, but shadowing, so they are not for two-sided writing on bad paper except in a dry-writing pen like the Lamy Safari Fine.

 

My driest Safari nib is the Fine, followed by the Broad, then the Extra Fine, and last (medium flow) the Medium :blink: . Your experience with Safari nibs may vary from mine.

[Sparky]

Thank you for the pictures. This ink seems to be the blue that I am looking for. Not too dark, but not a turquoise color. Just a light blue.

 

Does this ink also come in a bottle? Any good source in the States for purchasing this ink on-line? Thanks!

[Larry T]

Hi Sparky.

 

I recently bought a bottle of Namiki blue from Pam at oscarbraunpens.com. It is a nice medium blue, with very good flow. I put the Namiki blue in my Pilot TOW, which tends to write dry, and it works much better than it did with Quink blue-black. I'll try to post a sample tonight.

 

Larry

[Betty]

Wow! Thanks for the reviews! I think Lake Placid Blue looks beautiful

[Larry T]

Sparky, here are the pictures I promised.

 

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/ircameraman/NamikiBlue.jpg

 

Namiki Blue is a nice medium blue without an obvious color cast. Here is a closer view of the ink:

 

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/ircameraman/NamikiBlueClose.jpg

 

The pictures were shot handheld with a flash, but the color looks about right on my monitor. This ink is a great alternative to the super-saturated inks so common today. I think it looks similar to the old Sheaffer Scrip blue, but that's just my opinion.

 

Larry

[sarahfar]

Great work. I really like the Namiki Blue Black and purple. I'm just not big on the Blue, to me it dries out very washed out.

[sobriquet]

Namiki Blue was a color I did not care for at first. I got my first sample of it as a cartridge in my Pilot Vanishing Point.

 

I used other colors for a time including Aurora Blue and Waterman Florida Blue (which I still use but don't always like the purple undertone).

 

Both these inks did not perform very well in my VP; so in frustration I used the cartridge I had saved and the pen worked flawlessly.

 

Then I bought a bottle of Namiki Blue and its tone really grows on you. It's a beautiful color and the ink has a delicate fragrance to it that I like. It's definitely my favorite blue now and I have 3 bottles of it just in case it is ever discontinued.

 

My first bottle (60 mL) is almost finished after 2 years of daily writing with it.

 

It flows very well in every pen I have used it in - including Lamy Accent Brilliant with oblique medium nib; and Lamy Studio with 14K nib.

 

Easy to wash out of a pen it is overall my favorite ink (and I have about 20-30 bottles of others). I like the philosophy of Namiki too. Other makers swamp one with all sorts of fantasy and fanciful color choices. Namiki for a long time had blue and black and that Japanese simplicity and elegance is part of the appeal to me. The bottle is also very cool.

[Gran]

Thanks very much for the review. The comparisons and close-up views are useful!