Hey, I gave my sister a Lamy Safari and she likes to use blue ink. What's a good basic blue with decent fade resistance? The pen may sit for some period of time without being used
I've narrowed it down to
Lamy Blue
Waterman Florida Blue
Noodler's Blue or Ottoman Azure (looks the same to me)

Pelikan is a little too purple for her

Feel free to make other suggestions. (Diamine, etc)

I just got a bottle of Visconti Blue, and really like it. It's a nice bright blue, a bit brighter then Waterman's florida blue.

If you want fade resistance, I can tell you that neither the Lamy nor the Waterman blue has it. Go for Noodler's. She might also like Private Reserve's Lake Placid, which has decent fade resistance (it turns lighter and purple in fade tests but should last if not exposed to sunlight for extremely long periods of time). This is also true of PR American Blue. Ottoman Azure is even more 'tealish' than Noodler's regular Blue. I like both, however.

Waterman's Florida Blue- yeah it isn't water or fade proof, but it really is very well-behaved.

As Nellie pointed out, I'd stay away from Waterman Florida Blue if you want fade resistance. I have used it for years, but stopped because it faded too fast, making the writing unreadable. Personnaly, I have found in PR Midnight Blues the blue I was looking for. Nevertheless, As I only began using it quite recently, I can't tell how it will resist the test of time, but I think it should be better than the Waterman, due to its more saturated nature.

I have recently started using Diamine Sapphire Blue. It has a purplish cast when wet, but quickly dries to a more vibrant, slightly more saturated and intense Florida Blue- lookalike. I haven't tested its resistance to fading, but it has to be better than WM FB.
Best,
David

Of the choices that you listed, I would go with Waterman Florida Blue.

Same here. Fabulous true-blue; however, I only got my bottle today, so I can't speak to fade resistance. (Water resistance is respectable.)

But, somehow, I don't think of Visconti as a "basic" blue. When I free-associate with "basic", Skrip or Pelikan, or Waterman, jumps to mind. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that, as between the first two, Skrip is more fade-resistant. (Based on some bad fading experiences I've had with Pel Blue-Black.)

OK, here's my recommendation for a basic blue: Diamine Imperial Blue. I love this ink. Purplish when wet, dries to a lovely royal blue. Saturation is Goldilocks-just-right. Good water resistance. Never had a fading problem. I say go for it!

You might try Private Reserve "American Blue". It has good color, good fade resistance, a reasonable price, and is readily available.
Ken.

What Nellie said. I like the Lake Placid, though my mom hovered over it and whimpered until I gave it to her.

We're on the same page, I was going to recommend these two inks, and even in the same order.

Lamy Blue
Waterman Florida Blue

Not as fancy, but Quink Blue is a very well behaved and well balanced ink.

Have you considered Aurora Blue? It's not expensive, works beautifully in every pen I've tried it in, and the flow is legendary - a safer bet than Noodler's because Noodler's can be very saturated (and so clogs pens if left undisturbed).

I'm very happy with Diamine Sapphire Blue too, but it doesn't suit universally like the Aurora does. Diamine's other blues are also very good.

Lamy Safaris tend to be no wetter than dry-to-average, and I tend to find that the commonest pen-company-inks (Sheaffer, Waterman, Parker, Lamy, Pelikan etc.) and Diamine look rather insipid and thin via such nibs. More saturated inks look better in such pens, I think, and because they're not wet the slower drying time associated with many saturated inks usually isn't a problem (if it is, dilute the ink a bit with water). For a pure blue, you can't do better than the various blues made by Private Reserve; I especially like Supershow Blue and the somewhat paler Lake Placid. Visconti and Omas aren't quite as saturated as these, but they would work well too.

If Pelikan blue (I assume you mean Royal Blue aka Koenigsblau) is a bit too purple, the same will be true of Lamy Blue and Waterman Florida Blue (and Sheaffer Blue and Parker Blue and Diamine Imperial Blue) - they're all much the same colour (even if not identical).

Simon

I heartily recommend Omas Blue.

Of the blues you mentioned, I'd go with Waterman Florida Blue. Opening it up, I'd recommend Visconti Blue. It's very well behaved and has a bit more intensity than WFB.

If she's looking for basic blue, Sailor Blue.

tom.

Of the basic, washable blue inks, I actually like Sheaffer Skrip Blue best, but it's certainly no darker than Lamy or Waterman Blue, and in a dry-average writer would probably not look too impressive.

Pilot/Namiki Blue might be worth a try - it has no purple in it whatsoever, and is not only fade resistant, but water resistant. I think it's the truest blue I have in my meager collection.

I like Visconti blue as it's darker than Waterman Florida Blue. My ultimate favorite blue is the Noodler's Baystate Blue, but I hear it can stain Lamy's plastic though.

Richard B has a very understandable tretise about ink on his site which boils down to unless you want problems with your pen use only Waterman, Sheaffer or Diamine. So for me as a blue lover all the esoteric suggestions are just that.
Waterman Florida is almost the same color as Sheaffer blue but the Sheaffer is a little less dense, great colors. Diamine has a bunch more choices in blue. No need to go further. I have a wet Sheaffer and the ink by the same name is excellent. In a dryer pen it is not satisfactory. You will need to go to Waterman or Diamine in that order.

The choice is clear: Waterman Florida Blue. It has a nice color, and it's well-behaved.

I respectfully disagree- what I got out of that article was that certain inks are "higher maintenance" than others. I didn't get the impression that inks falling outside of those few brands automatically caused problems. What I took that article to mean was that those brands tended to be lower maintenance than some of the others, but that with proper care and attention other brands could be made to work fine too.

To follow up on this point, and to respond to mercy's previous point, there are (thankfully) many ink brands beyond Diamine, Waterman, and Sheaffer that are safe to use in FP's. Parker inks, for example, are considered by many to be as safe as it gets. I've nver had issues with Lamy, Herbin, Sailor, Pilot, Stipula, etc, etc. I stay away from Noodlers inks for a multitude of reasons, but even saturated inks like those shouldn't pose a problem if the pen is properly cared-for.
Regards,
David

Well said, Ray. That's my understanding as well.

Okay, grabbed some Noodler Blue. Gorgeous looking blue, might keep it for my self. Seems thinner than PR DCSS blue. I don't mind trashing at this Safari, I just dont want it clogging in case I forget to purge it in a month

I have a Lamy Safari and actually like Lamy Blue ink in it a lot. I also love PR American Blue and PR Midnight Blues which is a dark blue than the others. Lashelle

I would agree with this statement; however, i have a bottle of Hero blue which I like slightly better than Florida Blue. I got it from Dan Reppart at the Dallas Pen Show last fall, with a Hero pen, for $15 total. I have not found a source of just Hero ink which is not overseas, with the shipping more expensive than the ink. So, Waterman is probably the best choice, imho.

Donnie

Hi Garageboy

I don't know how old is your sister. But if she's a young girl its preferable a washable ink, like Florida Blue (not only washable, but also a nice blue). If not, try the Blue Night of Caran d'Ache too, a very nice dark true blue (not blue-black).

I love Waterman Florida Blue but it has zero fade resistance.

My choice would be Parker Quink Blue-Black, good ink, nice blue, low maintenance, readily available, picked up some Quink at Staples the other day.

One cause of the fading of the pen brand blue inks fade is that the sulfur in most types of wood-based paper (left over from the production process) changes the dye molecules over time. Some types have more sulfur than others.

For "washability" in a blue ink, the pen brand inks come out with soap and water or even plain water. Most Diamine and Private Reserve colors come out easily too (among PR blues: especially American Blue). The completely non-waterproof, non-"Baystate" Noodlers blues come out easily with stain removers.

Are you saying that Parker Quink inks do not fade? That has not been my experience.....

Correct. I would add that I've used Noodler and PR inks, both diluted and undiluted, in cheap Lamys and, since I don't use them regularly the ink has often sat in them unused for quite a while (i.e., I've given these higher maintenance inks far less maintenance than they may warrant). I've experienced no problems at all.

Simon

I've done the same, although it depends very much upon the specific pen. Some pens are resistant to drying out and are much better for these "high maintenance" inks that those which tend to dry out more quickly.

Maybe the cause of the fading of the Waterman Blue-Black ink, among anothers blue inks.

I hated the Lamy blue. I thought it was really washed out, and for being such a light color, it bled through the page. YMMV.

Lamy blue would be my recommendation from the listed inks. It works nice with a wet nib but is very light from a dry writer.

Other inks I use a lot are Visconti blue for a true blue and both Diamine blues (Imperial blue and Sapphire blue). Both are nice colours with a slightly purple tinge and very good flow. My go to ink for any dry writer.

Waterman blue or blue black fades too much for my taste. Same with Quink though I like a 1:1 mix of Quink blue and Quink blueblack.

Got a sample of Lamy Blue today
Even more purple than Pelikan Royal, which is more purple than Waterman

Guess I'll stick with Waterman as my basic

Waterman Florida Blue.

I have used it all my life and my writing did not fade. Homework, essays, letters were composed; classes, lectures were transcribed; forms and signatures were filled out on all sorts of paper except the cheapest kind. And it works!

The price is right, it is really reliable (I test all my pens with it) and ink all my blue pens with it (note, I have yet to see a dark blue pen I did not like).

The shape of the bottle allows you to get the last drop or close to it.

It can be found widely. Even as cartridges and sometimes bottles along with Waterman Phileas in the big box office stores in case one is stuck in the wild with no more ink.

It is also erasable.

Edited to say, it washes well too!