I have seen some questions lately asking what the closest ink is to Waterman Blue which doesn't fade. My answer: Visconti Blue

As you can (hopefully) see, the Visconti ink is much more vibrant, but looks similar to Florida Blue. When the Florida Blue was wet, I could barely tell the difference. I purposely waited about half and hour before I scanned this so that the faded Florida Blue could be shown.

Sorry about the handwriting.
The colors look pretty much spot-on looking at my monitor, but this is by no means a top quality scan.

P.S. Sorry, I used different pens, but I couldn't bare using one color and then washing, waiting, and filling again. I have used the Florida Blue in the Pelikan and it looks the same as it does coming out of the Phileas.

Hope you enjoy!
Click to view attachment

Sorry it may be my PC, but I can't see the attached file with the inks. Maybe a computer glitch?

I can not see the attachment either.
Could you repost this?
I was thinking I should give the visconti blue a try just yesterday.

I use both inks, and I don't think they are the same shade of blue. The Waterman has a bit more of a purple tone than does the Visconti. If I were to compare the Visconti to a more traditional ink, it would be Sheaffer rather than Waterman. I also think the Visconti is similar to PR Lake Placid.

Sorry , photo is back now.

Click to view attachment

BTW, I wasn't trying to show a "traditional" equivalent to Visconti Blue, I was trying to suggest a lightfast more saturated alternative to Florida Blue, not a perfect alternative, but fairly close.

Hi I am very new here,
And I was wondering....How long is it still "safe" to use a bottle of Ink?
I have about 8 bottles of ink,And a whole bunch of Cartridges.
Should the bottles be shaken before useage? Do they "go bad" ?
I hope this does not sound like a stupid question.
Thanks, MM

Great Scan! Thanks for the reviews of the two inks.

I have been thinking about picking up a bottle of the Waterman Flordia blue.

Classic

You will find many people here who use inks which are from the 60' and 70', so if stored properly, bottled inks seem to fare pretty well. Some colors have better longevity than others. If there is any slime, sludge, or mold in a bottle, it should be thrown out. If you have inks which you have bought in the past couple years, and you store them in the right conditions (dark, cool, place), I doubt that any of them will "go bad" before you use up all the ink.

Cartridges, however, will dry up. I really don't have any personal experience with them, but they evaporate over time. Use 'em before they disappear. One of the reasons why I prefer bottled inks.

Most inks should not have to be shaken, because technically there aren't any solid components, so there would be nothing to mix. Some Noodler's inks are an exeception, however, and there can be a very distinct difference between shaken and non-shaken Noodler's. So, shake Noodler's, don't worry about the rest.

Don't worry, this is definately NOT a stupid question.

Thanks!

I say go for it. It might fade, but in my experience it stays easily readable. It really is beautiful when wet, too bad the color can't stay that way. It's also one of the best behaved and "safest" inks out there.