I'm looking for my perfect shade of blue still. (Do you want to see all of the blues I've tried so far? Look here under my list of inks available for trading.)

Of all the inks I have, maybe Diamine Tropical Blue and Swishmix Antigua blue come closest to what I'm looking for. Basically, I'd like a _bright_ blue that is saturated but not too dark. Navajo turquoise, for example, is perhaps the brightest blue I've seen, but it tends heavily towards turquoise. PR DC supershow blue is very nice, but too dark. Noodlers blue is also darker than what I'm looking for, while aquamarine blue is not very bright (it may be light but not bright) and has grey in it.

Diamine tropical blue, on the other hand, is lighter than I'd prefer.

If you have a suggestion (other than I should stop buying blue ink I'd be happy to hear it. Also, I probably have enough ink from which to make a recipe!

Stephen

Maybe you're looking for a fluorescent blue. The only fluorescent FP ink I've seen advertised is Noodler's Firefly, which in a blue blend would make the color greenish, unless the fluorescence can be obtained with only a tiny proportion.

I like Levenger's Cobalt Blue though it may be darker than you prefer.

Andy

Maybe PR Naples Blue,
or the new Diamine Aqua Blue or Mediterranean Blue
http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/diamine/diamine_ink.php
or Noodler's Ottoman Azure

or use Diamine Tropical Blue in a wet writer for saturation (your Lamy 1.1?, like I do), or let it dry to get it darker.

Stephen:

You sound to be in the quest of the perfect shade of blue, just as I am for the perfect shade of brown. So why not try Fountain Pen Inks - A Sampler by Greg Clark otherwise, stop buying blue ink!!!

Hi Stephen,

I'm still looking for my perfect blue, too. The closest that I've tried so far is Lamy Blue when it has been in a pen long enough for some evaporation--but before it becomes too concentrated & smeary. Like you, I'm looking for a saturated, really bright true blue that's not too dark and this seems to be hard to find!

Please post if you find a blue like you've described--and I'll do the same.

Best, Ann

Thanks to all for their suggestions, especially the one to get the ink sampler. For about the price of 4 bottles of ink, well, for me that would save me some money.

And my birthday is at the end of the month.

Now that you all have given me some new ideas, I've updated my ink wanted listing. If you have an ink on my list, I'm the only lister so far offering luxury blue.

Stephen

Stephen, you might want to look at Lake Placid Blue by Private Reserve. It's a nice true blue, close to Penman Sapphire, but not as heavy looking as PR American and DC blues.

Larry

Noodler's new Luxury Blue might be close to your desires. Its only drawback is price!

I already have it (I'm offering it in the ink exchange thread), and actually like it a lot, with the exception of the nib creep. I find it to be a saturated pastel that contrasts nicely on the page. I put Namiki blue in the same category.

But, it's not what I'm looking for here. It tends towards purple and is not bright at all. I suspect that a color like PR Lake Placid blue or Diamine royal blue might be close, but it's hard to tell looking at online ink samples. Noodlers blue, for example, looks much brighter on my computer screen than in real life. If it looked like it does on the screen I'd already be in business.

Actually I could be in business since I have the inventory.

Stephen

Stephen, I think what you may be looking for is Diamine Royal Blue. It's a very vivid royal blue that's otherwise fairly conventional - it doesn't block feeds, smear or feel oily. Lake Placid Blue, mentioned earlier is a Navy Blue. It's a nice example of its type, but not what you are looking for, I think.

Here's the only example of Diamine Royal Blue that I have. The colour is fairly accurate on my monitor, it's perhaps just a little darker in real life. And of course, it goes darker still after a few weeks, owing to evaporation in the pen.

Stephen,

reading the description of what you want as your favorite blue, Levenger Skies of Blue came to my mind. Seems it can fit your bill. I had this ink filled in my pen. It is pretty saturated bright ink, somewhere in between of Diamine Tropical Blue and PR Lake placid Blue. It is little bit thick (in comparison to Skrip or Quinks Blues)) ink and feels close to Levenger Cobalt Blue, which is well known here on this forum, but in my experience without feathering and smudging issues of Cobalt, dries well. If you get a chance, try it. Unfortunately ordering just the ink from Levenger can be pricy with their ridiculously high shipping chargers.

Good luck in your blue ink journey.

Stephen, do you mean Noodler Luxury Blue or Noodler Blue?

I did mean just the regular blue there. I find the scan of luxury blue at Pendemonium to be perfect, but the scan for regular Noodlers blue to be too bright. Also, the scan of Navajo turquoise doesn't show the turquoise that's really evident in the ink. The writing desk's scan is closer, but again not enough turquoise.

RichardS, thanks for digging up the nice photo. That color looks right on the money.

Stephen

NAPLES BLUE PRIVATE RESERVE: this is now one of my favorite colors and inks great shading and look to it, very unique!

Be careful though! I discovered that book becomes a shopping list

Why, Elaine, it IS a shopping list!!! LOL!
I love the fact that I can get the exact colors I need.