Pr American Blue Vs Electric Dc Blue

[overlander]

How do Private Reserve American Blue (Fast Dry) and Electric DC Blue compare? They seem very similar, but would either of them be better (even slightly) for schoolwork? I have tried samples of both, and i'm having trouble deciding which one to buy a bottle of.

[ac12]

Sounds like you should get both

I remember a saying "when in doubt, get both."

[sadiemagic]

How do Private Reserve American Blue (Fast Dry) and Electric DC Blue compare? They seem very similar, but would either of them be better (even slightly) for schoolwork? I have tried samples of both, and i'm having trouble deciding which one to buy a bottle of.

I have and use both inks. Compare in what way? Not sure what you mean by "better for schoolwork." Is it an issue of paper?

 

I find Electric DC Blue to be darker than PRAB-fast dry.

[overlander]

Are there any differences in permanence on paper or difficulty in maintainance (is one more prone to staining, or is one harder to clear out)?

[truncated]

I have had Electric DC Blue smear on the page days/weeks later. It's on my poop-list now, that' just unacceptable and weird.

[carlos.q]

I have had Electric DC Blue smear on the page days/weeks later. It's on my poop-list now, that' just unacceptable and weird.

You can try diluting the ink with a bit of distilled water...

[BiggieD]

I have had Electric DC Blue smear on the page days/weeks later. It's on my poop-list now, that' just unacceptable and weird.

I've had the same experience with PRAB-FD. In a Rhodia notebook it still smears after 2 months. Love the color but my bottle sits unused because of this.

[carlos.q]

I've had the same experience with PRAB-FD. In a Rhodia notebook it still smears after 2 months. Love the color but my bottle sits unused because of this.

Don't let good ink go to waste. Dilution is your friend for these supersaturated inks:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/171748-ink-dilution-recipes/?p=1720301

[mhosea]

I have had Electric DC Blue smear on the page days/weeks later. It's on my poop-list now, that' just unacceptable and weird.

 

It's not weird enough, apparently, because a lot of these highly saturated inks are capable of that sort of thing. What's strange is that they don't always do it. I've tested PR Electric DC Blue on Tomoe River, watched it dry, and then rubbed it to be sure. No smear/smudge. My guess is that in pens that don't seal very well, they become over-saturated in the feed, and that this over-saturated state is somehow the problematic one. Why that should be, I don't know, but when they get that way, you can look at them at an angle on Tomoe River paper and see that they're still liquid.

[truncated]

I use PR and Noodler's almost exclusively, Electric DC Blue is the only one I've ever had a problem with. Not worth it, IMO, to fiddle with when other blues are out there.

[overlander]

i haven't had any problems at all with either in both a lamy vista and a jinhao x750 on a variety of cheap notebook/copy paper. The dry time for both is under 5 seconds on the lamy and under 10 on the jinhao (mine is pretty wet). I didn't know that different pen/paper combinations could have such drastic changes for an ink's properties!

 

BTW. thanks for the suggestions, i've ordered a bottle of PR Electric DC Blue. Can't wait to get some other inks in the future!

[mhosea]

I use PR and Noodler's almost exclusively, Electric DC Blue is the only one I've ever had a problem with. Not worth it, IMO, to fiddle with when other blues are out there.

 

There have been quite a few threads about this or that ink never drying, and no one manufacturer has been the catalyst for all of them. Diamine, Noodlers, Private Reserve, even J. Herbin. They've all been blamed, and generally the evil ink of the day performs perfectly for several other people. Blaming the one ink is all well and good until somebody shows up complaining that an ink you've never had trouble with "never dries".

[inkstainedruth]

 

It's not weird enough, apparently, because a lot of these highly saturated inks are capable of that sort of thing. What's strange is that they don't always do it. I've tested PR Electric DC Blue on Tomoe River, watched it dry, and then rubbed it to be sure. No smear/smudge. My guess is that in pens that don't seal very well, they become over-saturated in the feed, and that this over-saturated state is somehow the problematic one. Why that should be, I don't know, but when they get that way, you can look at them at an angle on Tomoe River paper and see that they're still liquid.

Someone had a pen filled with DC Electric Blue at a pen club meeting I was at a while back, so I tried it (sorry, I'm not finding the page with test writing, so I don't know now what the pen was). And I found that it smudged after a *month* on Tamoe River paper. DCSSB was also smudgy on Tamoe River paper. Which was a severe disappointment, because it's a beautiful color. Other inks were fine with no smudging when dry, including, IIRC, other PR inks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mhosea]

Someone had a pen filled with DC Electric Blue at a pen club meeting I was at a while back, so I tried it (sorry, I'm not finding the page with test writing, so I don't know now what the pen was). And I found that it smudged after a *month* on Tamoe River paper. DCSSB was also smudgy on Tamoe River paper. Which was a severe disappointment, because it's a beautiful color. Other inks were fine with no smudging when dry, including, IIRC, other PR inks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I'm not the only one who thinks this isn't just about one or two inks, rather about something that happens to the inks:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/257869-noodlers-golden-brown-smudges/?p=2854023

 

Actually, I wonder if samples aren't more likely to do this. I had problems with PR Ebony Blue after awhile. Anyway, here's Private Reserve Electric DC Blue on Tomoe River paper. It's not a fast dry ink on that paper by any means. The writing from the fresh bottle seems a little lighter in color, and it dried faster (I could see that I didn't need anything close to 2 minutes, whereas with the first one I was glad to have the full time).

 

BTW, there is writing on the sheet underneath. This is what is showing up in some of the white spaces.

 

Edited May 22, 2014 by mhosea

[FountainPenCowgirl]

I got only as far as a sample of American Blue, as the color didn't strike me as anything special. Electric was a different story. Color pops off the page, using both bottle and cartridge. Also, the sheen is terrific. Not top of my blue list, but a delightful option.

 

Haven't encountered smudging so far, though I don't tend to gravitate to some of the smoothest paper options others tend to prefer.

[Chairman Miaow]

I've not tried the Electric DC Blue but I can vouch for American Blue. In fact, I'm onto my second bottle and am contemplating another bottle of the fast dry. I used American Blue in my final years of uni and in some important exams, and it served me well when I started to work as well. It's a perfect blue colour - gorgeously rich and pure, draws your eye, but never exhausting to read.