Waterman Intense Black

[Liquidmetal490]

Waterman must have been joking when they named this ink Intense Black. On the positive side, this ink flows well and is highly unlikely to clog or stain a pen. On the negative, however, this ink leaves a lot to be desired in terms of a bold black ink. Of the many blacks inks I've tried and used over the years, this is one of the weakest in terms of color depth. There is a perceptible gray to the color, even on lower quality, more absorbent papers. It certainly has a place in the ink cabinet, but will likely take a back seat to other darker black inks.

 

Rhodia Paper

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Waterman%20Intense%20Black/WatermanIntenseBlackRhodia_zpsa1a7db48.jpg

 

Tops Docket Gold Legal Paper

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Waterman%20Intense%20Black/WatermanIntenseBlackTopsDocketGold_zps641cf586.jpg

[2GreyCats]

Good to know-- thanks!

[lapis]

Thanks, and, you're right. This ink as well as its logically named predecessor is well-mannered but it's hardly any real black. Also, that new name is so silly, just like all of their other renames.

Waterman has -- in this regard -- done a lot of poor and/or unwanted marketing.

[LionRoar]

Thanks, and, you're right. This ink as well as its logically named predecessor is well-mannered but it's hardly any real black. Also, that new name is so silly, just like all of their other renames.

Waterman has -- in this regard -- done a lot of poor and/or unwanted marketing.

 

The new names are trying to capture the EMOTION of writing, because Waterman's marketing department correctly sees that people use fountain pens for the FEELINGS they create rather than because they are practical tools in a world of lightweight notebook computers.

[Liquidmetal490]

 

The new names are trying to capture the EMOTION of writing, because Waterman's marketing department correctly sees that people use fountain pens for the FEELINGS they create rather than because they are practical tools in a world of lightweight notebook computers.

 

Unfortunately for Waterman, the vast majority of people select inks based on criteria such as performance, color attributes (shading, depth of color, etc), and price. Labeling an ink as "intense" or "audacious" or "serenity" or "mysterious" as Waterman has is alone unlikely to convince fountain pen enthusiasts to purchase their ink. The very fact that a complete sub-forum is devoted to thousands of ink reviews on FPN (in addition to the wealth of reviews available at personal blogs and on retail shops such as Goulet Pens) indicates that consumers are interested in performance above any emotions that can be conjured up by the ink's label alone.

 

I also wouldn't underestimate the value of a fountain pen as a practical tool in today's world. Computers are certainly more mainstream than ever before, but paperwork is still the norm for daily office work in many professions and areas of business. Indeed, its perhaps just my experience, but a Lamy Safari fountain pen certainly beats any other pen in that realm.

[LionRoar]

 

Unfortunately for Waterman, the vast majority of people select inks based on criteria such as performance, color attributes (shading, depth of color, etc), and price. Labeling an ink as "intense" or "audacious" or "serenity" or "mysterious" as Waterman has is alone unlikely to convince fountain pen enthusiasts to purchase their ink. The very fact that a complete sub-forum is devoted to thousands of ink reviews on FPN (in addition to the wealth of reviews available at personal blogs and on retail shops such as Goulet Pens) indicates that consumers are interested in performance above any emotions that can be conjured up by the ink's label alone.

 

I also wouldn't underestimate the value of a fountain pen as a practical tool in today's world. Computers are certainly more mainstream than ever before, but paperwork is still the norm for daily office work in many professions and areas of business. Indeed, its perhaps just my experience, but a Lamy Safari fountain pen certainly beats any other pen in that realm.

 

It is doubtful that the super-enthusiasts who post on this forum represent the typical person who purchases fountain pen ink.

 

And regardless of whether a fountain pen is a nicer writing experience than other writing instruments (I think so, but we are clearly in the minority you know), it's a luxury item that's not necessary for office work, and perhaps may even be less practical for the very limited amount of writing down in an office compared to a good disposable pen like a Pilot Precise Vx or a uni-ball Jetstream. Thus the new names appeal to the EMOTIONS of luxury-item shoppers.

Edited December 28, 2014 by LionRoar

[Liquidmetal490]

 

It is doubtful that the super-enthusiasts who post on this forum represent the typical person who purchases fountain pen ink.

 

And regardless of whether a fountain pen is a nicer writing experience than other writing instruments (I think so, but we are clearly in the minority you know), it's a luxury item that's not necessary for office work, and perhaps may even be less practical for the very limited amount of writing down in an office compared to a good disposable pen like a Pilot Precise Vx or a uni-ball Jetstream. Thus the new names appeal to the EMOTIONS of luxury-item shoppers.

 

Waterman may very well be trying to appeal to EMOTIONS. Come to think of it, that may be why I bought the ink to begin with. At least as it relates to Intense Black, however, Waterman's problem is that any EMOTIONS conjured up by the label later wildly conflict with the resulting experience. Reading the intense black label, I had images of bold, dark lines flowing from my fountain pen, creating smooth script across my journal pages - quite an EMOTIONAL response and anticipation. My EMOTION after writing with Waterman Intense Black, however, was "this sucks! where's my Heart of Darkness?" The only intense EMOTION afterwards was disappointment, which doesn't bode well for repeat purchases. And if the typical fountain pen user is a luxury item shopper, he or she likely has more than one ink, leading to inevitable comparisons wherein Intense Black doesn't stack up against other inks. For example, Noodler's Heart of Darkness conjures up EMOTIONS of lines that are so black and fierce that if they were any darker matter would collapse into them like a black hole.

[PS104]

Waterman (and others) are apparently living back in the dark ages, ie, BC (Before Computers (and the internet)) in their naming of inks. Word gets out toot sweet about the ink's performance, etc despite their name. Their gambit might have worked 50 years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. NOT TODAY!

[LionRoar]

 

Waterman may very well be trying to appeal to EMOTIONS. Come to think of it, that may be why I bought the ink to begin with. At least as it relates to Intense Black, however, Waterman's problem is that any EMOTIONS conjured up by the label later wildly conflict with the resulting experience. Reading the intense black label, I had images of bold, dark lines flowing from my fountain pen, creating smooth script across my journal pages - quite an EMOTIONAL response and anticipation. My EMOTION after writing with Waterman Intense Black, however, was "this sucks! where's my Heart of Darkness?" The only intense EMOTION afterwards was disappointment, which doesn't bode well for repeat purchases. And if the typical fountain pen user is a luxury item shopper, he or she likely has more than one ink, leading to inevitable comparisons wherein Intense Black doesn't stack up against other inks. For example, Noodler's Heart of Darkness conjures up EMOTIONS of lines that are so black and fierce that if they were any darker matter would collapse into them like a black hole.

 

For the person who has never used boutique heavily saturated and dense inks, they will probably not realize what the Waterman ink is missing.

[Ted_1944]

All of the above comments are true, but I think a lot depends on the way the ink is used. Some of us, use a pen for a few days, then rinse it out and refill with a new color. Fill the pen with Waterman Black, or Blue Black (or whatever they are calling them these days) and you see a pale washed out color.This is especially true if you still have a few drops of water left in the feed. We want to see a rich, saturated color, and all we see is a pale watery mess.

 

But there is another kind of user out there. They don't spend the day writing. They may be a student, or someone else who writes a lot, but isn't as much into the process as they are in the actual matter they are writing. The pen may lay for a few days between uses. It may be half empty for a few days. So the ink can evaporate a bit, in the pen. Keep using a pen like that, and the ink can get a lot darker and thicker. Waterman ink can lay in the pen for weeks, or longer, and still start right up when you start to use it. The nice thing about it is that it's nearly impossible to get that ink to clog a pen. For the casual user, as opposed to fanatics like most of us, this is a great ink.

 

Also, since so many of us use piston fill, or piston fill converters we keep our pens pretty full. But older, squeeze fillers used to hold a few drops of ink, and still leave a lot of air in the bladder. The ink would evaporate and darken a lot faster in those pens.

 

Inks like Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer, etc., are not as saturated as Noodler's and Private Reserve, but for the casual user, they may be better. They certainly are exceptionally well behaved inks. In fact, I have a rather fussy Mont Blanc 144 that was a first anniversary gift from my wife (nearly thirty years ago!), that was a dreadfull writer until a got around to trying Waterman black ink. If you don't clean out the pen too often, the ink becomes a VERY intense black, and makes the pen write like...well, like a Mont Blanc! The difference is stunning.

 

So please, lets all try to be a bit less harsh in our criticisms. Find the ink that works for you, and enjoy it. Share the experience. But for heaven's sake, lets stop slamming the brands that don't work as well for us. Waterman ink has been around for a long time, so there must be people who like it. There are even people who love Parker Quink washable blue!

[CharlieB]

And there is a third kind of user: we who are left-handed and drag our hand over what we have just written, smearing the ink unless it dries really, really fast. We may prefer the rich blackness of Aurora, but we turn to Waterman out of frustration — and it works for us. It has the added benefit of being very easy to clean out of the pen.

[Honeybadgers]

I really do not understand the lamenting on waterman marketing. I don't care what they call their inks, all 3 bottles I have are spectacular, vibrant and exciting colors that shade, sheen, and behave well on all papers for a pittance

 

Even the bottle is a nice, functional design.

 

I'd like to see some new colors or speciasl editions, but as long as waterman keeps making inks just like the ones they sell now, I'll always be a customer

 

Waterman serenity blue is the first blue I recommend to anyone new to fp's. That said, parker quink blue black is a really exciting (it's basically just blue) and well behaved ink

 

As for true blacks, what's wrong with good old noodlers? I like dark matter for the history and the crazy wet flow, and it's an intense, semi bulletproof black.

 

I am also partial to platinum carbon black, but not in any of my piston, bladder, or vac fillers since while it doesn't clog, it is annoying to clean. But it's waterproof, fast drying, absolutely black with a silvery pencil lead sheen.

 

Personally I prefer greys to blacks anyways. Absolute black ink is... boring most of the time.

Edited August 15, 2017 by Honeybadgers