Royal Blue - Pelikan 4001®

[visvamitra]

The 4001 ink is a well-established brand by Pelikan from the very first beginning of the company. It was first mentioned in a price-list from 1897 and proved its worth within all the years. Ink 4001 was registered as a number only, during years there was plenty of colors on the market. However in recent years the line didn't change at all. Happily Pelikan decided to invest not only in Edelstein line but also in 4001 (much cheaper) line and introduced new ink (Dark Green) in january 2016. You may find it interesting that Pelikan 4001 are the only inks that can be bought practically in every B&M store in Poland.

At the moment the line consists of

1. Blue - Black
   
2. Brilliant Black
   
3. Brilliant Brown
   
4. Brilliant Green
   
5. Brilliant Red
   
6. Dark Green
   
7. Pink (cartridges only)
   
8. Royal Blue
   
9. Turquoise
   
10. Violet
    

Royal Blue is a friendly, boring blue that does nothing to attract attention. It's cheap and average. I know that it still sells well but I'll never be able to understand why would anyone want to use something that boring. And please don't tell me anything about business setting. I just don't buy it.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Oxford, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Comparison

[Old_Inkyhand]

I've had a few cartridges of 4001 Blue, but they must have been faulty. After a few hours they would fade dramatically, not to mention the colour change within a few days - they would turn grey.

[fplover01]

4001 royal blue is primarily a school ink. It is erasable and easy to clean, doesnt need any particular care and is a safe ink for all pens. and it is cheap. These are its most valuable properties which make it a classic. but there is nothing spectacular about it. I always choose the Lamy Royal Blue over it, which is a touch deeper and less school like.

 

In my opinion, it is inappropriate as a business ink since it is not at all permanent (apart from personal drafts). Pelikan Blue Black would be an ideal business ink. Permanent, neutral and serious colour, And not fully black (I recently tried to sign something with a black ink and the folks wanted another colour, to make sure that the "original document is to distinguish from a copy", and I obliged to use my M800 and 4001 Blue Black).

 

However the ink wont disappear on its own, unless it is exposed directly to sunlight over a period, or to moisture. I have old notes written with Pelikan Royal Blue whichsurvive nicely after 5 years.

 

In general I use royal blue inks (Lamy and R&K) only for putting down thoughs and drafts. I turn to blue black for permanence.

Edited March 10, 2016 by fplover01

[proton007]

I used plenty of Royal Blue in school. The color is a neutral blue, and it suits any state of mind...especially when one is unable to makeup their mind about choosing from all the other more 'exotic' colors.

 

The 4001 colors are standard no-brainers, that's why I like this line of inks.

Edited March 11, 2016 by proton007

[The Good Captain]

Another great review of a wonderful, standard ink. Marvellous.

[Tas]

Strange one this.

 

I bought a bottle after watching this mesmerising clip

 

 

I love watching the actual colour change but don't like the colour it changes into.

[titrisol]

Royal Blue is indeed very old and classic Plain vanilla maybe, inappropritate I do not know.

I still have a good connection emotional with this color, it birngs back childhood memories of when my mom used to buy big bottles of it for us to refill our pens. Besides. it was a great color to use with the tinten-killer markers that we could buy at the German school

It does fade depending on the paper and the storage ocnditions, I was amazed to see some of my high school notebooks (late 80s) survived quite nicely until 2010, when my mom moved out of the house. She had kept them in boxes, and depending on the notebook quality some had become gray and some were lively and blue.

 

I just bought some cartridges of it, plus a bunch of generic blue cartridges.

[Jackokun]

Thank you for the review, I have a bottle of this one and yes, I also thought of it as nothing special, I think it has been sitting around unattended for sometime and I dont see that changing soon

[Sasha Royale]

Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue works reliably in every fountain pen, from 1922 Parker Duofold to the LAMY 2000. It is safe in vintage fountain pens. I like the Pelikan Königsblau. Yes. I'm boring. I watch antenna television. My cellphone has no camera. I collect fountain pens. (Yawn !)

 

Can you not see beauty in a creation that is simple and enduring ?

 

(. . . and when the ink runs low, tip the bottle.)

Edited March 12, 2016 by Sasha Royale

[Tas]

 

Can you not see beauty in a creation that is simple and enduring ?

 

 

The way things are going with me, give me a year or two and I'll be swooning all over it.

 

(Just fallen in love with Diamine Indigo after ignoring it for what must be three years )

[Iittala]

The quintessential school ink!

We weren't allowed to use any other ink in elementary school. Because it never caused any problems in any pen and was easy to clean when it got on the school benches or on our clothes. Plus, as titrisol already mentioned, you can buy these tinten-killers that let you erase this ink and correct your mistakes. That was a good thing when we were kids

I find it a deadly boring colour though and I have never used it again since then.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for yet another Ink Review.

 

P4RBl is an only too common ink, which speaks to its very high degree of reliability and performance.

 

I consider it to be a 'stealth' ink,which goes unnoticed, so the reader reads what's written without distraction. And it may well be the case that the author also is not distracted - let's use whatever pen+paper combo is to hand, then get on with writing.

 

P4RBl is also Washable, and errors may be corrected with A Pelikan Pirat or similar implement.

 

It is also very easy to clean-up with plain water, so those who have pens with complex plumbing (e.g. Vacumatic, Snorkie, Visconti Power Filler) may choose to use P4RBl; and even if some inky residue remains after clean-up, it will not leave a persistent deposit that degrades a pen's performance.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited March 12, 2016 by Sandy1

[Witsius]

I like 4001 Royal Blue for my M200 with a gold nib. The pen is a gusher, and Pelikan inks in general work great in that pen. The 4001 Royal blue is pretty boring, but no more so than a Parker ball point blue. I'm pretty much a blue or black ink person. Black is my primary ink, but when I want a change of pace, I go for blue or occasionally even brown. Oddly, Lamy blue doesn't flow as well as 4001 Royal Blue in any of the pens I've tried them both in.

 

I'm over trying to find exciting color, and I just want colors that work reliably. This ink fits the bill when I'm the mood for blue ink.

[PS104]

Interesting to watch the development of this thread, from Vismanitra's Royal Blue bashing to the rounds of kudos from good memories and reliability of the ink in various pens and the turning away from eye-blinding colors of recent inks.

[Tas]

You mean . . .

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_pelikan%20_royal_blue_joke.jpg

 

(Just kidding. I filled my Warever with some after visvamitra's post and am quite enjoying it again.)

[grainweevil]

I'm not exactly a fan of this ink either, but I appreciate its place in the range of ink requirements. Sometimes only this will do, and for some reason my Serwex Special 101 absolutely thrives on it.

[Abner C. Kemp]

One of the nice things about this ink is that you can purchase a Pelikan ink eradicator and erase/correct any mistakes. Personally I enjoy MB Royal Blue a bit more but I own a bottle of this and like it well enough.

[Dickkooty2]

Strange one this.

 

I bought a bottle after watching this mesmerising clip

 

 

I love watching the actual colour change but don't like the colour it changes into.

Absolutely fantastic. William & Son know their customers and their products. For a more complete look at their mini-films:

 

https://www.facebook.com/williamandson/

 

Click on '2015' and scroll down to 25 December. Menu of films is at the end of the first one as a series horizontally at the bottom of the screen indicated by < film film film >

[Nibasaurus]

The royal blue always seemed too washed out for me to use on a daily basis. It is kind of pastel. Appropriate for Easter time.

[mehandiratta]

i dont like this ink... it fades too quickly