Cross New Blue-Black Impressions

[visvamitra]

A.T. Cross Company was founded in 1846 by Richard Cross in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Cross is the oldest manufacturer of quality writing tools in America. Personally I ws never interested in their pens and inks. However yesterday during Pen Hub in Poland I had a chance to fill a pen with their new blue/black ink. As I had only one solid fill it won't be review, more my impressions after using 1 ml of ink.

 

New inks come in 2oz (62.5ml) elegant glass body with a custom cap embossed with the new Cross lion logo. The new squared-off corners of the cap makes for easier gripping when opening and closing the bottle. The new bottle looks interesting. Forgive me the quality of pictures but they were taken with smartphone.

 

What I find interesting is information on the back of the label that the ink is Made in China. I wonder which company makes it for Cross? Anyone has some insights to offer?

New inks are available in six colors:

 

1. Black
2. Blue
3. Blue/Black
4. Green
5. Red
6. Violet

 

Blue/Black isn't nad. When it's wet it looks almost purple and when it dries it becomes nuanced blue/black. Not most nuanced mind you but still it leans toward purple. I can't say if the ink behaves well because as I've mentioned I had one fill of it (on the other hand my lever-filler Doring takes qiote a lot of ink). The things I observed are as follows: the ink flows well in wet pen, decently in dry pen (Platinum Preppy 0,2). It doesn't cause bleedthrough but on some papers it may cause feathering (Leuchtturm).

 

As for the archival properties mentioned on the label, well, after soaking the ink will be still legible but the color will fade.

 

 

 

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Tomoe River, Wahl-Eversharp Doric, M

Leuchtturm 1917, Wahl-Eversharp Doric, M

Oxford, Wahl-Eversharp Doric, M + Platinum Preppy 0.2 mm

[Tas]

Thanks for this. I noticed the new bottles in a store yesterday but wasn't sure if they'd changed the contents.

 

Still not special enough to make it, even into my extensive blue black stable. Nice sheen though.

 

I adore the 0.2mm Preppy

[ian1964]

Thank you, very interesting.

[gylyf]

Meh . Thanks for the review, Vis!

[fabri00]

If it change color in paper, it might be irongall.

And from your description it behave similar to pelikan blue-black, which is also iron-gall.

I have no confirmations, but it might be produced from Pelikan .......

[Nikaa]

Vis thanks for impressions.

 

I filled my Montblanc with this ink. Immediately I noticed a huge difference - perfect flow . Earlier in MB I had Noodlers Ottoman Azure. It was fine, but now nib glides smoothly across the paper, and writing is an even greater pleasure!

I'm curious also, is it iron-gall... I could be...

Edited September 18, 2016 by Nikaa

[visvamitra]

Well the ink is described as Made in China (as visible on the back of the bottle), so I don't think the secret maker would turn out to be Pelikan

[visvamitra]

@Nikaa - if you find time (one thing that is seriously lacking recently), I would enjoy to see your photos And thank you for this sample

Edited September 18, 2016 by visvamitra

[Nikaa]

@Visvamitra - I'll try to take some pictures soon. And I can give you a larger sample of Cross, if you want

[TSherbs]

Maybe made by Hero, but it is a bit grey-er than the Hero version

[Nikaa]

 

[Monbla]

Well the ink is described as Made in China (as visible on the back of the bottle), so I don't think the secret maker would turn out to be Pelikan

The BOTTLE is made in China, it still says "Ink made in Germany" on the box.

[dgcom]

The BOTTLE is made in China, it still says "Ink made in Germany" on the box.

 

I have the box - it is transparent plastic without any labels. Can you post a picture of your box where it say that ink is made in Germany?

[lapis]

Thanks, Vis. I like your review (as always), but I don't like the colour of the ink. I don't find it offensive that it's by no means a blue-black (to my eyes) but it's just a mere chalky lavender-grey. Too dull and boring....

 

Mike

[antichresis]

Thanks, definitely interesting. I hope my local store starts stocking it.

[banjomike]

I've never liked blue-black very much in general; it has always seemed a cold color to me. But for whatever reason, possibly because the Cross does have a purple cast, the blue-black caught me eye when I recently purchased a new nib, and I impulsively bought a bottle.

 

I like Pelikan ink in general; although it's not my favorite, as I tend to favor more intense colors, Pelikan has always been reliable and smooth-flowing. But I never saw the need to buy it with a Cross label on it.

 

I wasn't sure I would like the Chinese-made Cross ink, but it soon became one of my favorites. Nice flow, warm blue-black, excellent water resistance (but not waterproof), very low bleed-through on cheap paper, and very smooth. Quick drying, good smudge resistance. The color saturation is quite good, better than I expected. It's a fairly intense color.

 

The bottle is quite classy for this price range, and a generous size. So far, I have had no problems at all with this ink. All in all, discovering this new ink has been very pleasant for me. I plan to buy it again.

[Brandywine]

Well, it definitely looks like Pelikan, but it can't be Pelikan.

As mentioned before, it is made in China, not Germany.

Then it claims to be "achival ink per ISO standards",

which Pelikan does not claim:

The 4001 Blue-black does contain IG and is to some extent

resistant to water, sunlight and other manipulations, but not to ISO standard.

In former times it was considered safe enough, but not anymore.

(Maybe the ink could meet the standards,

but Pelikan doesn't want to pay for the certification process?)

After all: To meet the ISO standard the ink does not have to be bulletproof,

it may change its looks, it just has to stay readable!

 

This ink would be interesting to me, but I haven't seen it here so far.

On the contrary:

Just yesterday I saw Cross ink in the old fashion (Pelikan-shape glass),

claiming to be made in Germany. Probably still old stock?

Or does Cross still get its ink from Pelikan for the German market?

That would have been a reason to buy Pelikan ink with a Cross label:

Pelikan Ink was 4,90€ for 30ml, Cross was 7,00€ for 60ml!

[cat]

I tried this ink and it does change color after drying. A lot of people asked if it is iron gall. According to Anderson site, it is not.

 

http://www.andersonpens.com/Ink-Comparison-Tool-s/2529.htm

 

If an ink does change color after drying, does that mean it is iron gall?

[Mr.Rene]

 

 

If an ink does change color after drying, does that mean it is iron gall?

Usually the answer is YES... Blue changes to a kind of Navy Blue and few days or weeks finally Black..this is the reason about name..Blue-Black...

[Brandywine]

....

 

This ink would be interesting to me, but I haven't seen it here so far.

 

Well, as I have said in another thread, too,

I meanwhile have found the new Cross ink on Amazon and Ebay over here.

It was listed as ink from "A.T. Cross", so looking for "Cross" only produced the old version!

But the price made me gasp!

I am rethinking whether I really need this ink when 50ml of Salix is 3,50€ to 5,00€ instead of 19,00€ and more!!

Even Pelikan Edelstein ink is less than that!