Replicant Inks

[antichresis]

The title is inspired by the new Blade Runner 2049 trailer and the question by The Grand Tour's passing exhibit of Enzo Ferrari's purple ink: Which current (modern?) inks intentionally replicate or simulate lost or discontinued inks?

 

This is an attempt to have a comprehensive list (like the Sailor ink thread) as the ones I'm aware of are mostly Noodler's inks and were brought up in an old thread here.

1. Noodler's Dark Matter - unknown ink from Los Alamos
2. Sailor Bungbox Sapphire - Parker Penman Sapphire (there's a whole lot of literature of course on which inks replicate PPS, but this is the one that I remember was intentional and not circumstantial)
3. Noodler's V-Mail series
4. Noodler's Borealis Black - Aurora Black (which is still manufactured)
5. Noodler's Boston Brahmin Black - replica
6. Noodler's Ellis Island Blue-Black - early 1900s government-issue blue-black
7. Noodler's Blue-Black - 1930s blue-black
8. Noodler's Manhattan Blue - "the color of the deepest blue vintage 1931 NYC ink"
9. Noodler's Antietam - "The Oldest Vintage Replica Ink"
10. Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng
11. Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia - whale sepia
12. Noodler's Galileo Manuscript Brown
13. Noodler's Legal Lapis
14. Noodler's Baystate Blue
15. Diamine Poppy Red - Montblanc Corn Poppy Red (which is still manufactured)

 

 

I might as well ask since we're on the topic of whether Rick Deckard is a replicant: being aware of government restrictions (and multi-government restrictions) as well as economical availability of ingredients being a large deterrent on companies using the same formula or recipe, does anyone have a guess as to which inks have retained their colour/shade the longest?

 

For example, Quink Blue-Black is a far cry from the old Quink Permanent Blue-Black with Solv-X (sorry, I like typing the long name out), which inks aren't like that?

 

edit: English

Edited December 24, 2016 by antichresis

[lapis]

Getting into poppies, you might want to include De Atramentis' Poppy Red which is also older than MB's.

[Uncial]

I presume the Bungbox Sapphire is also First Love? If not, then First Love should be added as a PPS replicant.

[Barkingpig]

I believe Bung Box's "Tears of a Clown" was intended to be replicant of Parker Penman Ruby.

 

I can't remember which Bung Box Brown was supposed to be Mocha, but having bought 6 of them, I don't see a clear example of PP Mocha among mine.

[inkstainedruth]

When I was trying to match the unknown blue-black ink that flushed out of an Esterbrook, I ended up with a bottle of Diamine Denim (for the color) and a bottle of Noodler's Manhattan Blue (for the shading) and was told that NMB was trying to emulate the old Carter's Blue-Black ink from the 30s and 40s. Not sure if that's actually the case: someone sent me some of the Carter's Midnight Blue last year, only I can't tell whether or not it's been reconstituted. It's not bad as is, mind -- I have it in a Parker Vacumatic at the moment. It's just not the same color as Manhattan Blue.

The modern Sailor Jentle Four Seasons inks were supposed to be replicants for the discontinued ones. I never had Epinard, so I can't say about Tokiwa-Matsu. But I *do* have a bottle of Sky High, and a sample from a friend of Grenade. And I can say for sure that Souten and Oka-yama are NOT the same colors -- close, but not an absolute match.

I haven't tested every turquoise ink out there, but I would say that Diamine Turquoise is a reasonably close replicant match to the old Skrip Peacock.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth