Is This Ink Moldy? Brand New Bottle

[gamingoodz]

I just bought this ink about a month ago and used it once so far.

 

This is the first time I have really noticed this in any of my bottles of ink. I reember when I opened the bottle it looked like this but not nearly as bad and thought nothing of it at the time. However, now I just went to use it again and shook it up as I always do opened it up and there are particles floating all over inside and the ink has a pretty rank smell compared to any of my other inks.

 

I just inked up a jinhao with it and the color isn't even the same anymore.

 

Should I throw it away? Can I still use it? Is it actually mold?(I suspect it is)

 

Thanks!

 

http://i.imgur.com/SgFGMZnl.jpg

[Chrissy]

I think it's suffering from 'sitb' and you shouldn't use it in any of your pens. If you haven't cleaned your pen after filling from this ink, you should empty it, remove the nib and feed, and give it a really thorough wash out with soapy warm water before you fill it with any other ink. Otherwise you will spread the infection to your other ink bottles.

[Highbinder]

I would contact PR directly or the retailer you bought from to see if they are able to provide a replacement.

 

I would not use the ink in a fountain pen, but perhaps it could still be of use with a dip pen or brush?

[Sailor Kenshin]

I think it's suffering from 'sitb' and you shouldn't use it in any of your pens. If you haven't cleaned your pen after filling from this ink, you should empty it, remove the nib and feed, and give it a really thorough wash out with soapy warm water before you fill it with any other ink. Otherwise you will spread the infection to your other ink bottles.

This.

 

Plus, contact the seller and let him know. You might be able to get an exchange or refund.

 

I had the exact same 'stuff' floating in a bottle of Everflo True Blue. As much as I liked the color, I had to toss it. I wouldn't even keep it around for dip pens.

[amberleadavis]

I would ask about a refund. If you used it in a pen clean the pen min and feed thoroughly. Even of it isn't a biological life form it can clog your pen.

[Buzz_130]

Don't use it. Before you throw it away, see of you can get a refund or exchange. Of not, toss it.

 

Please clean the pen you used with this ink. Set it aside from the others, and don't fill directly from any other bottles. Give this one a few weeks to make sure that you got rid of the mold.

 

Buzz

[Chrissy]

This.

 

Plus, contact the seller and let him know. You might be able to get an exchange or refund.

 

I had the exact same 'stuff' floating in a bottle of Everflo True Blue. As much as I liked the color, I had to toss it. I wouldn't even keep it around for dip pens.

 

I certainly wouldn't keep ink that had 'sitb' around for dip pens either. What if you used your dip pen in this ink then just wiped it and used it in an uninfected bottle? You still run the risk of cross-contamination.

[amberleadavis]

If they won't refund your money, I would use it for painting and then toss the remains. Don't contaminate pens, they can be miserable to clean. Be sure to look at Sam Capote's thread if you want to try and save the ink.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/171278-biocide-shootout-tests/

[Studio97]

I think it's suffering from 'sitb' and you shouldn't use it in any of your pens. If you haven't cleaned your pen after filling from this ink, you should empty it, remove the nib and feed, and give it a really thorough wash out with soapy warm water before you fill it with any other ink. Otherwise you will spread the infection to your other ink bottles.

I have never seen this before. What is "sitb"? I'm just uninformed.

 

Oh ...Got it. Slime in the bottle.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Studio97

[amberleadavis]

It can be slime or stuff in the bottle. It's not always slime, it can be UFO - unidentified floating objects or USO or unidentified sinking objects, whenever it is that just doesn't look right.

[HalloweenHJB]

This has happened to me several times —and always with Private Reserve inks. For example, I tried several times to get their Dakota Red, and each time I had to return the brand new bottle because of goopy gunk. Recently, I had to throw away a bottle of Vampire Red when it had suddenly turned to a foul greenish-brown. Weird.

 

But on the other hand, their Naples Blue, American Blue, Shoreline Gold and Purple Mojo are wonderful.

[inkstainedruth]

But on the other hand, their Naples Blue, American Blue, Shoreline Gold and Purple Mojo are wonderful.

 

Good to know -- because the first two bottled inks I ever purchased (besides the bottle of Quink Black that came in the package with a Parker Urban set) were American Blue and Purple Mojo. And I gave a bottle of American Blue to my husband's niece when I got her a Parker Vector FP and BP as a graduation present a few years ago (I hesitate to call the pens a "set" because they weren't -- just two pens in the same color, with completely different date codes on them ; the good news is that I filed a dispute and eBay ruled in my favor, but the bad news is that I wasn't allowed to leave feedback on the seller... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[gamingoodz]

Thank you all for replying and letting me know what is going on with my ink..

 

I did contact the shop I bought the ink from and unfortunately they were not very helpful. I asked if they could replace the bottles and they are apparently not selling Private Reserve inks anymore so they don't have the same colors in. And they didn't offer me any other compensation.

 

They told me sorry and to throw the ink away. Not the most ideal situation for me really to just throw the ink away with nothing to show for it though.

 

Shame I really love the two ink colors I got in this order. The Cadillac green is an amazing looking ink and man I like that ink but it has mold growing in it also, not nearly as much as the Chocolat though so maybe I can salvage it somehow. I read a thread about using biocides to stop the mold growth like phenol but that is quite a bit of work for a $8 bottle of ink. It just feels like such a waste to throw these 2 bottles away and also be out of the money I spent on them. Not only that but I think it may have infected some of my other inks.

[amberleadavis]

Gaming Goodz, you don't need much phenol, just a few drops and if you have infected your other inks or your pens, I'd buy the bottle. I bought mine here: http://www.naturalpigments.com/phenol.html If you know other pen users, you might be able to share (with almost a hundred people ). It can be used to clean your paint brushes and other stuff. Also the strength from Natural pigments is not so much that it is dangerous.

[gamingoodz]

Gaming Goodz, you don't need much phenol, just a few drops and if you have infected your other inks or your pens, I'd buy the bottle. I bought mine here: http://www.naturalpigments.com/phenol.html If you know other pen users, you might be able to share (with almost a hundred people ). It can be used to clean your paint brushes and other stuff. Also the strength from Natural pigments is not so much that it is dangerous.

 

Hmm thank you for that link. One of the reasons I didn't want to go through with it was finding some of the stuff and not knowing exactly what to buy.

"If you know other pen users, you might be able to share (with almost a hundred people )." Want to send me some then? haha j/k

 

I think I might buy a bottle of that to try and salvage the inks that "might" be infected to just to be safe. I'm not sure I can do anything about the Chocolate as it is really rank smelling and the color has changed also.

[Tashiea]

I know that we're talking about "stuff in the bottle," but out of curiosity, is it even possible and/or common for ink to actually get moldy? How would this happen?

[amberleadavis]

It's actually fairly rare with some exceptions - when J Herbin changed water, an entire series of inks went bad - when PR changed biocide (at least that is what I have heard) - when Blackstone first got started and the biocide didn't mix in properly, when De Atramentis had some problem with the orders that shipped to the US (and Sam Capote did his experiments). Since these issues happened in bulk, the problem appears frequent, but I have only had one ink develop STIB (it was an experimental ink) and I have hundreds of bottles.

 

NOW, there is one other exception, some of my pen pals had multiple bottles from different manufactures develop mold even in sealed bottles. Those pen pals (as it turns out), had mold in their homes and the ink was like the canary in the mine, it was an early warning. The one ink that I had go bad was at my home and I did have mold (even in the desert).

 

So, to answer your question, and this is in my experience,

 

Mold happens when the ink does not have enough biocide and the ink is exposed to the spores.

 

I hope that helps. We have chemists, physicists and biologists who can tell you a lot more and do so more eloquently.

[ErrantSmudge]

I did contact the shop I bought the ink from and unfortunately they were not very helpful. I asked if they could replace the bottles and they are apparently not selling Private Reserve inks anymore so they don't have the same colors in. And they didn't offer me any other compensation.

 

They told me sorry and to throw the ink away. Not the most ideal situation for me really to just throw the ink away with nothing to show for it though.

 

Could you share the name of the shop that told you this? If it's an online shop, I'd like to know. That's very poor customer service.

Edited January 31, 2017 by ErrantSmudge

[LindaM]

Contact Private Reserve directly. After reading your post I got motivated and checked all my bottles -and one bottle of PR Burgundy Mist, never used, had white fuzzy clumps growing on the top. They are sending me a new bottle this week.

[gamingoodz]

 

Could you share the name of the shop that told you this? If it's an online shop, I'd like to know. That's very poor customer service.

 

I don't want to be rude and put their name out there publicly but I will PM you, it is an online shop.

 

Contact Private Reserve directly. After reading your post I got motivated and checked all my bottles -and one bottle of PR Burgundy Mist, never used, had white fuzzy clumps growing on the top. They are sending me a new bottle this week.

 

Thanks, I will contact them then. I didn't think they would be very willing to do anything about it but sounds like they stand by their products. I always did like Private Reserve inks a lot its a shame they have mold issues and they are not as popular as other brands. The colors themselves are amazing. And I like the simple small shop feel of them. Wonder if they ever considered changing biocides.