Color Of Lamy Blue Black

[bayindirh]

Hello,

 

Since I returned to fountain pens, I'm both using new inks from bottles and also using my Lamy T10 cartridge stock. My primary color is blue-black and I'm using Lamy's blue black cartridges for 6 months or so. I had all the three generations: ones with printed Lamy brand, small Lamy imrprinted cartriges and the large Lamy imprinted cartridges. When I switched to 3rd generation cartriges ink color moved from bluer-black to blacker-blue. It has more gray tones in it. It's darker and a different shade.

 

Ink is not bad. It's the same Lamy ink. Well behaving, very smooth and somewhat dry, but shade is different. All is bought from respected stationaries who are authorized resellers. Any ideas?

 

I cannot do any comparison shots, because all meaningful writings are in my journal and, well...

 

Thanks in advance.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hello Bayindirh,

 

The only change to Lamy b/b that I'm personally aware of, is it apparently used to have iron gall in it, but Lamy removed it because most people don't like inks that have a lot of gall.

 

That switch might have altered the color, but I also think that took place more than 6 months ago. I do know my bottle is supposed to be IG free, (bought from the Goulet's about a year ago).

 

- Anthony

Edited May 26, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[bayindirh]

Hello Bayindirh,

 

The only change to Lamy b/b that I'm personally aware of, is it apparently used to have iron gall in it, but Lamy removed it because most people don't like inks that have a lot of gall.

 

That switch might have altered the color, but I also think that took place more than 6 months ago. I do know my bottle is supposed to be IG free, (bought from the Goulet's about a year ago).

 

- Anthony

 

Thanks for your answer. That's what I'm aware of too. I know that they started to use non-IG blue black formula for the bottles, however the cartridges were supposedly already non-IG since the beginning, so changing to non-IG shouldn't necessarily change the color in this case. The change supposedly happened around 2013 IIRC. However, I think they are fine tuning the ink since every new cartrige generation's ink is better behaving and has more consistent flow.

 

The cartridges I used were always full, no evaporation was present.

 

Nevertheless, I really like Lamy, and their philosophy.

Edited May 26, 2017 by bayindirh

[ParkerDuofold]

Hello Bayindirh,

 

I think you probably hit on it... they're tweaking (improving) the formula as they go along.

 

- Anthony

[antichresis]

Do you have copies of what your wrote? It would be a great resource if you could upload a progressive comparison!

[bayindirh]

Do you have copies of what your wrote? It would be a great resource if you could upload a progressive comparison!

 

 

I've found a correct specimen, I think. The writing reads January 12, 2017 (Thursday). Bottom line is the old ink. It's either 1st or 2nd generation cartridge. Top line, same writing with a 3rd generation cartridge (big Lamy imprint).

 

[bayindirh]

I have more specimens, which show the color variations nicely, but they are on my personal journal; so I cannot take snapshots and put here, will look for other specimens...

[bayindirh]

While working, I've found two examples. Both are well dried, on the same, fountain pen friendly notebook. Here they are:

 

2nd generation (small Lamy imprinted) Lamy b/b T10 cartridge:

 

3rd generation (big Lamy imprinted) Lamy b/b T10 cartridge:

[TSherbs]

I didn't know about this, but I applaud the changes. The color is more to my liking now.

[bayindirh]

I didn't know about this, but I applaud the changes. The color is more to my liking now.

 

Me neither. I loved the old color, but the new one is very nice too. Hope that the bottle I have also is the new color. Will check now

 

Addendum: Yes!

Edited May 28, 2017 by bayindirh

[antichresis]

Thanks for the samples! Hopefully others will chime in and we can figure out some "timeline" of changes. Always interested when manufacturers reformulate without telling us. I wonder if there are distinguishing marks on the cart or the boxes? (doubtful)

 

I too like the colour of the new one. I remember have Lamy Blue-Black (IG) almost a decade ago. It was my first ever bottle of ink and it just didn't work with my Safari (or I couldn't appreciate it). It was soooo watery and I actually left in in the pen for a few days so the ink would get concentrated through evaporation and show-up better. This new one is actually making me consider getting the new reformulation even if 90% of my inks are already blue-black.

[ParkerDuofold]

Thanks for the samples! Hopefully others will chime in and we can figure out some "timeline" of changes...

Hi all,

 

Here's my contribution:

 

- Anthony

 

PS: This is as good as it gets from my smartphone.

Edited May 29, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[bayindirh]

Thanks for the samples! Hopefully others will chime in and we can figure out some "timeline" of changes. Always interested when manufacturers reformulate without telling us. I wonder if there are distinguishing marks on the cart or the boxes? (doubtful)

 

I too like the colour of the new one. I remember have Lamy Blue-Black (IG) almost a decade ago. It was my first ever bottle of ink and it just didn't work with my Safari (or I couldn't appreciate it). It was soooo watery and I actually left in in the pen for a few days so the ink would get concentrated through evaporation and show-up better. This new one is actually making me consider getting the new reformulation even if 90% of my inks are already blue-black.

 

 

You're welcome! I'm not sure whether can I track a 1st gen cartridge's ink in my writings. I'm also interested these types of changes, it adds fun to fountain pen journey.

 

The old non IG (cartridge) formula was somewhat undersaturated. New one is much darker, and like the old one, has its own character. Actually there are changes on both the box and the actual cartridge. Here is what I noticed:

• The cartridge has a big Lamy stamping on it (I plan to post photos later).
• The color of the cartridge representation on the box is slightly less shiny and darker (you need to put boxes side by side to notice).
• The ink color in cartridge and the bottle is more dark and violet-y when inside the container (It somewhat resembles the in bottle appearance of a bad batch of Pelikan 4001 b/b). I look through the bottle's air bubble when it's sideways.

I will also post the photos and barcode numbers of the carts and bottle to provide further information.

[bayindirh]

I still continue to use the new ink and I noticed that its in-pen behavior is different too. Old ink was drying between the nib and feed and was requiring cleaning after two cartridges or so. This ink is much better behaving in this regard. There's no drying and no precipitation for now.

 

Also the color differences are most visible on normal daylight. Halogen lamps, CFLs, etc. make the difference less nuanced.

Edited June 6, 2017 by bayindirh

[Arkanabar]

Well now. This just might do for The Essential Blue-Black, if the stuff currently in bottles looks like the ink in your latest cartridges.

[bayindirh]

Well now. This just might do for The Essential Blue-Black, if the stuff currently in bottles looks like the ink in your latest cartridges.

 

It looks like the new bottles also have the same ink. My cartridges will run out soon. If you wish, I can open a bottle and do a short review.

[TSherbs]

I don't like either color, but I am curious about the discrepancy

[bayindirh]

I don't like either color, but I am curious about the discrepancy

In the older formulation, Lamy had two blue-black formulations. One iron-gall, one non iron-gall. Iron gall inks are bottled and targeted towards more "advanced" users, who know how to take care of their pens, and non-iron gall was filled to cartridges and targeted to more "practical" users.

 

Some time ago, Lamy decided to unify their blue-black ink to non-iron gall formulation, and their non iron gall formulation wasn't very brilliant, which was prone to in-pen drying and clogging, and needed periodic cleaning, etc. It seems like they revised the formula, and it's much more darker while it's easier to maintain and keeping its pure, cold blue-black color with better in-pen and on-paper behavior.

 

I've used a lot of their cartridges (I have a cartridge stock since it was harder to find bottled inks here back then), and can track the differences fairly easily.

 

Hope that helps.