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Intent Of A Blue-Black Ink


max dog

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One of my favorite inks is the current Montblanc Midnight Blue (well behaved, water resistant, shades, and is a true blue-black), but I've heard some criticize it is too black and not blue enough. That's exactly why I like it, it is very dark approaching black, but has that slight blue tinge to differentiate it from true black, which is important when photo copying signatures. A signature in Midnight Blue will have that slight blue tinge to differentiate an original signature from a black photo copy. I think that is why ink companies originally came out with a blue black for that purpose, but I think that idea got a little lost when people criticize a blue black like Midnight Blue for being too black. If you want something more blue, you should get a "dark blue", not a "blue-black" which has a specific purpose.

Edited by max dog
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I would agree with you. Blue-blacks are not my favorite, but they are growing on me. Right now I have a couple and am thinking of getting another. This one looks intriguing, particularly since I also follow the ink's namesake on his expedition:

 

https://nickstewart.ink/2018/07/19/nick-stewarts-randall-a-blue-black-chameleon/

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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If you want something more blue, you should get a "dark blue", not a "blue-black" which has a specific purpose.

 

Thanks. Feel free to stick with blue if that's your preference. I'll go with blue-black. :D Sou- Boku, or Tanzanite. Or ............

Edited by Karmachanic

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Exactly! It's the subtlety. As you say, some "blue-blacks" are more of a bluish black, some a blackish blue. All subjective. Worse yet is the actual naming. "Midnight" is pretty fictitious. One of my all time favorites is S.T. Dupont's BLEU NUIT / DARK BLUE (Réf. 040111). Okay, that one is maybe bluer than black. Unfortunately available (today) only in cartridges. The old MB b-b with IG came in close.

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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Thanks Dr Perfection for the link about Randall inks: https://nickstewart.ink/2018/07/19/nick-stewarts-randall-a-blue-black-chameleon/


"It’s been described by some reviewers as a ‘chameleon’ ink – as it changes tone and colour depending on the nib used and the paper surface chosen,...."

 

The Randall Blue Black ink sounds very interesting, especially with it's ability to adapt to a specific nib config and yield a unique tone and color. It means your line with this ink will be unique from anyone else using the same ink. Among my fountain pens, I have noticed how the line is unique from pen to pen even with the same ink. If this uniqueness can be further enhanced by this ink, that would be great. What better statement of individuality.

Edited by max dog
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Thanks. Feel free to stick with blue if that's your preference. I'll go with blue-black. :D Sou- Boku, or Tanzanite. Or ............

Quite the contrary, true blue black as in the MB Midnight Blue is my preference, not the many blue-black produced that are anything but true blue black.

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When I use a blue-black I want it to "act black but feel blue". It needs to be individual to the writing experience. For example, when I am using it in a signature, I want it black enough to look very professional, but blue enough to be different from the surrounding text. When I am writing with a blue-black, I want it act like a black ink in terms of contrast, but still have that blue edge, and perhaps a touch of blue shading. Yes, even blue-black - perhaps even especially a blue-black - needs to be enigmatic.

"Today will be gone in less than 24 hours. When it is gone, it is gone. Be wise, but enjoy! - anonymous today

 

 

 

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I think that is why ink companies originally came out with a blue black for that purpose...

 

I believe that blue-black inks came out when they added blue dye to iron gall inks. The dye allowed you to clearly see what you were writing immediately (before the permanent iron reaction took place). Its why its called blue-black and not a particular shade of blue. Edited by Trekker
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I started using Sheaffer blue black in the 1950s, and used that and Montblanc and Parker blue blacks since for most writing.

 

I doubt that blue black was introduced to thwart photo copied signatures, because blue black ink has been around before photo copiers were introduced. I don't think blue black fountain pen ink satisfies most people who want a signature in blue. Those people always seem to insist that I use their ballpoint pen. As if I might be using disappearing ink in my ballpoints.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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You guys here are pretty sharp. There is no pulling the wool over anyones eye here. :D

While I don't debate that blue-black inks were around before photo copiers, and the origins of blue black inks may have it's roots to tame iron gall, but nevertheless, modern blue blacks like Midnight Blue are near black as they are for a purpose nowadays in the world of photo copying and distinguishing originals from copies. I've heard of some legal documents are preferred to be signed using a blue ballpoint instead of black just so they can distinguish a signed copy from a photo copy.

 

Pajaro, just for the record, my college diploma were all signed using fountain pens, not ball points. When it comes to ceremonial docs, fortunately for us, fountain pens are still the writing implements of choice. :)

 

I remember back in the days of the Pen Habit, the MB Midnight Blue was trashed because it was too black. Ignorance was bliss for him.

Edited by max dog
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Not all blue-black inks are created equally. I have a bottle of vintage Sheaffer's Blue-Black that tends toward blue and a bottle of Noodler's Air-Corp Blue-Black that tends toward green.

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I still rate Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black as my all-time favourite ink. It certainly isn't near black but just has that something I realyl appreciate. I have many others, all with the same name but none just quite compare.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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I don't think that, aside from permanent/document inks, ink colours are created with a specific purpose in mind. Other than writing of course.

 

There are just a lot of people who like the different shades of blue and blue black. If midnight blue was for that specific purpose, I think MB would market it for this.

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With the advent of color copiers, the best ink to use to differentiate between an original and a copy is one of the glitter inks. The copy wont sparkle.

 

That being said, Id never use glitter ink on legal documents for fear of looking eccentric (or worse).

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I don't think that, aside from permanent/document inks, ink colours are created with a specific purpose in mind. Other than writing of course.

 

There are just a lot of people who like the different shades of blue and blue black...

agreed

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+1 for Randall Blue Black

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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I still rate Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black as my all-time favourite ink. It certainly isn't near black but just has that something I realyl appreciate. I have many others, all with the same name but none just quite compare.

+1...Pelikan 4001 Blue Black is my everyday business, signature ink. It Just has “that something” that i really find appealing. Not too black, not too blue. Nicely saturated, water resistant, dries quickly, well behaved. A bit on the dry side in a lot of pens. Really comes into its own in a nice juicy Pelikan. Hard to find here in the States, but worth the effort.

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With the advent of color copiers, the best ink to use to differentiate between an original and a copy is one of the glitter inks. The copy wont sparkle.

 

That being said, Id never use glitter ink on legal documents for fear of looking eccentric (or worse).

 

:lticaptd:

You're using a fountain pen. That *already* makes you look eccentric.... :D

I started out not liking blue-black inks because I saw them as a weird mashup of blue and black and not being either. But I've come to appreciate them and their diversity both in color and behavior. If I want something that's waterproof to sign checks, I'll use Noodler's 54th MA. If I want something that is gentle on a vintage pen's mechanism, I'll use Waterman Mysterious Blue (although that can, depending on the paper, look almost green :o). If I want an iron gall ink, I have my choices: R&K Salix for staying more blue; Akkerman Ijzer Galnoten for going almost black; and KWZI IG Blue-Black and IG Blue #3 -- both being in between the other two as far as color. If I don't care about water resistance enough to use an IG ink, but still want something really dark (almost more black than blue) I've got Diamine Eclipse, Noodler's Ellis Island and Akkerman Dutch Masters Ruisdael Stormachtig Blauw. If I want a vibrant dark teal blue, I've got Diamine Denim (which has a lot of shading) and Nicki Stew's Randal Blue-Black; for something a bit lighter and slightly more exotic looking, I've got a bottle of MB Tolstoy LE.

And for every day, easy to read restful that doesn't lean too teal (the way a lot of blue-blacks do), my favorite, hands down, is Edelstein Tanzanite.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Almost forgot to mention my second choice after Tanzanite -- vintage Quink Microfilm Black, which has definite blue undertones in the bottle I have, and also has a lot of water resistance. And of course safe for vintage pens for people who worry about super-saturated inks.

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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My favorite blue black is Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. In fact, I keep it in my Pelikan 140. I got the pen in August 2017. Since then, I have had only one fill - maybe two of something else in it. And it has been a while. I have others, but this wins hands down. Of the others I have bottles of, I prefer Diamine Blue Black over Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. May have samples of others, but don't recall what those are.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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I love MB Midnight Blue...One of my go to inks for work. Just the right shade so I know it is not a copy and an original document.

Only complaint is no water resistance. I am going to try Pilot Blue Black.

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