Pelikan Royal Blue

[haziz]

Can anyone explain why the color of my Cross blue cartridge is different from the bottle of Cross blue ink I just got in the mail? The bottle ink is quite purple/violet, whereas the cartridge is darker/greyer...more of an ocean blue (on same paper). I love the cartridge color but can't duplicate it in bottle inks. Has anyone else tried Cross cartridges? Do Pelikan cartridges differ from their bottles? (I only post here because everyone says Cross ink IS Pelikan ink.)

Thanks!

 

The consesus is that Cross bottled ink is made by Pelikan (I can personally confirm that as of 2 yrs ago) but the cartridges are made by a different manufacturer.

[funkypeanut]

From the Pelikan website:

"Even accidentally swallowing ink would not harm the average person. We do however warn against consumption as ink is not to be considered as nutrition." <img src="https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

 

I drink diet soda, and I'm sure that it's just as nutritious.

 

Seriously, this has to be one of the all-time great ink lines. It's too bad that I find the ink rather uninteresting.

[P.A.R.]

My bottle appears to be almost identicle in color to Chesterfield Sapphire - considerably more purple than pictured here.

[Laura N]

I'm using this today in a vintage Pelikan. My ink is exactly the color in the first post. I think it's very close to Florida Blue, just darker.

 

I usually use wilder colors, but I'm actually finding this restful.

[RayOski1]

<!--quoteo(post=1211990:date=Sep 3 2009, 07:17 PM:name=Geoff V)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Geoff V @ Sep 3 2009, 07:17 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1211990"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm becoming more convinced over time that the paper on which a given ink is used, more than any other factor, determines the colour of the ink. This is an issue which has been mentioned on this forum many times previously, but never discussed at any length. For example, otherwise sterling papers like HP120 gm Laser and Basildon Bond suck the life out of almost any ink I've used on them. The only papers I've tried which enable inks to retain their vitality are Rhodia, Fabriano's Ingres and Academia, and OCM. In fact, it was only after Rhodia became available in Melbourne that I discovered the true merits of the bottle of Visconti Blue which I had purchased months earlier an put aside due to it's 'lacklustre' performance. I firmly believe that only papers designed with FP users in mind will prevent inks from looking 'faded and drab'.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

 

I think you can add Clairefontaine, Staples Bagasse, and basically any Japanese paper (Apica, Maruman, Kokuyo, Tsubame, etc) to the list of "good" papers that make inks really pop.

But I think in this case the differing opinions seems to be due to a change in ink formulation. I do kind of like the colour of my old Royal Blue, it's just too washed out and difficult to read compared to most of my other inks, and very purple. The OPs scans look absolutely nothing like the colour I have.

 

Neill

 

I think Neill is spot on. I'd further elaborate as follows:

 

1. The nib size / flow makes a significant difference as well.

 

2. I use lower end commercial paper - from Laser printers, etc. They have florescent compounds in them which I think makes certain inks more dull. I suspect it is the root of my infatuation with Noodler's Inks

 

3. He sort of is saying what someone else on this forum once said: The writing experience is 1/3 the ink, 1/3 the pen and 1/3 the paper.

[Alexandra]

I like everything about this ink but the fading.

[DanielCoffey]

Care to elaborate?

 

As we have seen from the ink torture tests, plenty of inks fade.

[Sasha Royale]

And it comes in an eight-ounce bottle, too.

[Ink Sandwich]

A couple of months ago, I bought a Pelikan that came with a couple of RB ink cartridges. I was pleasantly surprised because I remembered the color back from the old school days as more of a dull grey, but it was actually a rich blue with a hint of purple, much like in the scan. Then I went and bought a bottle, and it was actually the same nice color I got from the cartridges.

 

Maybe they have changed it in the meantime.

[Sandy1]

A couple of months ago, I bought a Pelikan that came with a couple of RB ink cartridges. I was pleasantly surprised because I remembered the color back from the old school days as more of a dull grey, but it was actually a rich blue with a hint of purple, much like in the scan. Then I went and bought a bottle, and it was actually the same nice color I got from the cartridges.

 

Maybe they have changed it in the meantime.

Hi,

 

Member 'piembi' also noticed a similar difference: Post № 22

 

Bye,

S1

[Ink Sandwich]

Gracias! That seems to confirm that it's not just a single occurrence.

[P.A.R.]

I bought a bottle a few months ago and find it to be undersaturated in a number of wet writing pens with several nib sizes. It performs flawlessly, but the color just isn't satisfying for anything other than a workhorse ink.

Edited May 26, 2012 by P.A.R.

[jasonditz]

I just got a bottle this week too and it doesn't look nearly as nice as the sample either. It was cheap and it flows well in a Lamy Safari, but the color is pretty dull. Much prefer J. Herbin Eclate Saphir.

[fortytwo]

While I generally don't have a problem with the Pelikan Royal Blue, I have found quite recently that it fades in a matter of days. Am facing the same problem with the Parker Quink Blue. I am a journalist, and this ink has posed quite a problem as I need to keep referring to my notes over months.

 

Has anyone else faced this?

[cybaea]

And it comes in an eight-ounce bottle, too.

 

Even in 1 litre bottles! (Almost 34 US oz / over 35 imperial oz.) http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Pelikan-4001-Ink-1litre.html

Now get writing!

 

(But I hate this ink. Skips and fades.)

[cybaea]

While I generally don't have a problem with the Pelikan Royal Blue, I have found quite recently that it fades in a matter of days. Am facing the same problem with the Parker Quink Blue. I am a journalist, and this ink has posed quite a problem as I need to keep referring to my notes over months.

 

Has anyone else faced this?

 

Yes. See for example https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/59012-fadinglightfastness-test/?p=1140640

where the Pelikan ink has completely disappeared. Also the amazing if somewhat difficult to navigate resource at http://u-fr.blogspot.co.uk/p/ink-light-and-water-resistance-tests.html which has this entry for Royal Blue:

 

 

Pelikan royal blue

Water: Almost washed away

Light (3 weeks): Faded

Light (7 weeks): Almost totally faded

 

Hope this helps.

[Sandy1]

While I generally don't have a problem with the Pelikan Royal Blue, I have found quite recently that it fades in a matter of days. Am facing the same problem with the Parker Quink Blue. I am a journalist, and this ink has posed quite a problem as I need to keep referring to my notes over months.

 

Has anyone else faced this?

 

Hi,

 

P4RBl is a Washable ink, designed to be easily removed from clothing, skin, hair, carpets, etc. with common domestic soap / detergent; and to correct errors, are intended to be eradicated with the likes of Pelikan 'Pirat', Lamy 'ink-x', etc.

 

I believe that Washable inks are inherently unstable; and Pelikan informed me that P4RBl is not 'archival'.

 

As other Members mentioned, many FP inks are prone to fading, which is greatly influenced by exposure to UV light and components in the paper - particularly artefacts of paper manufacture, such as acids whose concentration can increase over time.

 

You may look for an ink that is more long-lasting, especially if working with whatever paper is available/convenient.

- I prefer to use ink containing iron-gall for my field notes, which must be legible for an extended time. (Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies Registrars Ink from England is quite economical.)

- Chelpark Permanent Blue-Black from India may also suit your needs for longevity and good performance on whatever paper is to hand, and is very inexpensive in its home country.

- Other Members will plump for the Noodler's 'bulletproof' inks, but those are rather idiosycratic, so I suggest perusing the Ink Reviews for each of those inks; the basic bulletproof Black is very well regarded by many people.

 

Bye,

S1

___ ___

- ESSRI - My Review: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/205705-ecclesiastical-stationery-supplies-registrars-ink/

- CPBlBk - My Review: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/216369-chelpark-blue-black/page__view__findpost__p__2272481

Edited May 20, 2013 by Sandy1

[GabrielleDuVent]

My father has been an avid fan of this Royal Blue (used to have them in those really old bottles that had beige, very flowery labels on them). I think they changed the formula sometime in the last decade; what my father wrote in the 80s is still very blue, but mine seems a little more washed out. Granted, my father was using Japanese notebooks, since he was in Japan then, and I'm using Moleskine (which bleeds through like an amputee when it's humid). It's much runnier than other blue inks I've used.

 

J Herbin makes archival ink that has the same formula from the 1600s or something that supposedly lasts 300 years (who checked? I've no idea), but it only comes in black (http://www.jherbin.com/pdf/Specialty%20Inks%20-%20Review%20&%20Color%20Description.pdf). I've never used it so I certainly can't attest whether it's fadeproof for months, let alone 3 centuries.

Edited May 29, 2013 by GabrielleDuVent

[Bo Bo Olson]

I've not used my Pelikan Royal Blue in ages(more than likely since my last post)...I did not have the paper nor the nibs to do it justice then, I think.

 

There is nothing like a nice ink review to drag an ink out of Cobweb Corner.

Thanks for brining this thread up again.

[GabrielleDuVent]

In regards to fading:

I think it depends on the condition. I have notebooks from 3, 5 years ago which haven't faded, written in Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2lkzcsw.jpg

 

(I do apologise for the terrible image quality. I only have my iPod on hand)

 

The above is a notebook I had from 3, 4 years ago. The pink is written in Varsity, everything else is Royal Blue with Lamy F nib (I think), on a cheapie notebook at 89 cents (the back says it's from carolinapad). Not much fading. Sun exposure will make anything fade... keep it in a dark, cool place and you can still read it years later.

Edited May 31, 2013 by GabrielleDuVent