Standardgraph himmelblau

[Sandy1]

☞ Please take a moment to adjust your gear to accurately depict the Grey Scale below. As the patches are neutral grey, that is what you should see.

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• Wintel PC http://www.calibrize.com/

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/27ddb717.jpg

 

☞ As Photob*cket has lost the functionality to display linked files as required and pirates includes advertising with linked images, all images are included, which may slow display times, for which I apologise.

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Fidelity

• As the Standardgraph site does not depict this ink, it cannot be determined if the ink I used is as intended. (Hello online shoppers!)

Figure 1.
Swabs & Swatch
Paper: HPJ1124.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK132_zpse1bc4286.jpg
Figure 2.
NIB-ism ✑
Paper: HPJ1124.
Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.
Distance between feint vertical pencil lines is 25mm.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK131_zps28077f2a.jpg
L → R: Estie, M200, 530, 330, Slim, 1911.

WRITTEN SAMPLES: Moby Dick
Ruling: 8mm.

Figure 3.
Paper: HPJ1124.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK134_zps13a007de.jpg
Figure 4.
Paper: Rhodia.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK135_zps90d78e0b.jpg

Figure 5.
Paper: G Lalo.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK136_zps87683d77.jpg

Figure 6.
Paper: Royal.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK137_zps53fbb0f6.jpg
Figure 7.
Paper: Staples.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK138_zpsee5b17a4.jpg
OTHER STUFF

Figure 8.
Smear/Dry Times & Wet Tests.
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK133_zps73e5fa27.jpg
Figure 9.
Bleed- Show-Through on Staples.
(Reverse of Figure 7.)
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK139_zpsab918e00.jpg
Hi-Res Images:

Figure 10.
Estie on HPJ:
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK140_zps73c75420.jpg
Figure 11.
TWSBI on Rhodia:
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK141_zpsf92ab104.jpg
Figure 12.
330 on G Lalo:
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK142_zpsad1a39da.jpg
Figure 13.
1911 on Royal:
http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20review%20-%20Standardgraph%20himmelblau/INK143_zps4d08ed01.jpg

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Presentation:

• Bottle.

Availability:

• Available at time of writing.

Daily writer?

• Not quite.

A go-to ink?

• When a soft Turquoise is desired.

USE

Business:
(From the office of Ms Blue-Black.)

• Seems too lightweight for general business correspondence, yet may be just the thing for convivial notes to known persons.
• For personal work product, the writing experience is fair; those who write at length with narrow nibs on toothy papers might look elsewhere.
• Readability is very dependent on value (light-dark), with the darker values being more readable, but even then Ms Blue-Black would find it a bit too vibrant for extended reading sessions.
• Line quality was good, but not at its best on the copy/print papers, so Shbl might not suit teeny tiny marginalia.
• A good pick for dedicated forms work, and editing / mark-up of material printed in Black or written in Blue-Black, but not nearly enough zap for error correction & grading.

Illustrations / Graphics:

• For both area and line format charts & graphs this ink offers enough separation from Blue to function as a good default Aqua.
• As a watercolour, the colour remains quite uniform, without separation of the dye/s, so smooth gradients are possible. After soaking there was an inky remnant, so Shbl may not be sponged away completely.

Students:

• As for Business use, Shbl could find a spot as an alt/aux ink, but it does suffer from bleed- show-through on 'lowest bidder' papers, and has low water resistance.
• May be outside of the prescribed 'Blue or Black' inks for assignments.

Personal:

• Easily.
• As much as I quite often use Blue through Blue-Black inks for 'personal' personal correspondence, I do have a penchant for those inks bound for Cyan via Turquoise.
• I wouldn't use Shbl for pro forma personal business writing, preferring instead to use-up the PQBlBk or Lamy Green.
• Wonderful for cheery thoughts expressed in less than five A4s.
• Though there are a few foibles, there is plenty of range to use most pens of various wetness, with nibs of varied width & shape.

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

Flow Rate:

• Moderately lean.

Nib Dry-Out:

• Not noticed.

Start-Up:

• Immediate.
• With confidence.

Lubricity:

• Adequate.
• Offsets the slickness of 'polished' papers such as Clairefontaine Triomphe.

Nib Creepies:

• None.

Staining (pen):

• None after five days.

Clogging:

• Not seen.
• Seems unlikely.

Bleed - Show-Through:

• Staples: As shown in Figure 11.
• HPJ1124: All pens!
• Royal: A few freckles from the 1911.
• All other pen+paper combos were greenlighted for two-sided use.

Feathering / Wooly Line:

• A bit on the Royal, but not a deal breaker.

Aroma:

• Very faint.
• Slightly rounded inky goodness.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not apparent.

Clean-Up (pen):

• For recently inked-up pens, the use of a pen cleaning solution with ammonia & surfactant did not release any visible residue after my finicky water-only clean-up regimen.

Mixing:

• No stated limitation.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

THE LOOK

Presence:

• Breezy.

Saturation:

• A fully-inked line takes but minor effort.

Shading Potential:

• Modest.
• Can be encouraged.

Line Quality:

• Uneven.
• Not so very crisp on the copy/print papers, and stumbled on the highly absorbent Royal.

Variability:

• Pen+nib combos used:
  • A bit less than expected.
• Papers used:
  • Performance varied more than expected.
  • Appearance varied just a bit less than expected.

Malleability:

• The wily practitioner would likely choose pen before paper, but should take into account the tendency of Shbl to bleed- show-through some papers.
• The performance envelope is smaller than I prefer, but there is a good bit of freeboard.
• As ever with low saturation inks, the base-tint of the paper will influence the perceived hue & chroma of what's written.

PAPERS

Lovely papers:

• Crisp whites.

Trip-Wire Papers:

• Those that cannot suppress bleed- show-through, or have an open / low calendered surface. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calender

Copy/Printer Paper:

• Should do the necessary for single-sided ephemera & grist for the mill, but for personal correspondence, Ms Fussy would be unlikely to pair common C/P paper with this ink.

Tinted Papers:

• Could manage most modest tints from a wet pen, though I'd definitely avoid papers leaning toward Buff or Chamois.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Yes.
• Seems necessary to avoid performance foibles whilst exploiting the full range of this ink.
• Those in pursuit of shading may be well pleased.

ETC:

Majik:

• Not really.

Billets Doux?

• Not from yours truly.

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• The Slimfold on Rhodia.
• It seems this a fortuitous pairing, with the wetness of the pen giving a value such that the line pulls away from the warm Rhodia, which can cosset the softer inks.
• We also have a nice bit of shading, (not seen from that pen on the HPJ1124.)

Yickity Yackity:

• A rather pleasant discovery that seems to fit between the Herbin Bleu Azur and the rum lot of Blue-leaning Turquoise inks.
• Ah kushbaby, perhaps for days when a tail wind interferes with getting you aloft.

===|===

NUTS BOLTS & BOILERPLATE

Pens
Written Samples:
A. Esterbrook J + 9550 Posting firm steel XF nib.
B. Pelikan M200 + g-p steel EF nib.
C. TWSBI 530 + steel M nib.
D. Sheaffer 330 + steel M nib.
E. Parker England Slimfold (Black) + bodacious '5 _ _ 8' 14K nib.
F. Sailor 1911 + 14K 2-tine MS nib.
Lines & labels: R&K Sepia from a Pilot Penmanship + XF.

Papers:

• HPJ1124: Hewlett-Packard laser copy/print, 24lb.
• Rhodia: satin finish vellum, 80gsm.
• G. Lalo Verge de France: natural white, laid, 100gsm.
• Royal: 25% cotton, laser/inkjet copy/print, 'letterhead', 90gsm.
• Staples: house brand multi-use copy/print, USD4/ream, bears FSC logo, 20lb.

Imaging

• An Epson V600 scanner was used with the bundled Epson s/w at factory default settings to produce low-loss jpg files.
• No post-capture manipulation of scanner output was done, other than dumb-down by Epson, Photo*ucket, IP.Board s/w, and your viewing gear.

Other Inks

• This Review uses the same Written Sample format, atrocious handwriting and some pen+paper combos common to most of my previous Reviews of Turquoise inks. Consequently, ad hoc comparisons through manipulation of browser windows is supported.
• Should that functionality not meet your requirements, perhaps due to my recent changes in imaging method, I welcome your PM requesting a specific comparison. Additional scans may be produced, but the likelihood of additional inky work is quite low.

Fine Print
◊ The accuracy and relevance of this Review depends in great part upon consistency and reliability of matériel used.
◊ Ink does not require a label/notice to indicate (changes in) formulation, non-hazardous ingredients, batch ID, date of manufacture, etc.
◊ As always YMMV, due to differences in materials, manner of working, environment, wildebeast migration, etc.
◊ Also, I entrust readers to separate opinion from fact; to evaluate inferences and conclusions as to their merit; and to be amused by whatever tickles your fancy.

-30-

Tags: Fountain Pen Ink Review Sandy1 Standardgraph himmelblau Sky Blue Turquoise Cyan Aqua 2013 Glenn Marcus

Edited June 20, 2013 by Sandy1

[cybaea]

Never heard of them before - where did you get it? This is the bottle from the web site catalogue:

 

 

They have 24 colours listed; 22 of which are safe for fountain pens.

 

[Sandy1]

Never heard of them before - where did you get it? This is the bottle from the web site catalogue:

 

 

They have 24 colours listed; 22 of which are safe for fountain pens.

 

<snip>

 

Hi,

 

As the FP inks form a small part of the vast Standardgraph line of products, they may be found [unexpectedly] in local shops in Europe, much like coming across Pelikan 4001 series inks in arts & crafts shops and news agents. I have no idea of their availability outside of Europe, so would appreciate any information on availability - I believe in supporting ones' local shops.

 

Edit - to add: This thread may reveal additional sources https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/239344-a-few-standardgraph-inks/?p=2590687

 

Standardgraph offers catalogue ordering, ( standardgraph dot de ; email info @ standardgraph dot de ); and there are several online Vendors. e.g. pen-paradise dot de and seitz-kreuznach dot de . Those Vendors have a large array of products on offer, so kindly exercise caution; and adult supervision is not a bad idea when loading a shopping cart.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 20, 2013 by Sandy1

[Bo Bo Olson]

Sigh, all that shading....on both sides. Sigh.

[Sami]

Never heard of them before - where did you get it?

 

 

Go to Amazon.de and search for Standardgraph Tinte. The fountain pen inks are 4,20 euros a bottle.

Nice coincidence: I just received my first six bottles and checked FPN to see if anyone else uses this brand...

[Sandy1]

Sigh, all that shading....on both sides. Sigh.

 

Hi,

 

I agree!

 

Ah well, I rarely use copy/print papers for personal correspondence, so I've been able to dodge the bleed- show-through behaviour on outbound missives, and just keep ephemera single-sided (using of the blank side of junk mail, etc.)

 

I think it is worth pursuing the shading potential of this ink - Shbl seems to hold more promise than some other [low cost] Turquoise-Cyan inks, but the use of the coated papers seems to be the 'best' way forward.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

 

 

Go to Amazon.de and search for Standardgraph Tinte. The fountain pen inks are 4,20 euros a bottle.

Nice coincidence: I just received my first six bottles and checked FPN to see if anyone else uses this brand...

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for the heads-up on yet another means to acquire the Standardgraph inks.

 

Now that you've spilled the beans about having six of their inks, I await your Reviews, scans, photos, samples, comparisons, etc. etc. (How easy it is to load-up that shopping cart!)

 

Bye,

S1

[wastelanded]

Excellent work as always, Ms. S. These inks are for the most part impressive. If only a certain German vendor hadn't recently jacked the price up over 2 Euros a bottle!

 

PS. Kaffeebraun is lovely, like PelBr but not as orange.

[Sandy1]

Excellent work as always, Ms. S. These inks are for the most part impressive. If only a certain German vendor hadn't recently jacked the price up over 2 Euros a bottle!

 

PS. Kaffeebraun is lovely, like PelBr but not as orange.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks!

 

As much as I am reluctant to talk about the cost of ink, a price jump of 2€ is most unwelcome, and seems a considerable % increase - not as if they've renamed or repackaged their inks à la Waterman, MB or Cd'A.

 

I'm glad you enjoy the kaffeebraun.

 

Oh, depictions of some of the other Standardgraph FP inks can be seen @ Post № 3 https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/240185-standardgraph-burgundy/?p=2602751

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 28, 2013 by Sandy1

[wastelanded]

As much as I am reluctant to talk about the cost of ink, a price jump of 2€ is most unwelcome, and seems a considerable % increase - not as if they've renamed or repackaged their inks à la Waterman, MB or Cd'A.

 

I know, price isn't really part of a review process, but this was almost indecent. And another ink that starts with P nearly doubled in price.

 

I had plans of trying all the Standardgraph inks, but now...eh. *gallic shrug*

[georges zaslavsky]

interesting brand of ink, I have never heard before. Thanks for sharing

Edited July 8, 2013 by georges zaslavsky

[amberleadavis]

Yes, thank you!

[Sandy1]

interesting brand of ink, I have never heard before. Thanks for sharing

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I have no idea how or why Standardgraph inks seem to be under the radar - the ones I've tried are certainly not bound for the Mixing Corral.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Yes, thank you!

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

Yes indeed!!

 

Bye,

S1

[Nick T]

Thank you for sharing S1. A new line of inks to explore and play with. It's like discovering a new continent.

[Sandy1]

Thank you for sharing S1. A new line of inks to explore and play with. It's like discovering a new continent.

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I am interested to try some of the inks that I've not heard about, especially when I see such an extensive array of colours. That said, there's been some impressive finds from lesser known marques that offer a smaller array, (e.g. Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies, kalligraphie), so those are more akin to exploring an uncharted island.

 

Bye,

S1