Everflow True Blue Vs. Parker Penman Saphire

[SamCapote]

OK, well see this is what happens when someone gets your hopes up that they found a close comparison to one of my Holy Grail inks, namely Parker Penman Sapphire. The Everflow True Blue is a very nice and useful blue ink that has nice saturation, flow, and some water resistance that in an of itself should make people happy. I know after my extreme disappointment with the recent Edelstein inks, these 5 new Everflow inks got me over my "Edelstein Depression." I could easily enjoy using all 5 of the Everflow inks just based on their color, saturation, and performance so far in my Waterman Philieas Medium Point.

 

However (you knew that was coming), IMHO, this is not even close to my beloved Parker Penman Saphire, nor a number of other highly regarded blues. I'm just posting my images which can be clicked for larger views. I think they speak for themselves.

 

Photograph is first, then two scanned pages, with last showing water soaking for 30 seconds.

 

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Everflow/Everflow-TB3s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Everflow/Everflow-TB1s.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/Everflow/Everflow-TB2s.jpg

 

[blueblazes]

Thanks for the speedy review. I got the True Blue today as well and I also have Parker Penman Sapphire. I have to say that the two appear much closer in my own test with the two inks. I realize that there may be monitor/photography differences, but your True Blue looks kind of washed out compared to mine. I gave it a try in a Parker Vac with a stub nib and a Pelikan M100 with a medium nib. I found that although the True Blue was a rich, saturated color, it took ages to dry and smudged easily when used with the stub. No such problem in the medium nib. I wouldn't say it's a dead ringer for Penman Sapphire, but I'm happy to use it as a (not exact) substitute.

[Jimmy James]

I agree with blueblazes. I don't have Sapphire (except in maybe a couple of carts), but this review looks nothing like my bottle of True Blue.

 

Is it at all possible that there was excess water in the pen used or something of that nature?

[Alexandra]

Thanks for the comparisons and for demonstrating its water resistance. After what looks like a good dunking it's still legible. That's good. I had hoped my bottle would arrive today...but tomorrow perhaps.

[hawkgnat]

I agree with blueblazes. I don't have Sapphire (except in maybe a couple of carts), but this review looks nothing like my bottle of True Blue.

 

Is it at all possible that there was excess water in the pen used or something of that nature?

 

I doubt excess water is the problem, since he apparently used a dip pen. If your True Blue looks different, I would like to see a review of it, and perhaps Sam should contact the seller and ask for a replacement that is the proper color. His scan doesn't look bad, but it is much lighter than I would expect given the hype.

[KateGladstone]

Do they have a nice dark green?

[hawkgnat]

Do they have a nice dark green?

 

They do actually. Full range here.

 

I like green inks, but for some reason that one doesn't speak to me. I like the blue and the purple, but I'm not sure I would use that purple over Diamine Imperial, which means whether or not I try out Gate City likely comes down to if it looks like these scans or the one on Richard's site.

[blueblazes]

I agree with blueblazes. I don't have Sapphire (except in maybe a couple of carts), but this review looks nothing like my bottle of True Blue.

 

Is it at all possible that there was excess water in the pen used or something of that nature?

 

I doubt excess water is the problem, since he apparently used a dip pen. If your True Blue looks different, I would like to see a review of it, and perhaps Sam should contact the seller and ask for a replacement that is the proper color. His scan doesn't look bad, but it is much lighter than I would expect given the hype.

 

I just inked a scan-worthy piece of paper instead of the scrap I used earlier. The Everflo behaved much differently on the scrap paper (which went out in the trash before I posted my comment). I used Black n' Red for the new trial and the difference between the two inks is much more apparent on paper that doesn't soak up the ink as deeply as the scrap did. I like the Everflo, but it is definitely not a substitute for Penman Sapphire and I can understand why people might be disappointed if they were expecting it to be. Note: Edited to include photo.

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/5127033751_0740ee49a3_b.jpg

Edited October 30, 2010 by blueblazes

[SamCapote]

I agree with blueblazes. I don't have Sapphire (except in maybe a couple of carts), but this review looks nothing like my bottle of True Blue.

 

Is it at all possible that there was excess water in the pen used or something of that nature?

 

I doubt excess water is the problem, since he apparently used a dip pen. If your True Blue looks different, I would like to see a review of it, and perhaps Sam should contact the seller and ask for a replacement that is the proper color. His scan doesn't look bad, but it is much lighter than I would expect given the hype.

 

I just inked a scan-worthy piece of paper instead of the scrap I used earlier. The Everflo behaved much differently on the scrap paper (which went out in the trash before I posted my comment). I used Black n' Red for the new trial and the difference between the two inks is much more apparent on paper that doesn't soak up the ink as deeply as the scrap did. I like the Everflo, but it is definitely not a substitute for Penman Sapphire and I can understand why people might be disappointed if they were expecting it to be. Note: Edited to include photo.

 

Blueblazes, thanks for doing that, and it does show the difference between them at the very least. On my monitor, your Penman Sapphire has a very slight violet tinge that I do not see with mine in person.

 

I added a caveat in post #5 here to my scan of all 5 inks, because I agree that my in-person writings look different than the photos and scans I posted, and closer (but not identical) to the Gate City images. My images/scans give too much of an impression that the True Blue is a peacock blue color, which is not accurate. I think the various comparisons with other inks on a relative basis are valid, and show that it is not as deep blue as Penman Sapphire, & Omas (which are very close to each other), or Visconti blue.

 

You can also get an idea of my scans and photos being off a bit by looking at the twin red vertical lines which should appear as the typical margin red lines we all have on various tablets, but only the photo in upper left is somewhat close to rendering the correct red.

 

I would be willing to mail my writing scans to Richard and see if mine match their bottles if they are interested. I would also note that in person, my slightly thicker 0.7mm Brause Ornamental nib samples on the 5 ink scan is a bit darker than the Waterman Phileas medium I used above.

Edited October 30, 2010 by SamCapote

[blueblazes]

Blueblazes, thanks for doing that, and it does show the difference between them at the very least. On my monitor, your Penman Sapphire has a very slight violet tinge that I do not see with mine in person.

 

Perhaps my bottle of Sapphire is old and funky, but it does have a slight violet tinge in person as well. As far as your True Blue goes, I think it is worth contacting Richard about your results with the ink. I think the Everflo line has a lot of promise and who knows....we might get our Sapphire look-a-like in the future.

[Jimmy James]

The blueblazes scan looks a lot more like my True Blue. What complicates (frustrates) my ink reviews it that I keep my cameras at home and my pen/paper stuff at work. I really like True Blue, but to me it seems more like a Visconti Blue substitute than a pure Penman substitute. It's a mostly medium blue with a slight hint of green, whereas I have always heard and seen Penman Sapphire as a medium blue with a hint of purplish color.

[lovemy51]

i'll say i don't have any penman sapphire, but the blue i see in blublazes' scan i like!!! we'll see what happens when it comes...

 

thx for the review, Sam... and thx blublazes for the extra shots!

Edited October 30, 2010 by lovemy51

[SamCapote]

LOL! This misrepresentation pushed me over the edge to get a new scanner, because I have a lot of color photo prints I want to digitalize. I've been putting up with a Lexmark P6250 which is a cheap scanner, copier, and printer. Just did a whole research on all the review sites and it was between the Epson V600 and Canon 9000F. I went with the Epson. So I'll rescan the same pages when I get it next week.

[SamCapote]

Blueblazes, thanks for doing that, and it does show the difference between them at the very least. On my monitor, your Penman Sapphire has a very slight violet tinge that I do not see with mine in person.

 

Perhaps my bottle of Sapphire is old and funky, but it does have a slight violet tinge in person as well. As far as your True Blue goes, I think it is worth contacting Richard about your results with the ink. I think the Everflo line has a lot of promise and who knows....we might get our Sapphire look-a-like in the future.

 

I'll rescan and do a couple other samples of the True Blue & Penman Sapphire when I get the new scanner. I have 9 bottles of the Sapphire, so I can check for differences between a couple of them. Your scan of Penman Sapphire looks more like Noodler's Kung Te Cheng. What scanner do you use?

[Richard]

I'd like to make a slight clarification here.

 

We've "done the math," and we find that our supplier wasn't able to obtain a quantity supply of the dye that had been used for the first prototype of True Blue. The dye that they got is still a pure dye, but it's distinctly different in color. So, in words of almost one syllable, "True Blue is NOT like Sapphire."

 

But we are still very pleased with the color we've ended up with. And, on the bright side, EVERFLO™ inks do not have the characteristics that caused Parker to withdraw Penman.

[watch_art]

why did parker withdraw penman?

[Richard]

why did parker withdraw penman?

It did not play nicely with other inks, and there were apparently an unacceptable number of reports that it caused serious clogging.

[tawanda]

What negative characteristics does Penman have?

 

I've been using Mocha and Emerald for a few months now and love them both. I've had no adverse effects.

 

What should I be warned about, please?

[watch_art]

why did parker withdraw penman?

It did not play nicely with other inks, and there were apparently an unacceptable number of reports that it caused serious clogging.

 

kind of like BSB....

[framebaer]

why did parker withdraw penman?

It did not play nicely with other inks, and there were apparently an unacceptable number of reports that it caused serious clogging.

 

kind of like BSB....

 

No not really like BSB. My experience with Penman inks is that they will drop particulate matter out of the solution if left unattended. This will definitely clog most pens up. Also the penman inks seemed to more easily stain pens but readily wash off paper which is the reverse of what one would normally want in an ink. The colors were gorgeous however.