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Parker Penman Sapphire - Bottle


Sandy1

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Kindly adjust the brightness & contrast of your monitor to accurately depict this Gray Scale.



As the patches are neutral gray, the colour on your monitor should also be neutral.





http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN049.jpg



http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN044.jpg

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN045.jpg

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN046.jpg

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN047.jpg

 

 

Higher Resolution Scan - taken from blocked text on page 1.

Intended to show feathering and shading.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN048.jpg

 

 

Paper: Clairefontaine 'Triomphe' - Page 1.

Swabs:

  • Waterman 'Florida Blue'.
  • Parker 'Penman Sapphire'.
  • Private Reserve 'American Blue'

This Review is mostly to show how PPS is or is not changing over time. The nearly-full bottle is sound - no crud on the threads. The ink is transparent & clear. There was no sediment, slime, floaters or swimmers. No strange smells were noticed. So the ink does not show gross physical deterioration. It seems that preservation is due, in part, to the use of a solid plastic seal/liner in the cap - no cheap coated bit of cardstock that top-tier ink makers (you know who, Pilot!) still get away with. The writing experience is beyond mere words. I am using the same pen & nib that I used when I 1st used this ink: a Parker Duofold with a factory stock 18K -M- nib. |||///=@ ^. Nothing rare or exotic. As some may know, I usually include of a number of pens in my Reviews. This shall be an

 

Paper: G Lalo 'Verge de France' - Page 2.

 

exception as I don't feel like expending ink on [feed] floods & clean-up. Oh this is the white G. Lalo with an off-white warm base tint. This paper 'swallows' the luster of this ink. Perhaps it'll look better when the ink dries.

* I wanted to mention that there's been attempts to replicate this ink. I salute those who have slaved over the mixing cauldrons & vats. I think that intangibles of this ink make it so unique. Properties that I rather doubt will or can be conveyed in a mere scan: rather akin to photographing an oil painting.

 

Paper: Rhodia unlined; #18 pad - Page 3.

 

Now we have the unlined Rhodia, taken from their #18 pad. So it may not be 100% equivalent to papers that are printed with various lines.

So let's do some Ink review stuff:

Smear Test: No smear at 12 seconds. [Pool at the end of the downstroke finally dried]

Flow: A bit wet.

Nib Dry-out: OK starting after ten minutes with cap off. Ink darker.

Bleed/Feather: Neither on 3 papers. [sic Actually 4: I wrote on the back of a one-a-day calendar page, with the JRR Tolkien quotation; and my less lucid graffito.]

Saturation: Quite high.

Shading: Little if any (with this nib.)

 

I think this ink is becoming rare, as people are writefully using it for max. effect, I hope. But just because the ink is holding up well, is no reason to hoard it.

 

Drawn Swatch : Parallel lines from the review pen.

Scanner Densitometer: Generated from the Drawn Swatch - Red 92; Green 103; Blue 178; Luminosity 115.

Swirlies : From the back of a dip pen nib. Intended to show range of possible densities from this ink.

 

Soapy Soak : Not shown - nothing left.

Rain Drop : Barely there.

 

Uses:

- Business: Might be used for Internal correspondence. Signatures.

- Personal: Definitely. Animated. Classy thrills. Can be used for friendly correspondence between opposite genders without imposition.

- Billet Doux: Love to get one written in this ink.

- Scarlett Johansson has this ink in her pen. Please, click me.

 

My penmanship remains dreadful. Ah me.

Not even an exquisite ink & pen can disguise that train wreck.

 

-30-

Note:

I still have some ink left in the pen, so if you want me to include anything else, please let me know soonest.

Bye,

S1

 

Ink Review : Parker Penman Sapphire. March 29-30, 2010. By Sandy1


Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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If this is Quink Sapphire it is my favourite colour ink. I have used advice from other threads to try and recreate it by mixing inks with reasonable sucess.

 

On my monitor the writing samples look a little lighter than I would expect.

 

Thanks for an excellent review

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Excellent review, thanks.

And how can this be, because he is the Kwisatz Haderach.

 

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Thanks for the review of the Sapphire ink -excellent presentation! It does seem to hold up well over time. I used the last bit of my Parker Sapphire ink last month and it still had the same intense blue color as when it was new. (Must have been 10-12 years old).

 

Does anyone know if there is a bottle of Parker Sapphire available anywhere? Have searched for sources but unable to locate the vintage ink.

 

Thanks ...

Kicks...

Kicks ...

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If this is Quink Sapphire it is my favourite colour ink. I have used advice from other threads to try and recreate it by mixing inks with reasonable sucess.

 

On my monitor the writing samples look a little lighter than I would expect.

 

Thanks for an excellent review

Hello,

 

I apologise for the glaring inexcusable spelling error of the ink name. The name on the box and bottle is

'Parker Penman Sapphire'

 

So it is not a 'Quink' ink.

 

On a personal note, I'd been using a Parker Sonnet with Parker Quink Blue-Black for years in school. When I finished school I was gifted with the Duofold. Well, I thought I'd better get some appropriate ink, a step up if you will, so there was Parker Penman Sapphire. Inasmuch as the Sonnet + Quink BlBk combo remain my daily writer for business, the Duofold + Penman Sapphire remains my preferred ink for writing certain people.

 

If you have dialed-in your monitor brightness and contrast to accurately depict the Grey Scale, then the ink density (light-dark) may indeed be due to my pen. If ink volume permits, I'll do a sample from the Sonnet, which is contemporary with the Duofold & ink, and the nib is also an 18K -M-.

 

I include the 'Swirlies', on the 3rd scanned page, to give one a fairly good idea of the entire density range of an ink: from super-wet to a dry-as-dust writer. Also, not shown, is a sample from years ago written with the same pen, but on an ELCO airmail paper, which shows the ink to have very similar density and 'look'.

Also, please take a look at the HiRes scan: in some places the written line overlaps numerous times, so that may be a further indicator of density. When I have a wee spare moment, I'll do a scan of the Swirlies+written sample+Grey Scale positioned in the same scanned image.

 

Many thanks for your observations & feedback.

 

Best Regards,

Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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In your eyes, are there any currently produced inks that (nearly) match this ink?

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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Thanks for the review of the Sapphire ink -excellent presentation! It does seem to hold up well over time. I used the last bit of my Parker Sapphire ink last month and it still had the same intense blue color as when it was new. (Must have been 10-12 years old).

 

Does anyone know if there is a bottle of Parker Sapphire available anywhere? Have searched for sources but unable to locate the vintage ink.

 

Thanks ...

Kicks...

Hello,

 

I'm glad you appreciate the Review. I thought this ink is was worth a re-Review.

 

I think its great you used all of your stock! The last of my Parker Penman Mocha went on Thank-you cards - which I thought was totally appropriate.

 

Like some of us, I keep an eye out for NOS in smaller shops that have Quink. So far no success, but who knows?

 

Oh, I pack my own parachute; and the codicil of my will bequeaths any remaining ink to 'kushbaby' should I pre-decease her. Besides, Scarlett has all the Sapphire this side of the Ganges. ;-)

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Yes, I misrembered. I have just looked at my Parker Sapphire and while the Penman brand does not appear on the box, it does appear in the tiny leaflet that came with the ink.

 

For background information I paste below two links about Penman ink.

 

Penman

Sapphire Blue*, Emerald Green*, Mocha Brown*, Black*, Ruby * These inks were discontinued in 2000. A much acclaimed product when released in 1993. Leighton Davies-Smith, an ink chemist with Parker, talked about the development of the Penman line of inks in a article published in Pen World. Davies-Smith said the ink took more than two years to develop the ink. Parker was aiming at producing an ink that would be quick drying on paper but slow drying on the nib to enhance a smooth writing experience. The bottled ink came from England and the cartridges came from France. The distinctive ink bottles were designed by Lansdown Conquest, design agency based in London.

 

Link to the above text

 

Penman

Penman fountain pen inks is a now discontinued ink label formerly manufactured by Parker. Released in 1993, they were withdrawn from the market when it was revealed, that the ink had problems with clogging, mostly with Penman Ebony (black). Distribution was voluntarily stopped in EU and NAFTA countries in 2000-2001

 

Link to the above text

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In your eyes, are there any currently produced inks that (nearly) match this ink?

Hi,

 

Well, I put up a swab of the Private Reserve 'American Blue' ink, which is supposed to have considerable similarity.

 

But, as I mentioned, replicating the PPS may well be done, but the intangibles are very elusive, and the nuances beyond subtle. These are the things that don't show-up on densitometers, etc., and likely make CMY+K mix matching impossible. (Double Ditto for Noodler's 'Baystate Blue'.)

 

Best Regards,

Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Hi Again!

 

In my desperate search for a replacement for the PPS, I have tried several "blues" including the PR American Blue. What I found was the closest to the PPS was the PR Midnight Blues or it's slightly darker version PR's Electric DC Blue. They are close and I use them as my standard work ink.

 

If one comes across another ink that mimics the PPS, please let us know.

 

Thanks ...

 

Kicks ...

Kicks ...

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Hi Again!

 

In my desperate search for a replacement for the PPS, I have tried several "blues" including the PR American Blue. What I found was the closest to the PPS was the PR Midnight Blues or it's slightly darker version PR's Electric DC Blue. They are close and I use them as my standard work ink.

 

If one comes across another ink that mimics the PPS, please let us know.

 

Thanks ...

 

Kicks ...

 

 

These treads might help

 

Comparison to Sapphire

 

Mix your own (see OcalaFlGuy's post)

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Hi Again!

 

In my desperate search for a replacement for the PPS, I have tried several "blues" including the PR American Blue. What I found was the closest to the PPS was the PR Midnight Blues or it's slightly darker version PR's Electric DC Blue. They are close and I use them as my standard work ink.

 

If one comes across another ink that mimics the PPS, please let us know.

 

Thanks ...

 

Kicks ...

Hi,

 

I certainly will let you know if I come across another ink that mimics PPS. But - it'll just mimic.

 

Off-Thread:

I'm interested in seeing what goes on with a 'replacement' for the discontinued MB 'Racing Green'.

I don't recall seeing any 'Faux RG' recipe posts. I certainly have no motivation to fire-up the cyclotron in search of the right mix for FRG. But that's just me.

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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MORE SCANS - SECOND NIB || MORE SCANS - SECOND NIB || MORE SCANS - SECOND NIB ||

 

OK OK OK,

 

There was enough ink in the converter to switch to another pen : a Parker Sonnet with an 18K Bold Italic nib, factory stock.

definitely not a Duofold nib, but contemporary with the main Review pen & nib, and a 'cousin' of the Duofold.

 

To address questions of scan accuracy, and density (light-dark) of the pen-written samples, I have added the Sonnet-drawn swatch to the left of the Duofold swatch, and added a Grey Scale in close proximity:

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN055.jpg

 

Here are a few more written samples from the Sonnet:

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN051.jpg

 

====

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN056.jpg

 

===

 

Hi-Res Scan of the blocked text on 1st scan of this Post :

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/InkyThoughts2010/FPN052.jpg

 

-30-



The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Wow, that is probably the most concise and complete ink review I've ever read. Please tell me you have more reviews out there... *off to look for myself*

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OK, I have just made some comparisons. I will post later, after the inks have had a chance to dry and stabilise.

 

I also have a new light source which I think gives a more accurate result - a desktop LED lamp. Previously I have been using CFLs, which make some dye components in the ink fluoresce, or dashing outside to use natural sunlight.

 

With that lamp, my results more nearly match Sandy1's results, except I think her pen is a little drier than mine.

 

I compared some original Parker Penman Sapphire with my Faux Penman Sapphire #8b, Waterman Florida Blue, PR American Blue and PR DC Supershow Blue.

The closest match, on Clairefontaine notebook paper, was the PR American Blue. The PR DC Supershow Blue is darker, and my #8b blend is a greener version of PR DC SS Blue.

 

One of the original considerations in my Faux Penman Sapphire was that the ink should behave on less than optimal paper as well as the original Penman Sapphire. I also didn't have the range of other inks and papers to try it on. My original recipe matches when I use a cotton bud swatch on Windsor & Newton Visual Diary art paper, but not on proper writing paper.

 

Legend has it that PR DC SS Blue was made to duplicate Parker Penman Sapphire, but my limited results seem to show that PR American Blue is a closer match.

 

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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Wow, that is probably the most concise and complete ink review I've ever read. Please tell me you have more reviews out there... *off to look for myself*

Hi,

 

Glad you like it - too bad one can't just go buy the ink. Ooops!

So I really do apologise to those who do not have or cannot get this ink.

I did not intend it to be a "Look what I have (and you don't.)" sort of thing.

On that note, my review of the Lamy Green was a "Look what I have, (aren't you glad you don't?)" sort of thing.

 

IIRC, I did one IR of the new MB Midnight Blue, with comparison to the MB Blue-Black; a comparison of the prior and present iterations of the Parker Quink Blue-Black; and the aforementioned Lamy Green.

 

I'm still recovering from minor hip surgery, (just shaved down a socket spur - no biggie), so I may get another review or two done before I get back to full speed.

 

Best Regards,

Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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OK, I have just made some comparisons. I will post later, after the inks have had a chance to dry and stabilise.

 

I also have a new light source which I think gives a more accurate result - a desktop LED lamp. Previously I have been using CFLs, which make some dye components in the ink fluoresce, or dashing outside to use natural sunlight.

 

With that lamp, my results more nearly match Sandy1's results, except I think her pen is a little drier than mine.

 

I compared some original Parker Penman Sapphire with my Faux Penman Sapphire #8b, Waterman Florida Blue, PR American Blue and PR DC Supershow Blue.

The closest match, on Clairefontaine notebook paper, was the PR American Blue. The PR DC Supershow Blue is darker, and my #8b blend is a greener version of PR DC SS Blue.

 

One of the original considerations in my Faux Penman Sapphire was that the ink should behave on less than optimal paper as well as the original Penman Sapphire. I also didn't have the range of other inks and papers to try it on. My original recipe matches when I use a cotton bud swatch on Windsor & Newton Visual Diary art paper, but not on proper writing paper.

 

Legend has it that PR DC SS Blue was made to duplicate Parker Penman Sapphire, but my limited results seem to show that PR American Blue is a closer match.

 

 

Hi,

 

I had some of the 'American Blue' kicking around, but it didn't strike me that it was so close to PPS. I suppose that one sees what they expect to see - I wasn't expecting to see a 'close cousin' of PPS, so I didn't.

 

Light sources are critical for colour comparison, but the 'florescent' nature of some pigments jsu cannot be duplicated by the CMY+K mixers. I reckon if it took a bloke at Parker 2 years to get it right, I'll need more than a weekend, OK?

 

The writing experience, lubrication & flow, are ineffable. The Penman colours Mocha, Ruby & Emerald didn't have 'it' to the same degree. And I think they slipped away less-lamented than the Sapphire. (?)

 

Oh, I did use a 2nd pen that's wetter than the Duofold, but those scans are in a Post - not the Review proper.

 

Bye & Happy Easter (did everyone get their Araucana eggs?)

Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Thanks for the review of the Sapphire ink -excellent presentation! It does seem to hold up well over time. I used the last bit of my Parker Sapphire ink last month and it still had the same intense blue color as when it was new. (Must have been 10-12 years old).

 

Does anyone know if there is a bottle of Parker Sapphire available anywhere? Have searched for sources but unable to locate the vintage ink.

 

Thanks ...

Kicks...

 

 

There is a store called Bauhaus in Andorra which used to sell Parker stuff and have a couple of FPs but several Penman Sapphire bottles. They have a version of the standard bottle together with a silver base which has to arms to hold a pen. It cost EUR 12 and from the five bottles I got none presents problems.

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Grey scale is great feature!

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right

to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers,

and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Revelation 22:14-15

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