Blue vs black

[slimshaneee]

I definitely prefer my noodlers Heart of Darkness black, to bad blue heron blue, or Pelikan Royal blue.

That black just pops off the page.

[david6]

I much prefer black to blue ink - had to use blue ink at school and I got tired of it. By choice I now like to use either Diamine Blue/black or Chocolate Brown - both lovely colours.

[Silvermink]

I prefer blue to black - I find black dull, and I really like inks that give me some shading which intense blacks don't (and not-so-intense blacks just feel washed-out).

[Viseguy]

Yah, black vs. blue = blue-black sounds easy, until you realize that so many blue-blacks are green, or at least neither blue nor black. B-B is a world unto itself.

 

My color of choice is usually blue, although I've gone through years-long B-B periods (I also have "black moods", when no other color will do). I tend to prefer blue because I find it easier on the eye, it gives me a cheerful, serene feeling, and, on a pedestrian level, original signatures are easily distinguishable from photocopies.

 

I've been using Diamine Imperial Blue for the last week or so, and I'm really enjoying it. Pleasing if unexciting color, quick-drying, no feathering. (Mind you, unexciting isn't necessarily bad. Visconti Blue is exciting, but a whole page of it can be a bit much. A page of DIB or Noodler's Luxury Blue, on the other hand, is a pleasure to behold. IMHO.)

 

I, for one, haven't noticed any upswing in the use of black ink.

[jgrasty]

When I was a first time fountain pen user in the 70's, all I ever used was black. Now I have dozens of colors, I change inks at random times, and rarely use a color for more than a week.

[sombrueil]

I tried to love blue. Eclat de Saphir, a gorgeous deep rich blue with lovely shading . . . I gave it away last week. Like some other posters, it just reminded me of school, endlessly blue ink. I also agree with the posters who object to the lack of shading in black. I have one black ink, Aurora, and it is pretty dang impenetrably black (and it stains! holy cow does it ever!) I use it in a wet x-fine point, my dear little Vacumatic Deb, for signing things like tax returns, and other Serious Matters. Otherwise, my mainstay ink is JH Violette de Pensee; not having been a french schoolgirl I have no associations except that I love the color. For my flexy shading pens I like browns and dark greens and maroons . . . and blue black is just the worst of both worlds to me. I'm sticking to purple.

[Kaych]

I prefer black. I like it for exactly the same reason that others hate it - it's a dull color (yes yes, I know it is a shade, but you know what I mean ). Its hard to explain. Think of it this way, you wouldn't wear a Bay State Blue tux, now would you?

[RHutch]

Well for professional reasons my notes are in black because they will always copy or scan better (at one time some scanners/copiers wouldn't do anything other than black). For legal documents that require an original signature I always have a FP with a colour my favourite now is a purple. It's very easy for the court to be certain that it is an original document with an original signature. So there is room in my life for all the colours of the rainbow.

[Rick J]

Up until college, I used blue always. Then I discovered jet black and fell in love.

I had a friend in the military that told me they always used black.

I also noticed that for some reason if you have old ballpoint pens still in packs, the blue ones will tend to dry out sooner than black.

Note: The reason I've got the old ballpoints laying around is because I use my fountain pens for everything now.

[Scriver]

Blue has one practical advantage, that of clearly distinguishing the original from copies. But it has thousands of emotional advantages -- one for each shade of blue. I use black when the occasion calls for it, like blacking out information on a form, but I much prefer blue for expression.