Is Namiki Blue = Pilot Blue ?

January 21, 2012

hi everyone,

i see people using "namiki" and "pilot" interchangeably a lot, which i totally understand, but one thing i'm still not clear on after a lot of looking is whether the bottled NAMIKI blue fountain pen ink, readily available from, for example, goulet, refillmonster, etc...

http://www.gouletpens.com/Pilot_Namiki_Blue_60ml_Ink_p/pn69201.htm

http://www.refillmonster.com/sistema/shop/product_detail.php?pro_codigo=388

... is EXACTLY the same ink as the harder to find (and more expensive) PILOT blue fountain pen ink -- for example, from jetpens:

http://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Fountain-Pen-Ink-70-ml-Bottle-Blue/pd/3994

the reason i ask is, i have read some nice reviews of the pilot blue ink, and these say that the pilot blue bottled ink is waterproof, which is a feature i need. if namiki blue is exactly the same stuff, then that's great news in terms of availability and price (although i LOVE the pilot bottle you see at jetpens, and i need to order some stuff from them anyway).

alternatively, if you can't say whether the namiki and pilot blue inks are exactly the same, does anyone have any information or experience on with the namiki ink specifically and whether it is waterproof?

thanks very much.

jsph

January 21, 2012

I've always wondered that too... haven't used either but I don't know.

January 21, 2012

AFAIK, Pilot Blue and Namiki Blue are the same ink, just the bottle design/volumes are different.

Pilot Blue is my goto ink for (in my experience) an extremely water-resistant, well-behaved, true medium-blue ink without purple/violet undertones. I wouldn't say it's 100% waterproof (a bit of the ink will wash away), but most of the ink stays on the paper, and the writing remains highly legible.

January 21, 2012

Yes they are the same. I recently bought a bottle of Namiki blue. The outer box had Namiki logo on it, the bottle is exactly like Namiki's bottles but there was a sticker on the bottle with the words Pilot blue.

January 21, 2012

Keep in mind that the bottle from Jetpens is 70 ml at $16.50 ($0.24 per ml) and the Goulets is 60 ml for $12.00 ($0.20 per ml), not really a huge difference.

January 21, 2012

I have the Namiki Blue and it is indeed very water-resistant. Check the reviews section and search the archived posts, I think several members have commented on this in years past and posted "before and after" photos.

January 21, 2012

Concur the two are the same color and perform the same way (water resistant). (Namiki Blue & Pilot Blue)

BTW: That sale is an excellent price esp if you buy $50 of stuff for free shipping(RefillMonster). Also Goldspot sells it normally for $9.60 a bottle + shipping.

Edited January 21, 2012 by jde

January 23, 2012

i just wanted to say a very big thank you for all your comments. seriously, that's a major help. i'm glad that it's not just a name thing -- meaning, the namiki blue is really the same ink, and is equally (nearly) waterproof.

it's true, it's not a huge price difference, and i WILL at some point soon buy the jetpens pilot ink especially for the neat bottle, but there is some price difference, and the current sale price, especially with free shipping on a $50 order, does make a big difference: i mean, the jetpens [very reasonable] price for the pilot is approaching double the price for the slightly smaller namiki bottle through goldpspot or refillmonster.

anyway, thank you all, and i really appreciate it. it's great to have you guys around to help. and just to say, like i did before, i did do a bunch of searching and reading, for a long time, but people used the pilot / namiki names loosely and interchangeably, so it was never clear people were specifically saying they were using a bottle of the namiki-labeled stuff and had the same experience with the pilot-labeled stuff. so, thanks again you guys. that was a big help.

jsph

January 10, 2021

I came across this review of Pilot Blue Black, but the difference in bottles is also shown. The Pilot 70ml bottle has a (handy) inner reservoir included.

https://www.penucopia.com/pilot-blue-black-my-favorite-ink