Private Reserve Black Magic Blue

[Sandy1]

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Fidelity

• One may compare the ink I used to the depiction on the Private Reserve site, LINK
• Wiki is mute on the use of 'Black Magic Blue' as a colour.

 

Figure 1.

Swabs & Swatch

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/2659e6e6.jpg

 

Figure 2.

NIB-ism ✑

Paper: HPJ1124.

Depicts nibs' line-width and pens' relative wetness.

Distance between feint vertical pencil lines is 25mm.

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_1d0f1bec.jpg

Pens: L ➠ R: PCP, Phileas, Parker, 330, Somiko, NNPS.

WRITTEN SAMPLES - Moby Dick

Ruling: 8mm.

 

Figure 3.

Paper: HPJ1124.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/fa69cb65.jpg

Figure 4.

Paper: Rhodia.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/7b04ae8e.jpg

Figure 5.

Paper: G Lalo.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/cec22781.jpg

Figure 6.

Paper: Royal.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/b3cecea7.jpg

Figure 7.

Paper: Staples.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/75dbf831.jpg

Figure 8.

Grocery List.

Paper: Pulp.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/c763a686.jpg

OTHER STUFF

 

Figure 9.

Smear/Dry Times & Wet Tests.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/5335f7d7.jpg

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

 

Type:

• Dye-based fountain pen ink.

Presentation:

• Bottle.

Availability:

• Available when Topic posted.

Daily writer?

• Definitely.

A go-to ink?

• When a well-mannered snappy Dark Blue ink is desired.

USE

 

Business:

(From the office of Ms Blue-Black.)

• Could be used for all manner of business correspondence, with a bit of animation from the Violet component balancing the gravitas-inducing dark tone.
• Another good pick for personal work product, with great readability and a pleasant writing experience coupled with a strong performance profile.
• Not enough zip to be used for editing or mark-up of material printed in Black, and not an ink that I'd dedicate to form use.
• Should do the trick for marginalia; though if paired with a hair's-breadth nib, it should be a bit wet.
• Not nearly enough zap for error correction or grading.

Illustrations / Graphics

• May be just a bit too dark in tone for charts and graphs - not enough separation from Black?
• Well-suited to taut lines and labels.
• If working on wet paper or canvas, the ink's dyes are likely to separate, with the Blue coming adrift, and the Violet-Purple remaining as a distinct artefact. The dye which comes adrift may stain the paper or canvas, preventing re-working with wet media. May allow for washes with a subtle colour gradient and edge effects.

Students:

• PRBkMBl would be a very good choice: a pleasurable writing experience, high readability, above average performance on 'lowest bidder' paper, and enough water resistance to salvage what was written.
• Seems a good pick for assignments too.

Personal:

• No doubt!
• Another welcome addition to my array of Dark Blue-centric inks that have a nice bit of liveliness.
• Perhaps too eye-catching for pro forma personal business writing - it does not have a stealth capability, but would be very fine for signing documents printed in Black.
• Amongst the hair-splitting variations of similar inks in my inky array, PRBkMBl resides on the cusp of the Dark Blues and the Sapphire-Violet Dark Blues.
• For most of my personal personal writing, this ink fits right in, with a bit more of an 'on purpose' aspect than my usual Blue thru Blue-Black inks.
• As with most saturated dark inks, there is a somewhat limited range of appearance, which does move the emphasis to nib width and shape, and paper characteristics.
• PRBkMBl has that bit of sparkle that keeps its colour evident even from very narrow nibs.
  

PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

 

Flow Rate:

• Almost wet.
• Controlled.

Nib Dry-out:

• Not seen.

Start-up:

• Immediate.
• With confidence.

Lubricity:

• High.
• Narrow nibs were a pleasure, and the wide nibs remained sure-footed.

Nib Creepers:

• Not seen.

Staining (pen):

• Not seen after three days in the Phileas demonstrator.

Clogging:

• Not seen.

Bleed- Show-Through:

• Staples 20 lb. LINK
• All pen+paper combos used have the green light for two-sided use.

Feathering / Wooly Line:

• Not seen on papers used.

Aroma:

• Slight - a bit like dark-skinned plums.

Hand oil sensitivity:

• Not evident.

Clean-Up (pen):

• About normal speed and thorough with plain water, which is a good thing in a dark saturated ink.

Mixing:

• No stated prohibitions.
• As with most dark saturated inks, one may consider dilution with [distilled] water to tune the tone to match wetness of pens and absorbency of papers.

Archival:

• Not claimed.

☞ That, dear readers, is another admirable performance profile.

 

THE LOOK

 

Presence:

• Soft shimmer.

Saturation:

• Quite high.
• Easily over-wrote the feint lines on Rhodia.
• A fully inked line is well within range.

Shading Potential:

• Imaginary.

Line quality:

• Very good, but not always absolutely crisp.

Variability:

• Pen+nib combos used:
  • Low.
  • Please note that the Parker, with ye olde Lucky Curve nib+feed, performed very well with this saturated ink. (Contrary to the notion that vintage pens are not compatible with such inks.)
  • Typical for a dark saturated ink, there is not much to be gained from variation in pen wetness, other than reduced line quality from pens that are either very wet or very dry, (not seen on written samples.)

  [*]Papers used:

  • Low.
  • PRBkMBl performed very well on all those sampled: readily absorbed by the hard arid G Lalo, and kept its line quality on the much softer Royal.
  • There is a pleasant amount of nuance that can be achieved by choosing amongst various base-tints and surfaces. which may not be evident from the scans that I can produce.

  [*]Malleability:

  • Low.
  • Not one to choose when seeking an inky adventure.
  • A strong contender for a reliable daily writer ink that gives very similar results across a wide range of pen+paper combos.

Hi-Res Scans:

Originals are 60x30mm.

All are thumbnails.

 

PCP on HPJ1124:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_07a31d1c.jpg

Parker on Rhodia:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_48cec791.jpg

330 on G Lalo:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_6a5ed35c.jpg

NNPS on Royal:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_8a42066b.jpg

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 Blue inks. Consequently, ad hoc comparisons through manipulation of browser windows is supported.

Should that functionality not meet your requirements, I welcome your PM. Additional scans may be produced, but the likelihood of additional inky work is quite low.

 

Swab Swami

Thumbnail:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Private%20Reserve%20Black%20Majic%20Blue/th_e978fd10.jpg

Left ➠ Right: Levenger Cobalt, Diamine Bilberry, DeAtramentis Sapphire, Aurora Blue.

 

PAPERS

 

Lovely papers:

• All.
• PRBkMBl l♡ves paper!
• Will shrug-off dirty whites.

Trip-wire Papers: ☠

• Not seen.

Copy/Printer Paper:

• Very good results.
• Line quality was very good
• There seemed far less than the usual likelihood of bleed- show-through that would make two-sided use unacceptable.

Tinted Papers:

• Yes indeed.
• As with most saturated dark inks, use on a range of even the stronger tints seems do-able.

Is high-end paper 'worth it'?

• Very much the choice of the author.
• The smooth hard surfaced papers such as Rhodia & Clairefontaine Triomphe seem to offer very little that would extend the range of this ink in terms of generating shading or boosting line quality; even the writing experience would be only slightly enhanced. That said, some high-end papers offer attractive base-tints and textures that would augment the reading experience. *opens the cupboard of rag papers*
  

ETC.

 

Majik:

• Impossible - not sufficiently malleable.

Billets Doux?

• Still looking . . .

Personal Pen & Paper Pick:

• While I do have a penchant for Dark Blue inks on natural-warm papers, I like PRBkMBl from the Safari on the Royal.
• The Safari splashes a goodly amount of ink on the page, and the shaped nib enlivens the monotone line.
• The Royal paper is highly absorbent, which drives the line to a very high degree of saturation; and the warmth of the Violet aspect of the ink harmonises with the tactile experience of holding the soft textured sheet.

Yickity Yackity:

• Another all-rounder that encompasses business and personal writing with a combination of silky elegance and straight-backed charm.
• Ah kushbaby, a little too similar to other inks in your array?

= = = =

 

NUTS BOLTS & BOILERPLATE

 

Pens

• Written Samples:

A. Platinum Carbon Pen + über narrow g-p steel nib.

B. Waterman Phileas clear demonstrator + mono-tone steel F nib.

C. Parker Canada Lucky Curve, BCHR ring-top button filler + X-mas tree feed & firm Lucky Curve Canada 14?K nib. 135mm capped!

LINK

D. Sheaffer 330 + steel M nib.

E. Sailor Somiko + TIGP steel nib.

F. Non-Nudist Pink Safari + goosed 1.1 steel nib.

• Lines & labels:

Waterman Havana from a Pilot Penmanship + EF.

Papers

• HPJ1124: laser copy/printer paper, 24lb.
• Rhodia: vellum, 80gsm.
• G. Lalo: Verge de France, white, laid, 100 gsm.
• Royal: 25% cotton, 'letterhead', laser/inkjet compatible, 90gsm.
• Staples: multi-use copy/printer paper, 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.
• Figures shown were scanned at 200 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• Hi-Res images linked were scanned at 300 dpi & 24 bit colour.
• No post-capture manipulation of scanner output was done, other than dumb-down by Epson, Photobucket & IP.Board s/w.

Densitometer Readings

HPJ1124

• Red 95
• Grn 99
• Blu 179
• Lum 114

Fine Print

The accuracy and relevance of this Review depends in great part upon consistency and reliability of matériel used.

Ink does not require labelling/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, 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 Private Reserve Black Magic Blue Black_Magic

Edited September 15, 2012 by Sandy1

[vacation]

Thank you for the review of one of my favorite inks.

 

I also like PR American Blue, but BMB seems to spread and bleed less on cheap paper.

[PaperDarts]

Thanks for the review, Sandy. I find this ink oddly compelling! I think there is a bottle in my near future.

[FLJeepGuy]

Excellent review as always. This ink and Levenger's Cobalt Blue are my two go-to blues with a bit of PR Midnight Blues swapped in every now and then.

[The Good Captain]

Reminds me of Diamine Midnight.

[IWantThat]

I once spilled a bottle of this ink in my purse. It was lovely Thankfully, I have another. I <3 this ink.

[Sandy1]

Thank you for the review of one of my favorite inks.

 

I also like PR American Blue, but BMB seems to spread and bleed less on cheap paper.

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with PRABl and PRBkMBl on "cheap paper".

 

PRABl is the ink I use as a 'body double' for the discontinued Parker Penmanship Sapphire - so it does get a fair bit of use. I use it mostly for personal correspondence, so its most often run on 24lb penny-a-page laser C/P paper or better.

 

Should I encounter FP-hostile paper in the wild, I'll often invert the nib of my pen - using the 'wrong side' of a nib typically yields a line that is drier and narrower, which off-sets the spread and feathering caused by the paper.

 

Bye,

S1

 

- - -

 

EDIT - to add: PRABl was included in my One Of The Ten series of Blue ink reviews & comparison; the Summary of which can be found here: LINK

Edited September 16, 2012 by Sandy1

[Sandy1]

Thanks for the review, Sandy. I find this ink oddly compelling! I think there is a bottle in my near future.

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I think PRMBl has struck an attractive balance of the Violet and Dark Blue aspects of the ink.

 

When I first started using it, I thought I'd like a bit of shading - nothing new there! But I did come 'round to seeing it for what it is, and liking what I saw.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Excellent review as always. This ink and Levenger's Cobalt Blue are my two go-to blues with a bit of PR Midnight Blues swapped in every now and then.

Hi,

 

Thanks for your compliment!

 

Ah - it seems you favour the darker saturated Blue inks.

 

It took me some time to start using such inks with any regularity, yet the more I used them the more I liked them. Which is a very good thing indeed.

 

Please let us know of your experience with PRBlMBl on 'cheap paper.' It seems that such paper is becoming more prevalent these days; and in the Inky Thoughts Forum I have the impression that more people are asking for suggestions for matching inks to such papers.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

I once spilled a bottle of this ink in my purse. It was lovely Thankfully, I have another. I <3 this ink.

Hi,

 

One of those rare 'happy accidents'?

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

Reminds me of Diamine Midnight.

Hi,

 

From what I can see on samples to hand, the Diamine Midnight is a fair bit darker in tone, and the colour has less of a Violet aspect.

 

I do intend to post a review of DM, but it is not on the roster, so perhaps in late 2013.

 

Bye,

S1

[FLJeepGuy]

Excellent review as always. This ink and Levenger's Cobalt Blue are my two go-to blues with a bit of PR Midnight Blues swapped in every now and then.

Hi,

 

Thanks for your compliment!

 

Ah - it seems you favour the darker saturated Blue inks.

 

It took me some time to start using such inks with any regularity, yet the more I used them the more I liked them. Which is a very good thing indeed.

 

Please let us know of your experience with PRBlMBl on 'cheap paper.' It seems that such paper is becoming more prevalent these days; and in the Inky Thoughts Forum I have the impression that more people are asking for suggestions for matching inks to such papers.

 

Bye,

S1

I tend to use darker, more saturated inks across the board and shy away from ones that are more pastel or heavily shaded, so these dark blues work well for my everyday use. The PR Black Magic Blue and Levenger Cobalt are very similar inks with the Cobalt being just a bit wetter. I find that the PRBkMBl does better on cheaper paper than the Levenger Cobalt. My work has started buying pads that are only one step away from paper towels in absorbancy, so I've switched to the Staples Sustainable Earth for both home and work use. These pads are very inexpensive, but the paper has a nice finish and works well with FP ink.

 

One note on the PR Midnight Blues. I find this ink has more of a denim or "faded glory" look and dries to a more matte finish than the other two. It's a nice change from the more saturated inks.

[Sandy1]

Excellent review as always. This ink and Levenger's Cobalt Blue are my two go-to blues with a bit of PR Midnight Blues swapped in every now and then.

Hi,

 

Thanks for your compliment!

 

Ah - it seems you favour the darker saturated Blue inks.

 

It took me some time to start using such inks with any regularity, yet the more I used them the more I liked them. Which is a very good thing indeed.

 

Please let us know of your experience with PRBlMBl on 'cheap paper.' It seems that such paper is becoming more prevalent these days; and in the Inky Thoughts Forum I have the impression that more people are asking for suggestions for matching inks to such papers.

 

Bye,

S1

I tend to use darker, more saturated inks across the board and shy away from ones that are more pastel or heavily shaded, so these dark blues work well for my everyday use. The PR Black Magic Blue and Levenger Cobalt are very similar inks with the Cobalt being just a bit wetter. I find that the PRBkMBl does better on cheaper paper than the Levenger Cobalt. My work has started buying pads that are only one step away from paper towels in absorbancy, so I've switched to the Staples Sustainable Earth for both home and work use. These pads are very inexpensive, but the paper has a nice finish and works well with FP ink.

 

One note on the PR Midnight Blues. I find this ink has more of a denim or "faded glory" look and dries to a more matte finish than the other two. It's a nice change from the more saturated inks.

Hi,

 

Thanks for the update!

 

When you see a Happy Face under the 'Shading' heading in one of my Reviews, do you just stop reading?

 

I agree with your comparison of PRBkMBl to Levenger Cobalt in terms of wetness and reluctance to bleed-thru 'cheaper paper'.

 

I found PR Midnight Blues (Fast Dry) performs pretty well, and has quite a different Look than the Black Magic Blue.

(I've posted comparison exemplars of Midnight Blues in my Review Post № 31.)

 

Bye,

S1