Ink "clones"--Better Than The Real Thing?

[MusterMark]

Having filled my Lamy 2000 with Diamine Twilight this morning, I was struck by how similar it looks to Waterman Mysterious Blue. Twilight looks like Mysterious Blue at its darkest, but lacks MB's tendency to change colors over the course of a page. I couldn't help but wonder if Twilight was intended as a Diamine "clone" (maybe even improvement?) of Mysterious Blue. That got me thinking about Noodler's Borealis Black, an ink I've heard was meant as a less expensive clone of Aurora Black.

 

So here's my question: What other inks look and behave like "clones" of more established inks (intentionally or not)? If a clone seems intentional, what is its purpose (less expensive, different properties, more consistent, etc.)?

 

Shameless confession: this question is my way of coping with the time between now and the next episode of the BBC's Orphan Black...

 

Edited June 11, 2014 by MusterMark

[fledermaus89]

this may be slightly off topic, but noodler's ww2 inks (not sure what the set is actually called) are supposed to be recreations of inks used in v-mails. The story behind dark matter was quite interesting. anyways, there really is no way to conpare these inks to its originals for me so I can't comment on how closely restored they are.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

There are quite a few inks that resemble each other, especially when comparing online depictions.

 

I find the differences become apparent only upon use, and even then sometimes only from certain pens on certain papers.

 

There can be significant variation in the performance profile, such as resistance to bleed- show-through, feathering, line-width gain (spread), water resistance, lubricity, etc; and the nuances of appearance such as saturation, shading, line quality, etc.

 

I've developed the format & template for my wee Ink Reviews to support comparison. Especially amongst the Blue-centric inks, there's lots of hairsplitting & re-splitting, so choosing an ink can come down to what's readily available, cost or even bottle design - aspects which I seldom address.

 

Bye,

S1

[WaskiSquirrel]

Noodler's has done several inks that are meant to be similar to historical inks. His WW2 series is all similar to existing inks. Someone already mentioned Borealis Black, which is similar to Aurora Black. His Dark Matter is supposed to be similar to one used by the scientists who developed the nuclear bomb (not sure if that's part of the WW2 series or not). Also, Kung Te Cheng is supposed to be similar to one used by Chinese Emperors.

[Randal6393]

Brian Goulet did an hour of interview with Nathan Tardiff recently. Nathan touched on Borealis Black -- said he developed the ink because he liked many of the properties of "the ink with no name" but felt it was overpriced. Many of the users of Aurora Black were artists on a low budget. Decided to do the same properties in a black ink that was much better priced.

 

Enjoy,

[EGdaTarHeel]

While I love the PR blues and DC Waites' most recent Diamine mix meant to replace Penman Sapphire, there is still nothing like the original. When I run out, I will be sad...

[RudyR]

Color wise Visconti Blue and Montblanc Royal Blue are so similar that it would be hard to determine which is which. But I don't believe they set out to clone each other. The development probably went something like this:

 

Montblanc: People like royal blue so we shall produce a royal blue.

 

Visconti: We shall make Visconti blue because we are Visconti.

 

Nowhere have I seen Visconti ever say Visconti Blue is Royal Blue.

[wallylynn]

Noodler's has done several inks that are meant to be similar to historical inks. His WW2 series is all similar to existing inks. Someone already mentioned Borealis Black, which is similar to Aurora Black. His Dark Matter is supposed to be similar to one used by the scientists who developed the nuclear bomb (not sure if that's part of the WW2 series or not). Also, Kung Te Cheng is supposed to be similar to one used by Chinese Emperors.

 

Hmmm, in all these years, I never noticed until just now: Aurora - Borealis...

 

I remember reading that FPH (formerly Art Brown) Manhattan Blue is a replica of old (defunct) Carter Blue. Similarly Ellis Island Blue replicates the ink used in the immigration paperwork.

 

 

[raging.dragon]

Some sepia inks are trying to imitate the original Sepia inks (made from cuttlefish ink).

[inkstainedruth]

Also, my understanding is that Noodler's Manhattan Blue is supposed to replicate the old Carter's ink.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth