Recommended Shading Blue Or Blue-Green Ink

[requiescat]

Hello--I'm looking for something less expensive than Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki to feed my guzzler of a Parker Vacumatic. I only have the one bottle, which was a generous gift, but the Vacumatic is a pain to switch inks with and I'd like to feed it something less spendy. I'm not concerned about water-resistance or longevity, and I'm a freelance writer so the blue doesn't need to be suitable for a business environment. I'm also trying to avoid anything like iron gall that would require regular flushing. Bonus points if there's nice shading; the Vacumatic writes very wetly.

 

Note: I don't care for purple-leaning blues. Not sure why, it's just a thing. True blue or green-leaning is fine.

 

Blue inks that I have, or have tried and liked:

 

- Waterman Blue-Black (Mysterious Blue?): I enjoyed this, but it dries a little too pale and green for my taste. I like blue-greens not *quite* that green.

 

- Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo: I adored this and wish there were a non-Iroshizuku option.

 

- Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki: Likable, neat sheen.

 

- Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Kai: Liked this a lot. Unfortunately, it's another Iroshizuku. I am very grateful to the friends who gave me these bottles! Just, they need to be used in a different pen.

 

- Diamine Prussian Blue: I enjoyed this but wished it were a little less faded in appearance; I found it hard to read when dry.

 

- J. Herbin Bleu Nuit: Liked this a lot.

 

Any suggestions welcome. I did take a gander at Goulet's online swatches but can't always tell how well inks shade in their samples.

[requiescat]

Oh, I forgot:

- Diamine Asa Blue. I like the hue but I don't recall the sample displaying any shading.

 

- Diamine Presidential Blue. I remember liking it, but it's been a while. Might have to try another sample.

[jean]

Noodler's navy, a blue-turquoise ink.

[Rita_K]

+1 for Noodler's Navy.

Well-behaved and nice shading.

It's also saturated enough so you can dilute it with distilled water if you prefer a lighter shade.

[cskroeze]

I'm loving Private Reserve Electric DC Blue right now, It's got pretty good shading and a great color over all.

[swanjun]

Hm. How about something like Diamine Twilight?

[requiescat]

Thank you all for the suggestions! Now to look at reviews...

[migo984]

R & K Verdigris perhaps

[ac12]

If you like turquoise, try Sheaffer Skirp Turquoise.

Surprisingly it shades. Out of my Parker 45, nice medium color but no shading. Out of my wetter Esterbrook, darker teal color, and it shades. I never thought that ink would shade, but it does.

[UDog]

Noodler's Blue-Black for a dark and Noodler's Navajo Turquoise for a light.

[carlos.q]

Please take a look at Pelikan Edelstein Topaz...

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/174538-pelikan-edelstein-topaz/

Edited May 13, 2015 by carlos.q

[lgsoltek]

Diamine Mediterranean Blue is quite close to Kon-peki in writing.

 

http://s2.homezz.com/201504/5915/50649_o.jpg

(Please ignore the Verdigris and Ebony Blue swabs. The colours are wrong.)

[tonybelding]

The Vacumatic has a rubber diaphragm, and therefore I would avoid putting any Noodler's or PR into it.

 

Diamine have a lot of blues to choose from, less expensive than Iroshizuku and good quality. I particularly like Diamine Asa Blue.

[dcwaites]

Most of the Diamine inks will shade, but it is also a combination of Pen nib, Ink and Paper.

Your pen needs to be wet enough to put down enough ink. A dry pen will never put down enough ink to shade, and a really wet one will put down too much.

The paper should not be too absorbent, otherwise the ink will penetrate the paper before the shading can build up.

A good, medium hard paper that absorbs a little, but not too much is what is needed.

[Davros]

Eau de Nil is a low maintenance, attractive shading ink.

[OCArt]

Diamine Mediterranean Blue is quite close to Kon-peki in writing.

 

http://s2.homezz.com/201504/5915/50649_o.jpg

(Please ignore the Verdigris and Ebony Blue swabs. The colours are wrong.)

 

Thank you for posting this wonderful comparison of blueish inks. A great resource!

[bobje]

Lgsoltek -- +1 on OCArt's high regards for your comparison of blue inks! Extremely comprehensive resource! Nice work.

[Jackokun]

Try,

 

Noodlers airdrop blue- black

Franklin Christoph midnight emerald