The Four Basic Blue Inks

[dcwaites]

I thought I would do a simple comparison of the four basic blue inks - Parker Quink Permanent Blue, Parker Quink Washable Blue, Waterman Florida/Serenity Blue and Sheaffer Skrip Blue

 

 

What surprised me was how close three of the inks - PQ Perm. Blue, Waterman Florida and Sheaffer Skrip Blue - were to each other. In the hand you can see that the PQ Perm. Blue is the darkest by a tiny amount, closely followed by the Sheaffer then the Waterman. There is a noticeable difference with the PQ Washable Blue, it being much lighter/brighter than the others.

 

I had always thought that the Sheaffer Blue had a purple cast, but in this comparison, it doesn't show.

 

All samples were done with a Jinhao #6 nib held in a dip pen holder, and on Rhodia notepad paper.

 

 

As usual, click on the image to get a full-size view.

Edited September 15, 2015 by dcwaites

[BobR]

Thanks for this. I have all four and the scans look representative. My bottle of Quink Perm. Blue is a vestige from the 1960's. The ink was completely dried up when I found the bottle, but came to life with distilled water. It's my favorite of these, and I wish it was readily available in the U.S.

[OCArt]

That is very interesting. Thank you for doing this comparison.

[J85909266]

I do not care for this shade of blue, at all.

[ksm]

Thank you,

I miss Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue in your presentation. In EU it takes place of Sheaffer Skrip Blue as fourth easily available ink.

[dcwaites]

I don't care for the inks that much at all, particularly the Parker Washable Blue. However, I think we should all have at least one of these inks on hand, particularly the Waterman or Sheaffer, as they are said to be particularly safe inks, especially for demonstrators or vintage pens.

 

I just felt it was time someone compared them all together. However, once I had finished posting it, I noticed my bottle of Pelikan Royal Blue 4001. If anyone is interested, I can add that to the group.

 

I have been spending so much time with rich, saturated inks the past several years, and I thought it was time to go back to the basics.

 

 

 

PS, KSM, you posted just a second before I did. I will add the Pelikan.

Edited September 16, 2015 by dcwaites

[dcwaites]

As requested, here are the Four Basic Inks (with a Fifth added) --

 

 

In the hand, you can see that, compared to the other inks, the Pelikan has the slightest of a purple cast, but by itself, it wouldn't show up.

[ksm]

Thank You very much.

 

Would you be able to extend scope of our comparison, to include lowest bidder's 70gsm recycled paper?

Crops of high-res scans (feathering) and a backside scan (bleed-through) would be very welcome.

 

Rhodia paper is very nice to work with, but this are easily available inks, so there is big chance they would be used on easily available papers (tests in schools, annotating printouts at work etc.)

[J85909266]

For the record, I appreciate the comparison. How does an ink like Visconti Blue or Omas Blue compare to these?

[dcwaites]

Thank You very much.

 

Would you be able to extend scope of our comparison, to include lowest bidder's 70gsm recycled paper?

Crops of high-res scans (feathering) and a backside scan (bleed-through) would be very welcome.

 

Rhodia paper is very nice to work with, but this are easily available inks, so there is big chance they would be used on easily available papers (tests in schools, annotating printouts at work etc.)

 

That will be the next stage. I initially wanted to see how these inks compare under ideal circumstances.

[visvamitra]

Nice one - recently Cybaea sent me some ink samples and the short note was written with new Parker Blue. I must say it looked impressive (intensive, sheen, shading).

[dcwaites]

The potential for sheen with the Parker Quink inks has always been there, indicated by the red colour of the dried ink in the threads around the top of the bottle.

[Jamerelbe]

My problem with Quink Blue (which was pretty much my only bottled ink, until a couple of years ago) is the way it fades, quite drastically, over time - especially if exposed to sunlight.

[inkstainedruth]

@ dcwaites -- thanks for the comparison. Very interesting. I think I remember seeing some speculation that Quink and Waterman were the same these days -- especially the cartridges. (I really miss Permanent Blue -- so it's good to know there are equivalents available.)

 

@ Jamerelbe -- Did you have Washable Blue or Permanent Blue? I had Washable Blue fade in a *closed* journal....

 

@ PS104 and J85909266 -- Play nice. This is an interesting thread and we (well, most of us, anyway) would prefer to *not* have the Moderators step in and lock the topic....

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[BobR]

For the record, I appreciate the comparison. How does an ink like Visconti Blue or Omas Blue compare to these?

The OMAS and Visconti are fairly similar to each other (at least the OMAS production of a few years ago--I understand that they've modified it recently). Both are noticeably more saturated than these inks. They almost seem to shine and "pop out" more than these. If you're a blue fan like me, you need to have both types in your stable.

[dms525]

I have the Waterman Florida Blue (old name and new), the Skrip and the Pelikan 4001. To me, they are all reliable but not very interesting. Sometimes, you don't want "interesting."

 

The most significant difference among them is how they match the flow settings of a nib. The Waterman works best in dry writing nibs. The Pelikan works best in wet writers. My impression of the Skrip ink is that it is more versatile. Note that I am using italic nibs predominantly, and flow parameters might be more important to me than if I were using round nibs.

 

David

[J85909266]

 

 

@ PS104 and J85909266 -- Play nice. This is an interesting thread and we (well, most of us, anyway) would prefer to *not* have the Moderators step in and lock the topic....

 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

What is all this?

 

I'm having a discussion, here. I felt I absorbed that rude little remark quite gracefully.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for the [growing] comparo Dave.

 

When I looked at my samples from many of the 'basic Blues', in some cases the differences were nigh on imaginary - there seemed to be a 'default' Blue. Yet at times the difference were subtle, and being able to convey such was often overshadowed by the changes inherent in going from ink on paper to pixels on a monitor.

 

I do admit to having a fling with bottled Lamy Blue.

 

Cheers!

 

Bye,

S1

[dcwaites]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for the [growing] comparo Dave.

 

When I looked at my samples from many of the 'basic Blues', in some cases the differences were nigh on imaginary - there seemed to be a 'default' Blue. Yet at times the difference were subtle, and being able to convey such was often overshadowed by the changes inherent in going from ink on paper to pixels on a monitor.

 

I do admit to having a fling with bottled Lamy Blue.

 

Cheers!

 

Bye,

S1

 

You devil, you, Sandy

[TSherbs]

Thanks for adding the fifth; I own Waterman and Pelikan and much prefer the latter (Waterman is more washed out to me, esp as it dries). The Skrip looks interesting to me, but I won't buy any more until I need to replace, which won't be for a while since Pelikan went to those larger bottles.