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Problem With Montblanc Golden Yellow Ink Cartridges


Laura N

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I bought a box of cartridges of the new Golden Yellow ink two weeks ago Sunday, at the Chicago Pen Show, from an authorized dealer. Golden Yellow is a new ink this year, and mine seems very new. My box has an expiration day of May 2018.

 

The ink cartridges have been in the box since I bought them, which again was all of 15 days ago. Today I took out a few, and I noticed something strange floating inside. Looking more closely, it appears to be SITB, and it's in every single one of the eight cartridges, all sealed.

 

I'm not really figuring out how to upload photos here these days, but I think I can attach one. There are more photos here, for those interested. But I wanted to let folks know to check Golden Yellow ink cartridges before using them. Maybe it's an isolated problem, maybe not.

 

Tomorrow I'll have to call the retailer and see if they'll give me a credit or exchange. Montblanc USA wouldn't help me out there, and frankly I'm disappointed. It's just a $5 item in the first place, and I spent a lot of time calling Montblanc about it. But lesson learned.

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Received a letter from a friend in the UK this week, warning of problems with Golden Yellow & that "users have reported seeing gloopy lumps in their bottles".

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

 

il_570xN.522805314_gxxu.jpg

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Thank you for sharing this information! Despite being super OCD, I never think to look when opening a new MB ink, so this warning is much needed. Is anyone in the US able to test to determine what this is exactly? I'd be happy to send my bottle to someone with the equipment.

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I have seen quite a few posts about this here and on Reddit, with people finding mold floating in brand new MB Golden Yellow bottles. Something is up with the production/shipping process or the formulation of the ink itself, but I would steer completely clear of it for a while.

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Tomorrow I'll have to call the retailer and see if they'll give me a credit or exchange. Montblanc USA wouldn't help me out there, and frankly I'm disappointed. It's just a $5 item in the first place, and I spent a lot of time calling Montblanc about it. But lesson learned.

 

I'm sorry to hear this has happened, and hadn't heard about it happening before. :o

 

It's really disappointing that Montblanc USA wouldn't help you out. I wonder if Montblanc Hamburg would? To have to return a pack of cartridges virtually negates the expense of buying them in the first place, especially when they will probably just be thrown away on receipt. :(

 

Following on from this post, I rang my local Montblanc boutique and they have confirmed that all Montblanc yellow ink has been recalled - bottles and cartridges - and they assume that this is because of the problem you have seen.

They also confirmed that you can return your pack of cartridges to any Montblanc retailer, not just the one you purchased it from. :)
And so can anyone else who has a problem with this ink. :)
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it's alive !

 

 

:yikes:

Axel

Montblanc collector since 1968. Former owner of the Montblanc Boutique Bremen, retired 2007 and sold it.
Collecting Montblanc safeties, eyedroppers, lever fillers, button fillers, compressors - all from 1908 - 1929,
Montblanc ephemera and paraphernalia from 1908 to 1929,
Montblanc Meisterstück from 1924 up to the 50s,
Montblanc special and limited editions from 1991 to 2006
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Definitely check again with MB as in Germany they are officially taking back all MB Yellow inks since this problem became known 2months ago or so. They unfortunately have not solved it yet so I think you just get your money back or another ink.

Wish list: Aurora Optima

Current inked Pens: Pilot Decimo - Noodlers BBH, MB Mozart - MB Lavender

Pelikan M150 - Noodlers Kung te Cheng

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Maybe this explains why its so hard to find at MB factory stores and Dealers.

 

I have two Bottles I bought from Anderson and they are fine.

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Hmm, I bought mine in Feb 2016, one of the very first sold here. Still looks okay. I didn't snot or belch into it, but I will keep an eye on it.

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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The problem was discussed earlier already - https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302325-montblanc-golden-yellow-ink/.

 

I think the dye precipitating from the solution is the cause due to its poor solubility.

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons." – General D. MacArthur

 

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – W. Churchill

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I really didn't like this ink when I tried it & I'd already put my bottles in my "Box of Inks to Give Away". I'll probably just tip it down the drain now.

Verba volant, scripta manent

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All I can say is that mine looks organic. Specifically, it looks like SITB, with which I am familiar from opened bottles of ink that occasionally have gone bad over the years. I didn't open any of the cartridges to test them, and I have no way of conducting any scientific tests. I'm just going by visuals.

 

I contacted MB USA, to warn them, and even after spending some time on the phone with them, I was told I had to contact the retailer directly to get a refund. They didn't take any contact information or even my name. It's a $5 package of ink and I'm not really eager to jump through any more hoops. Though I do understand their general policy, in this case it's disappointing to me.

 

If you go to the link in my original post, you can see more photos of this stuff. When you move the cartridges, by shaking or turning them upside down, the material floats around, and sort of settles to the bottom, but it stays together. It looks like an organic growth to me. I have seen precipitates in an Organics Studio ink before, and this is different.

 

It seems from what migo and Valdair are saying, others have seen this too. And it seems from what Chrissy posted Montblanc has recalled these at least in the UK.

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I think the dye precipitating from the solution is the cause due to its poor solubility.

 

I'm glad you think that, but are you willing to guarantee that? I don't think so, and I certainly wouldn't risk a bacterial or other organic contamination of my pens based on Internet ruminations. This is a product that should be replaced at the manufacturer's cost.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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If that's the problem then maybe passing it through a coffee filter paper would make it OK to use?

 

 

It occurred to me that this could be the problem. Filtration could help.

 

All I can say is that mine looks organic. Specifically, it looks like SITB, with which I am familiar from opened bottles of ink that occasionally have gone bad over the years. I didn't open any of the cartridges to test them, and I have no way of conducting any scientific tests. I'm just going by visuals.

 

I contacted MB USA, to warn them, and even after spending some time on the phone with them, I was told I had to contact the retailer directly to get a refund. They didn't take any contact information or even my name. It's a $5 package of ink and I'm not really eager to jump through any more hoops. Though I do understand their general policy, in this case it's disappointing to me.

 

If you go to the link in my original post, you can see more photos of this stuff. When you move the cartridges, by shaking or turning them upside down, the material floats around, and sort of settles to the bottom, but it stays together. It looks like an organic growth to me. I have seen precipitates in an Organics Studio ink before, and this is different.

 

It seems from what migo and Valdair are saying, others have seen this too. And it seems from what Chrissy posted Montblanc has recalled these at least in the UK.

 

There are "countless" ways that can cause the clouding of the solution. Organic growth... I have heard that MB uses an inhibitor of "organic growth" as an ink component. We can only guess, but the technologists have to decide what to do.

Edited by Zdenek

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons." – General D. MacArthur

 

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – W. Churchill

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I'm glad you think that, but are you willing to guarantee that? I don't think so, and I certainly wouldn't risk a bacterial or other organic contamination of my pens based on Internet ruminations. This is a product that should be replaced at the manufacturer's cost.

 

 

Dear JonSzanto,

I am not an MB technologist so I cannot guarantee you nothing, of course. My thoughts are based on my long experience in chemistry/pharm. industry solving many similar problems. These can be numerous. As I know MB used an microorganism inhibitor in their inks. :wallbash:

Edited by Zdenek

"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons." – General D. MacArthur

 

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – W. Churchill

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There are "countless" ways that can cause the clouding of the solution. Organic growth... I have heard that MB uses an inhibitor of "organic growth" as an ink component. We can only guess, but the technologists have to decide what to do.

 

Yes, maybe they even mistakenly put glitter in there to try to compete with all the sparkle-pony inks that people are going nuts over.

 

But really: "I have heard..." and "we can only guess..." are non-answers to a serious problem, at least from a customer service viewpoint. As Chrissy stated, the ink appears to be already in the process of being pulled from stores and supply, a clear sign of a problem. We shouldn't sweep it under the rug when one of the premiere companies has an issue and then doesn't deal with their customers properly to fix it.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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