Problem With Montblanc Golden Yellow Ink Cartridges

[JonSzanto]

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.

[Zdenek]

 

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.

 

 

I have no care of any clouding ink including further discussion about it.

[Chrissy]

 

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.

 

 

 

That sounds very bad. If it was a dye component, one might expect it to mix back into the ink when you shook it. If it stays together then I agree it looks more like an organic growth.

[swanjun]

(bleep), I have the floaters (and some cloudy filament) in my cartridges, too. The cartridges were bought from a European retailer. My bottle, from Anderson Pens, seems okay and has a different "expiration" date than the cartridges. Maybe it's from a different, later batch.

[migo984]

If FPN is supposedly developing this 'special' relationship with Montblanc, as suggested by Wim, wouldn't you expect Mb to have alerted FPN, rather than having to rely on discussions between members, going as far back as February?

[CS388]

'Matter' forming in cartridges and bottles is one thing, but I wouldn't be too happy to have it forming in any of my pens.

 

Hope it can be flushed out of those delicate feed channels etc.!

 

Agree with JonSzanto and migo 984: MB need to get on top of this and do the right thing by their customers.

[webgeckos]

 

That sounds very bad. If it was a dye component, one might expect it to mix back into the ink when you shook it. If it stays together then I agree it looks more like an organic growth.

 

Although far-fetched, I also wondered about the dyes. Tekk had an issue earlier with a supplier not treating the dyes with Phenol.

 

There is nothing in my sealed bottles. So far,

[jmccarty3]

Nothing in my new bottle either, but I'm tempted to add some phenol.

[ScienceChick]

Nothing in my new bottle either, but I'm tempted to add some phenol.

Can't hurt.

[Laura N]

I had a nice conversation with someone higher up in MB USA today. She confirmed that MB have identified two bad batches of Golden Yellow ink. Chrissy tracked down both batch numbers, but I know one of the two is batch number 112724, because that's the number on my box of cartridges.

I'll be sent a new box of Golden Yellow cartridges when a new batch comes in.

[jmccarty3]

The lot number on my (so far) uncontaminated bottle is 112723. Chrissy, can you confirm the other bad batch number?

[Fatestorm]

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

 

They mostly come at night. Mostly.

[Pentulant]

So disappointing. Checked my opened bottle the other day after first hearing about this issue. It smells...musty. Do any of you know if this is the normal smell for this ink?

 

Bad batch numbers will be most appreciated.

 

And if there is a recall, I've certainly not been notified even though I purchased from a boutique.

[macball]

I wouldn't recommend using phenol as a deterrent to organic growth in ink. Although the exact formulation of the resin used in MB pens remains a secret, I think it is agreed that it is some type of acrylic. There is a chart of chemical resistance of acrylics categorizing immediate, 7 days, 30 days, long term exposure, at two temperatures on eplastics.com. Of course the concentration, time, and temperature will affect the rate and degree of deterioration of the plastic, but phenol is one of those chemicals that are not recommended for any exposure to acrylic. The effects will manifest themselves as crazing, cracking, and opacity, which are the symptoms observed by some members of this forum. If some ink manufacturers are using phenol as an anti fungal agent it may explain the brittleness and cracking observed by some. Phenol has a distinctive odour so it is fairly easy to detect, and avoid, in ink formulations. In my workplace we use acrylic containers to hold liquids that often contain a small amount of phenol. Crazing, hazing, and brittleness of the plastic does occur over time, but the effect is variable. The time exposure is acceptable (10 yrs) to allow for replacement of the container but this might be an unacceptable time for replacing a cherished pen.

Edited May 21, 2016 by macball

[bstnnyc]

The lot number on my (so far) uncontaminated bottle is 112723. Chrissy, can you confirm the other bad batch number?

Hello I have 2 bottles with lot number 112723 and unfortunately both now have this issue even though they seemed fine when I first got them in February.

 

So disappointing. Checked my opened bottle the other day after first hearing about this issue. It smells...musty. Do any of you know if this is the normal smell for this ink?

 

Bad batch numbers will be most appreciated.

 

And if there is a recall, I've certainly not been notified even though I purchased from a boutique.

The ink is not supposed to smell musty. The bottle I opened smelled fine when I tested it in Feb and when I opened it last week it was definitely off!

 

I agree; communication on this has been seriously lacking from MB. Like others have noted, I think they are trying to sweep this under the rug rather than address the issue head on.

[jmccarty3]

Opened my bottle of lot 112723 today, and it definitely smells musty. I added 40 drops of Cynthia's 4% phenol. Should that be enough?

 

Still no visible SITB.

[bstnnyc]

This SITB is a crafty little sucker. It does not show on the surface of the ink and it seems to hide on the bottom of the bottle. The best way I've been able to see it is by shaking the bottle and holding it up against a light source.

[macball]

Opened my bottle of lot 112723 today, and it definitely smells musty. I added 40 drops of Cynthia's 4% phenol. Should that be enough?

 

Still no visible SITB.

 

Phenol is an antimicrobial so it will prevent the growth of any new bacteria or fungi but will not dissolve the organic matter of the previous growth. The ink will remain cloudy unless filtered with a millipore filter fine enough to remove bacteria (0.25 um pore size) and byproducts.

 

Phenol is toxic, especially to cats! If it can kill bacteria and fungus, enough of it will kill you. If it has been added to ink, consider the ink to be toxic thereafter.

 

As stated above, phenol will also destroy a resin pen. Eventually cracks will form in the ink window and the acrylic will become brittle. If dropped it will likely shatter. Some resources state that exposure to phenol in any form, for any period of time, will damage acrylic.

 

I would suggest not using the contaminated ink, regardless of how beautiful it is. If phenol has been added to the ink or is used by the manufacturer as an antimicrobial (unlikely) I would also flush it down the drain with plenty of water and never use it in a resin pen.

Edited May 21, 2016 by macball

[Laura N]

I went and looked it up in the other forum. The contamination has been found in these two batch numbers: 11273 and 11274. Both bottles and cartridges have been affected. Montblanc said they were analyzing the reason and scope of the problem.

[Bergerac]

Well this isn't good really, however, It's a good job that there are people well connected within the "pen world" on this forum that can assist us normal folk with such events like this.

 

In the meantime while we wait for Mb to sort out this error. There is this some very good ink from this company, it's based in the UK though, I believe.....

 

http://www.diaminein...s.aspx?catid=14