Ink A Lighter Shade After Refill?

[TubeScreamer]

Hey guys, just a quick question for you knowledgeable lot..

 

Ive noticed that when I refill my old lever fill pen with ink, that for a while, the ink is a completely different shade of blue than it eventually becomes.

When newly refilled, the ink is almost sky blue (Parker Quink), but after a while, it becomes a very dark, almost navy blue.

 

The first thought would be that its diluted somehow.. but bearing in mind that Ive not washed the nib at all.. what could be the cause of this?

 

Its not a huge problem, but just a little annoying when I need to refill part way through a piece of writing, and it looks as though Ive changed pen..

 

Any ideas?

[Charles Skinner]

One reason may be that there is still a little water left in the pen after flushing out. Just a guess. C. S.

[ENewton]

How long is a while? I have not used Quink but find that many, if not most, inks get darker in the pen in the course of days. Evaporation is a factor.

 

I don't mind when inks get darker, but one of my inks changes from purple to green. I suspect oxidation in that case.

[TubeScreamer]

Thank you both for the replies.. well firstly I should mention again that I havent flushed the pen at all.. it ran out (this ink had been in the pen some days), and I dipped it straight into the same Parker Quink as was in it initially and refilled.

The ink is instantly lighter in shade.. almost sky blue in comparison to its eventual shade.

I finished off writing the bit I was writing, and when Id finished.. the pen was still writing in this sky blue shade.

 

Come back maybe an hour or two later, and try it again.. the ink is no longer sky blue, but somewhere between the sky blue, and navy blue shade.. very odd eh.. I suppose if I leave it a little longer itll be completely back to navy, haha

[Mew]

When the ink stays in your pen for a while, some of the water in it is evaporated giving you a darker coloured ink. This happens because the dye content is same, with less water, so more saturation and resultantly a darker colour.

[akrohn2010]

How far into the ink bottle did you submerge the nib? I’m certainly no ink expert but if it’s an older bottle of ink that has been sitting still a long time, it may have stratified a bit and the less saturated parts of the bottle may be on top.

 

Again just a guess - there are a few old threads in the forums about this: bottom line is that a dye-based ink shouldn’t settle like a pigment/particulate ink, but could still “stratify” over time in theory. Perhaps gently stirring the bottle before filling might help?

[taimdala]

How long is a while? I have not used Quink but find that many, if not most, inks get darker in the pen in the course of days. Evaporation is a factor.

 

I don't mind when inks get darker, but one of my inks changes from purple to green. I suspect oxidation in that case.

 

That sounds like a pretty cool ink, ENewton. If I may ask, what's the name of the ink? I'd like to see if I can recreate the effect.

[Runnin_Ute]

It's possible there was almost nothing in the feed so when you are first filling it is lighter, then as the feed floods it gets darker. Of course, this is dependent on how dry you run it before filling.

[Driften]

Since you have not flushed the pen there may be old residue in the sac that dissolves into the fresh ink making it darker. The lighter ink was in the feed from filling and gets replaced with the more saturated ink from the sac....

[ENewton]

 

That sounds like a pretty cool ink, ENewton. If I may ask, what's the name of the ink? I'd like to see if I can recreate the effect.

 

It's Robert Oster Purple Rock. On some papers it's gray, on some it's purple, and on some it's green from the outset, but I've found that on certain papers it turns green over time, either in the pen or on the page.

 

The effect was pretty dramatic when I used a syringe to fill a converter over the sink last week. At first the ink that spilled into the sink looked dark purple, but soon it turned dark teal. In the pen, it started out purple, but a few days later, it's green.

 

I actually wish it would stay purple on papers like Tomoe River.

[Runnin_Ute]

KWZI 150 Confederation Brown often goes down green rather than brown. Pen, paper all that play a role. Sometimes it turns sometimes not. Strange.

[Mew]

KWZI 150 Confederation Brown often goes down green rather than brown. Pen, paper all that play a role. Sometimes it turns sometimes not. Strange.

It would be brown too, only if it flowed more easily than it does. It's not a very likeable ink unless you use it in a very broad and wet nib, like M1000 nibs. That's the only nib I got the brown shade out of.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have gotten the brown in some of my wetter pens. Can't think which off the top of my head though.....