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A Purplish Mix To Probably Avoid


sansenri

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I'm sometimes mixing inks for fun.

My typical colour palette is very limited, as I use almost only blue inks. Nonetheless, it's interesting how many shades of blue ink exist (just look at the commercial offer).
Since I like Pelikan pens quite a lot, with time I have accumulated a number of bottles of Royal blue.
Although Royal blue is a nice ink, it has a tendency to fade, and as a consequence of having a stock and of aiming at mixes that tend to fade less, I'm very often using Royal blue as my starting material for mixing experiments.

Beyond blue, the other colour that intrigues me most is purple.
This is an experimental mix using Royal blue and Diamine Syrah (of which I have a smaller sample bottle).

So why should you probably avoid this mix as suggested in the title? I'll tell you straight off: because, unexpectedly (both these inks seem rather tame), it precipitates!
The starting formula for my test was 4 parts or Pelikan Royal blue to 1 part of Diamine Syrah.
Using two clean metered syringes I pulled out two ml of Royal blue and 1/2 ml of Syrah from the bottles and added then to a small glass vial (actually one of those mini jam jars with metal cap).
The content of the two inks immediately precipitates as soon as they get into contact with each other.
Small bubbles seem to form, but in particular, lumps.
I left the mix to settle overnight but nothing had changed next morning. One thing I noticed was that besides the lumps there was a part of mix that seemed to remain liquid.
It is likely that once a certain amount of precipitate has formed, the chemical reaction stops, reaching equilibrium.
My chemical studies suggest that now I should filter the remaining liquid... but I don't have enough (the test was done on total 2.5 ml) nor am I equipped to filter ink...
OK, no problem, this is just a test anyway, so I risked sucking up the liquid part with one of the syringes, and filled a converter with it, as I am curious to test the resulting ink.
The converter belongs to a Kaigelu 316 that I'm using to test the ink.
Initial results are not overly positive, the ink in the 316 seems very dry (I'm not sure how much the 316 is to blame) the colour however is interesting! vaguely reminds me of Poussière de Lune.

Out it comes from the 316 and into a much wetter pen, a Ranga 8 C/C with a Jowo B nib.
The dryness was partly due to the 316, however even in the Ranga 8 this pen/ink combo is not a gusher.
Here you can see the resulting colour.

fpn_1583415855__img_3977-3_royal_blue_4_

As much as I like the result even as a first try, I would however tend to discourage attempting this mix, further precipitation could take place inside the pen clogging it, and in any case isolating the liquid part of the resulting mix is not a simple step, some smaller lumps could remain, and a part of the ink is lost in the process.
A nice try though.

(two possible ways forward, dilution of the mix, although I doubt the precipitate will redissolve, or a similar mix using another blue, perhaps from the Diamine stable)

Edited by sansenri
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VERY interesting color! I must say I'm tempted to play...

One more avenue yours suggests to me: use a smaller proportion of the Syrah... maybe start by adding just drops, and if it's tame, add more...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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i think poussière de lune is more gray, and a bit more red, but that may be just how your picture shows on my screen.

anyway, this color reminds me more of montblanc psychedelic purple.

 

cheers,

sebastian

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i think poussière de lune is more gray, and a bit more red, but that may be just how your picture shows on my screen.

anyway, this color reminds me more of montblanc psychedelic purple.

 

cheers,

sebastian

 

Yes, unfortunately photos are never very accurate on colours, in my experience reproduction on the pc screen always seems to add a small amount of blue. On paper this looks slightly more greyish. I'm not a purple expert either (as mentioned I use blue mostly) so thank you for finding a closer match.

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PS

I've just tested it vs Poussière de Lune (which I do have)

my mix is more on a purple/blue tinge while Poussière is more reddish/burgundy

I'm not posting a photo because light is insufficient now and artificial light would not show the colour properly

will do tomorrow

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I'll give you one reason to not use this in sac pens: purples are reputed to eat latex sacs. I do not know how much trouble you would incur due to precipitation.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Thanks, was not planning on trying that... :)

It's in the converter on a cheap pen at the moment

here vs Poussière, yes it is more purplish

(I will probably not make further batches, but will try perhaps a diamine + diamine mix..)

fpn_1583520390__img_3979-3_royal__syrah.

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Well, you did inspire me to play, and I have. I ended up with a doctored bottle of the new Quink blue black, which tends to get me enthusiastic and then... meh when it gets lighter and fades after drying. I had a purple sample of an ink from dr Sreekumar in India, it's called Sumukhi or something (the label has deteriorated a bit); I got it when I first ordered some of his inks a few years ago, and the nice thing about this bottle is it's like an eyedropper, you can dose to the drop. I think I had about a ml left and it all went into the new bottle. I added about ten drops of black food color, and it looks a lot like your Royal blue/Syrah mix. Sorry, not up to scanning or photographing right now. But thanks for putting me back on the ink-mixing road. It had been a while...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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:D glad I got you playing...

I've just posted another mix with Edelstein inks, these behave well, no precipitates...

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I just read you are in north Italy - so the quarantaine measures apply to you, too. It must be kind of scary... so, stay safe, stay healthy, and all the best...

On the ink-mixing front, I just found a mixture from some years ago, I think it was made around 2018, because there was a time after my mother in law passed late 2017 that I lost the habit of noting my ink-experiments, although I still did some. But I noted on the label that it contained a mixture of Quink blue and green (and I had used that for my students for an assignment a bit earlier on), a black ink (no idea which one) and some Sydney Harbor Blue which was added much later. (that happened because a rodent gnawed the big bottle I had bought and kept on my desk.) last year, I think. It looks a bit like your 6-5-1 mix, actually, although I think slightly more greenish.

Looking for a pen to fill with it...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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that's right, it is somewhat scary, we are confined at home at the moment, can only go out for real necessity like buying food, and few other things, but essentially it is recommended we stay home...

It's now two weeks already I am working from home, with the PC and phone, as my company decided to take early precaution measures (there are about 60 people in my office, if just one of them gets sick, we would all be risking confinement, so it's just as well that we took decision to do it while we are still well...)

above all, besides the sense of disorientation, it's boring...

ink mixing is a form of distraction from work on one side, and news on the tv on the other...

FPN is also helping keep my mind busy on more pleasant things

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Well, all the best, and the best of luck...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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Just an update to this, I said I might try a diamine + diamine mix to see whether it is a brand incompatibility issue, but no, after some further testing it would seem that Syrah is at fault...

 

So here is what I did.

I chose to change Pelikan Royal blue with Diamine Midnight.

I chose a darker blue because it seemed interesting to aim at a darker purple result.

I did some preliminary testing, with just a few drops of midnight + same amount of Syrah.

Not as badly as in the previous mix but again some precipitate was formed.

The resulting purple is quite interesting and saturated, but contains some lumps.

Just to test if the precipitate is re-dissolvable, I added some water. I was not hoping much so I did not measure amounts.

Surprisingly the lumps re-dissolved.

This was just a preliminary test, so if I wanted reliable results I would have to start anew and measure quantities carefully.

The diluted purple is rather wet, but not totally unusable, there is a lot of shading but that is because it's a little too wet (see on the left side).

All in all, some interesting information, but not yet a usable formula.

 

 

fpn_1583849838__img_3995-3_diamine_midni

Edited by sansenri
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I do find it intriguing that the resulting color, while definitely purplish, seems so close to the Midnight Blue. I'd never have guessed it was a 1:1 mix with Syrah. BTW, this is one that I can try and see if it replicates. I have both Syrah and Midnight blue, although it will take a little hunting to find them... so don't hold your breath.

BTW the diluted color seems great!

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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I found the Syrah and the Midnight; made a 1:1 by volume (approx) mix, and am now testing. Here are some quick observations:

  1. no precipitate, as far as I can see. You did say you got it immediately, right?
  2. the color seems to me more closely intermediate between the two constituents. Closer to Syrah by far, than yours.

I am letting it stand for a while before putting it in a pen (have only dip-pen tested it) to see what, if anything, develops. But it makes me think your Syrah may actually be contaminated?

I do not much care for the resulting color, by the way, so I may play with dilution, once the mixture shows its characteristics. Will update.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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I found the Syrah and the Midnight; made a 1:1 by volume (approx) mix, and am now testing. Here are some quick observations:

  1. no precipitate, as far as I can see. You did say you got it immediately, right?
  2. the color seems to me more closely intermediate between the two constituents. Closer to Syrah by far, than yours.

I am letting it stand for a while before putting it in a pen (have only dip-pen tested it) to see what, if anything, develops. But it makes me think your Syrah may actually be contaminated?

I do not much care for the resulting color, by the way, so I may play with dilution, once the mixture shows its characteristics. Will update.

Thank you for trying.

My mix was really just a compatibility test, so my measurements were rather inaccurate.

Admittedly my Syrah is one of the smaller 30 ml plastic bottles, although by itself it looks ok, or perhaps just slightly over-concentrated.

I will probably be testing again with more accurate measurements.

Take a picture perhaps and post it (cell phones take nice pics nowadays, just ensure you have lots of day light).

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I've just realized I should have posted this in inky recipes... how do I ask moderators to move this?...

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I've just realized I should have posted this in inky recipes... how do I ask moderators to move this?...

I think you could contact Amber and ask her to move it. She is a moderator.

My Syrah is also in a 30ml bottle, and I've had it a long time. Ditto the Midnight. Once I dare put it in a pen I will either use my cellphone for a picture, or do a scan. And I will probably make more. I find the Syrah by itself too reddish.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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