Monthly (And Very Basic) Fading Tests

[JulieParadise]

Being a creature of habit with many interests and a huge amount of curiosity on the one hand, but having never enough time and a streak of laziness on the other, I started my very basic lightfastness tests in May 2016 after having read that not all inks are created equal.

 

So since then at the end or the beginning of each month I just pull out all my filled pens and two sheets of paper and write the basic information about each combination down in one or two lines.

 

One sheets gets tucked away in the back of my current notebook or calendar, the other sheet I position on my south-east facing window, with the ink "looking" outside, of course.

 

Whenever a pen gets filled during that month, I hopefully remember my little project and just add the new ink to both sheets, noting the data of the addition. Those lines will not be exposed to light for the full month but oftentimes these pens carry over to the next month and get their full "sun-time" then.

 

In an ideal world I would take the window sheet off after a month, glue it next to the one in my notebook and have both look pretty much the same, but ...

 

Since my post here created some interest (and I was asked so nicely I could not say no ), I post my fading test results for July and August (we had a decent heat wave and lots of sun in Berlin last month) here, too, and for the future invite you to share yours.

 

Now that I know someone will actually see my very unscientific scribbling, I hopefully remember to write more legibly in the future.

 

Sheets from July:

1) Akkerman Ceruleum Blauw
2) Colorverse Crystal Planet
3) DeAtramentis Hellblau
4) Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Black
5) Diamine 150th Anniversary Regency Black
6) Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet
7) Diamine Aqua Blue -- almost entirely faded
8) Diamine Asa Blue
9) Diamine Beau Blue -- almost invisible
10) Diamine Blue Black
11) Diamine China Blue
12) Diamine Denim
13) Diamine Eclipse
14) Diamine Florida Blue -- almost gone
15) Diamine Flower Aster -- completely gone
16) Diamine Guitar Pelham Blue (vollständig ergraut, leicht verblasst)

------- there is a gap between 15) and 16) where the paper is perforated ----------
17) Diamine Imperial Blue -- strongly faded
18) Diamine Indigo
19) Diamine Kensington Blue
20) Diamine Majestic Blue
26) Diamine Presidential Blue
28) Diamine Sargasso Sea
31) Diamine Skull & Roses
37) Lamy Königsblau / Royal Blue
47) Sailor Manyo Haha
+1) Pelikan 4001 Königsblau / Royal Blue
+30) Robert Oster Fire & Ice
+40) Pilot(-Namiki cartridge) Blue Black

[JulieParadise]

The comparisons you see here are, just to remind you, done on two separate sheets of paper, the faded one from the window on the left, the unexposed sheet from my dark notebook on the right. That explains why the writing is not identical.

You see remnants and snippets of

Robert Oster Fire & Ice

Diamine Oxford Blue

Diamine Prussian Blue

______________

Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion

Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake

Akkerman Ceruleum Blauw

Diamine Midnight Blue

 

You see remnants and snippets of

J. Herbin Bleu des profondeurs

Lamy Blue-Black

Montblanc BMW

(Montblanc JFK)

___________________

Organics Studio Nitrogen

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz

Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire

Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

[JulieParadise]

And here are the winners (and -- sadly -- many more losers) for August:

1) Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion

2) Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake

3) Akkerman Ceruleum Blauw

4) Diamine Midnight Blue

5) (faded) Diamine Florida Blue

6) Lamy Royal Blue

7) Pilot-Namiki Blue Black (cartridge)

8) Robert Oster Fire & Ice

9) Diamine Oxford Blue

10) (faded) Diamine Prussian Blue

11) Diamine Sapphire Blue

12) Diamine Shimmering Seas

13) (faded) Diamine Twilight

14) Graf von Faber-Castell Cobalt Blue

15) Graf von Faber-Castell Midnight Blue

------ paper perforation -----

16) J. Herbin Bleu des profondeurs

17) Lamy Blue-Black

18) Montblanc BMW

19) Montblanc JFK

20) Organics Studio Nitrogen

21) (faded) Pelikan Edelstein Topaz

22) (invisible) Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire

23) (faded) Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

24) Rohrer & Klingner Blau Permanent (ha, it is!)

25) Sailor Shikiori Shimoyo

26) Sailor Nano Sou-Boku

27) Kyo No-Oto Keshimurasaki (inks from here on added 18th of August)

28) Diamine Shimmering Pink Champagne

29) Diamine Misty Blue

30) Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion

31) Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz

 

 

And my general set-up for each month:

... and that's all there's to it.

[Croma]

Hello:

Thank you JulieParadise for this illustrative essay or test of the behavior of these inks. This job is very useful, at least, to me.

Regards.

[hari317]

Thank you. Very surprised that the 4001 royal blue resisted sun induced fading remarkably. It usually likes to fade on paper even without sun exposure ime.

[Olya]

Thank you so much for these! If you decide to post your sun tests more often, they'd be greatly appreciated

 

I also liked your blue series, which you've kept posting in the review sections and your IG!

 

I am surprised about some of these, as said above I also expected Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue to do worse, I also expected J Herbin Blue des Profondeurs to do better (I expected a similar result as Diamine Eclipse & Oxford Blue), and am surprised D. Eclipse did so well, as it's purple leaning and purplish inks tend to not do so well with sun exposure.

 

I aso wonder how wetness affects these results. Eg if Bleu des Profondeurs is laid down with one dry writing pen and one that's fairly wet, how would the result be? After all, more ink should equal better resistance.

 

I think I saw another UV test and Bleu des Profondeurs fared better...

 

Anyway, thank you for this! I find tests always interesting, somehow I've never lost interest in them over the years!

[aurore]

I think I saw another UV test and Bleu des Profondeurs fared better...

 

The other test did not suffer from a direct sunlight.

[Olya]

The other test did not suffer from a direct sunlight.

I see! Thank you!

[amberleadavis]

I just love these! Thank you!

[Dimy]

Thanks a lot for the tests, love them.

 

As said above was surprised by pelikan ink result (pleasent surprise) and was disappointed by diamine some diamine inks (150th edition...kinda wanted them to not become change so much, Oxford blue could have performed better)...my favourite though was diamine skull and roses and how it became....kinda justifing the name 😄

 

Anyway thanks again for them its always nice to see them.

[amberleadavis]

Julie, that is also a beautiful collection of pens.

[JulieParadise]

Oops, it feels like turning around once, and poof!, weeks and weeks have passed. So, here is the next set of pictures from September.

 

If you notice a certain colour scheme or two, well the blues stem from the #50shadesofbluechallenge over at the German PenExchange forum, which now (besides Instagram) is also the place to find pictures from the current 31 Colours of Season -- Autumn (#31coloursofseasonautumn). Those colours you see in the second set of colours (mostly added after Sep 13), mainly oranges, browns and muddy greens.

 

 

On the left you see the sheet that remained in my notebook, the sheet on the right has been hanging on my window during September. I'll add the nib sizes instead of indicating per numbers; inks are:

 

added 31.8.2020
Z Diamine Jack Frost --> turned very grey

IM Diamine Misty Blue --> became a bit more grey

F Diamine Misty Blue --> turned a lot more grey, but this nib is def finer and lays down a much thinner layer of ink

M Diamine Midnight --> lost a bit of saturation and blue

OBB Diamine Shimmer Pink Champagne --> became very pale

Blade nib Diamine Shimmering Seas --> became pretty grey, obscured by the gold glitter particles

IF Graf von Faber-Castell Midnight Blue --> lost a bit of colour and saturation (nota bene: this one is supposed to be document proof, which obviously does not include the world record for amazing lightfastness)

IM Kyo No-Oto Keshi-Murasaki --> despite the pale colour this grey has, it only faded away a little bit

IM Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion --> OoOoh, that one is a bit sad, as I do like this ink a lot and hate to see that it turns to an ochre shadow of its elegant former self

FA Lamy Blue-Black --> this one is ridiculous, isn't it? Try to look it up for yourself ... if you're even able to find it, muhahar!

OBB Montblanc BMW Blue --> All the glory is gone; what's left is a pale blue-grey. :-/

FA Montblanc JFK Navy Blue --> turns grey, hey hey

M Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine --> try to find it!

F Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz --> yup, that ochre is all that's left.

1.5 mm Pilot(-Namiki) Blue Black (cartridge) --> another one that faded badly

_________________ there is a gap because the paper is perforated here ______________

Mu Rohrer & Klingner Blau Permanent --> I could show you this ink in every month of the year and it won't fade, neither during July nor when left on the window for a lot longer. Just great!

Fude Sailor Black (cartridge) --> Not bad, eh!? This is the cartridge you get when buying any Sailor pen ... ;-)

IFA Sailor Nano Sou-Boku --> LOVE.THIS.INK. I could see a slight difference, maybe, maybe, a tiny tad paler the right side had become, but that is more felt then seen.

 

added 26.9.2020 (so only left in the window for 4-5 days)

FA L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Olivastre --> after only a few days it does look paler already ...

OBB Diamine Pumpkin --> Did I mention that those inks only hung in the window until the end of September ... go figure ...

IFA Diamine Salamander --> cannot see a difference

Z Sailor Jentle Apricot --> lost some of its glow

IM KWZ Old Gold --> almost no difference

 

 

 

Second set of sheets

 

Inks (added 13.9.2020) are:

Pelikan Edelstein Mandarine --> faded noticeably

Diamine 150th Anniv. Blood Orange --> did quite well

Diamine Autumn Oak --> ouch!

Noodler's Apache Sunset --> paled

Diamine 150th Anniv. Carnival --> a little paler

Graf von Faber-Castell Burned Orange --> almost no difference

Diamine Amber --> lost a bit saturation

KWZ Brown Pink --> became a pit paler

Kyo No-Oto Urahairo --> lost some saturation and paled

Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion --> in this wetter Montblanc Masterpiece 142 IM it did not lose as much colour as in a drier nib

Akkerman SBRE Brown --> lost the red hue and paled

Graf von Faber-Castell India Red --> paled a bit

Diamine Sepia --> lost quite a lot of its glow and paled

Robert Oster Bronze --> Ugh, where the ink is thinner is almost disappeared

_________________ there is a gap because the paper is perforated here ______________

Diamine Oxblood --> remnants left, no comparison the what it was originally

Diamine Shimmer Inferno Orange --> faded a bit

inks added from September 18 and 20 onwards

L'Artisan Pastellier Heure Dorée --> lost a bit of its charme, but did well

Robert Oster Motor Oil --> lost some saturation, even in this wet nib

KWZ Honey --> maaaaybe a bit paler

Diamine Sunset --> Hmmm ... if you ask me, even on the sheet in my notebook it lost some colour, even more so the sunshine-exemplar

Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green --> no noticeably fading

J. Herbin Café des îles --> became a bit paler

Diamine Honey Burst --> did not lose that much saturation but ... fell apart ... in a way, the shading became more visible

Robert Oster Honey Bee --> a bit paler

J. Herbin Bouquet d'Antan --> paled a little, but still looks lovely (sorry, I am partial)

Noodler's Cayenne --> lost most of its glowing red hue and turned into a rather brownish ink

 

[PAKMAN]

Wow the red tones are much more fade resistant than the blues! Thanks so much for these, they have been very informative!