Some Ink Tests

[Lithium466]

8 hours ago, Chris1 said:

Herbin Violette Pensee - that was the name. A few of my French colleagues seemed to like that colour ink too. Maybe it was the French equivalent of Parker Royal Blue at schools.

 

JIF Waterman blue, or was it "luminous blue"? When the ink eradicator appeared, they were all the rage!

[USG]

On 2/20/2026 at 6:23 AM, Ceramicist said:

That's a beautiful label! 

 

It's too bad they changed the label and the color. 

 

On 2/21/2026 at 6:26 AM, Chris1 said:

Herbin Violette Pensee - that was the name. A few of my French colleagues seemed to like that colour ink too. Maybe it was the French equivalent of Parker Royal Blue at schools.

 

Back in junior school, when we were first exposed to pen and ink rather than pencil, ink was made up from a powder in class and indeed poured into white china inkwells in the desks as needed. We made quite a mess at times! From memory, the ink was a sort of greenish-tinged black with a weird smell but not the same as old Parker inks with Solv-X. Gradually, some of us acquired fountain pens even at the age of 10, which were used rather than the school dip-and-scratch pens, as we called them. Of course, fountain pens were compulsory at senior school, age 11 for most of us.

 

Down to my last eight bottles of Penman Sapphire, with a few Ebony and a Ruby as well; never tried the green variant.

 

Wow, I Never had powdered in school....  but back in the day, a lot of blue black inks had that greenish cast you refer to....

 

On 2/21/2026 at 2:56 PM, Lithium466 said:

JIF Waterman blue, or was it "luminous blue"? When the ink eradicator appeared, they were all the rage!

 

Another ink I can't find.....  🤷‍♂️

[Chris1]

Well, it was over sixty years ago, so I guess thngs may have changed since I left junior school 😀. To get to mix the ink was a grand thing, though the bottle once made up lasted ages so the mixing was quite a rare event.

 

I wonder what the brand was...

[USG]

20 hours ago, Chris1 said:

Well, it was over sixty years ago, so I guess things may have changed since I left junior school 😀. To get to mix the ink was a grand thing, though the bottle once made up lasted ages so the mixing was quite a rare event.

 

I wonder what the brand was...

 

Fond memories..... 👍

 

Must have been a local brand, wouldn't you think?

 

 

[Chris1]

Ah, if only my memory was that good. Probably came with the 'school supplies' delivery from a central source. Back then everything was supplied for us little ones: pencils, exercise books, wooden rulers, powder paints, brushes, art paper, plasticine, modelling clay, paste etc. and was to be found in the (locked) school stationery cupboard. 

[USG]

BANK PAPER:

 

CLOSE UPS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lithium466]

Is this the Mitsubishi Bank paper? Would you recommend, even if it's not white (or is it my screen)? I find that many inks look very good there, including Athol violet.

[USG]

1 minute ago, Lithium466 said:

Is this the Mitsubishi Bank paper? Would you recommend, even if it's not white (or is it my screen)? I find that many inks look very good there, including Athol violet.

 

This is the Bank Paper I got from Yamamoto's flat rate paper deal, (from Japan).  I don't remember the weight but it's a lighter weight than the Bank Paper on Amazon.  The pages are more translucent than original TR and inks look pretty good, as you can see.  I like it for a change up though it's not going to replace Cosmo Snow, Iroful or Tomoe River-S any time soon.  There's decent color rendition and no feathering, so it beats out all the other papers that feather. Its' negative is it's translucency.

 

Btw, I wanted to show you something.  The Cosmo Snow that's available now is not the same quality as before it was discontinued.  This would have never feathered on the original.  It doesn't do this everywhere on the page, nor on every page, just in certain spots where the finish is suboptimal.  We're at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.

 

Never the less, it's all that's available.

 

[Penguincollector]

7 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Is this the Mitsubishi Bank paper? Would you recommend, even if it's not white (or is it my screen)? I find that many inks look very good there, including Athol violet.

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

This is the Bank Paper I got from Yamamoto's flat rate paper deal, (from Japan).  I don't remember the weight but it's a lighter weight than the Bank Paper on Amazon.  The pages are more translucent than original TR and inks look pretty good, as you can see.

  Unfortunately for us, it’s a discontinued bank paper developed by Yamamoto and Mitsubishi. We were lucky to get it when we did. Here’s the blurb included in the Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Sampler that I found it in:

 

  Developed by Mitsubishi Paper Mills, this paper is designed to provide a smooth experience with any type of writing instrument, and is durable enough for long-term use in an office setting. Thanks to a unique blend of several types of pulp and cotton, the paper has no see-through and a consistent texture for two-sided use, plus the "Three Diamonds" watermark provides assurance that it has been made to the highest standards. Yamamoto fountain pen tests show quick drying, accurate ink reproduction, and no bleeding through.

Size: A4

50 sheets

48.2g

Grain direction: Short grain

  As always, @Lithium466, I am happy to share some with you, let me know if you want it.

[USG]

Fabriano Paper Revisited:  (Close-ups below)

 

 

 

[USG]

Fabriano close-ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lithium466]

17 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Unfortunately for us, it’s a discontinued bank paper developed by Yamamoto and Mitsubishi. We were lucky to get it when we did. Here’s the blurb included in the Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Sampler that I found it in:

 

  Developed by Mitsubishi Paper Mills, this paper is designed to provide a smooth experience with any type of writing instrument, and is durable enough for long-term use in an office setting. Thanks to a unique blend of several types of pulp and cotton, the paper has no see-through and a consistent texture for two-sided use, plus the "Three Diamonds" watermark provides assurance that it has been made to the highest standards. Yamamoto fountain pen tests show quick drying, accurate ink reproduction, and no bleeding through.

Size: A4

50 sheets

48.2g

Grain direction: Short grain

  As always, @Lithium466, I am happy to share some with you, let me know if you want it.

 

Thank you for those details and your offer 😊
Now it rings a bell, you had already sent me some that I liked a lot, but dismissed because of unavailability. I need to go look in my notebooks, but I think it really was usable on both sides (all things considered, with moderate ink flow)?

 

28 minutes ago, USG said:

Fabriano close-ups:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm surprised at how different Imperial blue became, compared to Sapphire blue and Royal blue! Maybe I got rid of it too soon.

 

That Sailor Mississippi 🤩

Have you tried PR Black Magic blue? I think that would be a lighter American blue, and perhaps more on the blurple side.

[USG]

6 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

I'm surprised at how different Imperial blue became, compared to Sapphire blue and Royal blue! Maybe I got rid of it too soon.

 

That Sailor Mississippi 🤩

Have you tried PR Black Magic blue? I think that would be a lighter American blue, and perhaps more on the blurple side.

 

Well, first you have to take into consideration that all those inks are fully 'matured' and second, that Fabriano may not be the best paper to judge color on.  That said, I'll post a sample of all 3 Diamine blues on Cosmo Snow. and we'll see how that looks.  I like the color of the Diamine Blues but not the moldy smell.

 

I haven't tried PR Black Magic Blue, it looks sorta like Waterman blue, right?  But keep in mind that that Lamy 2k has had American Blue in it for years.  I refilled it recently but I'm pretty sure the color is a darkened version of itself...  I should do a comparison of that too...

 

 

[USG]

On 3/1/2026 at 11:11 AM, Penguincollector said:

 

  Unfortunately for us, it’s a discontinued bank paper developed by Yamamoto and Mitsubishi. We were lucky to get it when we did. Here’s the blurb included in the Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Sampler that I found it in:

 

  Developed by Mitsubishi Paper Mills, this paper is designed to provide a smooth experience with any type of writing instrument, and is durable enough for long-term use in an office setting. Thanks to a unique blend of several types of pulp and cotton, the paper has no see-through and a consistent texture for two-sided use, plus the "Three Diamonds" watermark provides assurance that it has been made to the highest standards. Yamamoto fountain pen tests show quick drying, accurate ink reproduction, and no bleeding through.

Size: A4

50 sheets

48.2g

Grain direction: Short grain

 

 

Thank you for jogging my memory PGC. 😀  I remember holding the paper up to the light looking for the "Three Diamonds" watermark, only to discover that the logo wasn't a picture of 3 diamonds, it was printed in words...  CluelessMe 🤪

 

 

[USG]

Some Blue Blacks on Fabriano Paper:

 

 

  Front and Back:

 

 

 

[Penguincollector]

6 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Thank you for those details and your offer 😊
Now it rings a bell, you had already sent me some that I liked a lot, but dismissed because of unavailability. I need to go look in my notebooks, but I think it really was usable on both sides (all things considered, with moderate ink flow)?

  I think I sent you some, but I can’t remember. It’s a good paper, and with EF nibs, it might be usable on both sides, but that’s not something I normally check for. If you can’t find it, let me know. There’s 2 bank papers (3 if you count LIFE), so I may have sent one and not the other. It’s really thin, thinner than TR52, but not as thin as Glassine (which I love, but mostly for calligraphy). 
 

12 minutes ago, USG said:

I haven't tried PR Black Magic Blue, it looks sorta like Waterman blue, right

   Mine is straight up purple.  I can’t remember if it’s the really old PR before reformulation, or the new one. I usually add one of the other PR blues to it to make it more of a blurple. 
 

   I’m really into this Wexford paper I bought at Walgreens. Next time I’ll check to see if there’s a blank version. It’s so good with sheen and handles all kinds of ink without feathering. 
 

3 minutes ago, USG said:

Thank you for jogging my memory PGC. 😀  I remember holding the paper up to the light looking for the "Three Diamonds" watermark, only to discover that the logo wasn't a picture of 3 diamonds, it was printed in words...  CluelessMe 🤪

 
  You’re more clued in than I am. I have a hard time seeing watermarks, but I will try. 

[USG]

5 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

Wexford paper

I found this: 

[Penguincollector]

  I have the Wexford Writing Tablet 2pk, made in Vietnam. I tried looking to see where the multipurpose was made, but I couldn’t find any info about it. The filler paper is from Vietnam. I’m going to take a look in person the next time I find myself near a store. 
 

  ETA: the 20# multipurpose paper is made in USA, so probably not as good as the lined paper.

[USG]

I posted this in what pen are you using, but it's interesting because it goes along with some or our recent discussions about ink color.  

 

It didn't click right away, but a while back I noticed InkyP post a writing sample using Taccia Ruri and his ink looked much lighter in color than mine.  I originally thought it was due to batch differences or the "maturation" process that occurs when ink has been in the pen for a while (thank you for the word LTM) but I'm starting to think that it was due to nib differences....

 

So with that in mind.....

 

What  color is Taccia AO ink?

 

My Jun Lai 930 has 2 nibs.  

Top is a Dryer Fine nib.

Bottom is a Weter Medium nib.

 

 

@InkyProf  @LizEF @Lithium466  @Penguincollector  @Mechanical @Chris1 @yazeh

[InkyProf]

Fascinating! And these are two different nibs in the same pen? I don’t suppose there’s any chance the <M> nib had enough of some other ink lingering in the feed to alter the color of the AO? Or is this just a matter of the M nib crossing some kind of threshold that permits much more sheening?