Best blue-black ink for truly awful copy paper

[Bo Bo Olson]

Being retired I don't have access to super cr*appy paper.

 

I find normal 80g less than perfect by far, and over the last couple years many 90g papers have become no better than 80g.

So I have better crappy papers....that I don't want.

 

BB.....got 7 or so of them...and don't use them much at all, including 4001 BB, which seams as good as the others.

The real question is, to me, is for someone who don't use BB, how come I got seven of them?

[Mercian]

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

The real question is, to me, is for someone who don't use BB, how come I got seven of them?

The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the question of how I have managed to acquire five of them - despite my initial lack of interest in the ‘boring’ and ‘workmanlike’  ‘blue-black’ spectrum.

 

It is because iron-gall inks (which most blue-black inks traditionally were) are deceptively-slippery beasts, and they offer peerless shading, and a ‘look’ that no other class of inks can replicate.

Yes, blue-black inks are ‘sensible’ inks that are ‘work-appropriate’; but they can also be fun 

 

And anyone who is disinclined to take my word for this should look back to see what Sandy1 had to say on the subject! 

[Bo Bo Olson]

10 hours ago, Mercian said:

Sandy1

Our own World Great Ink Guru.

Back before she died, and her posts still had her pictures, her's was the very first ink review I ever looked at, well before the rest.

ESSR is the remains of ancient Stephen's or Stanford BB ink. Don't remember of the top of my head which.

 

Sandy1 called ESSR mischievous, I called it sneaky. That thread on ESSR may well have been the longest thread on FPN on a single ink, well over 70 pages....or was that 70 replies....been a while.

Back when I was on randsombucket, I did a 17 pen, (from EF to OBB in different flex rates), 17 paper, scribble with ESSR.

 

Richard Binder said a good BB should change color from blue to black  in about 24 hours.

With some papers one could watch ESSR turn from a brighter blue to dark or black, before one finished writing the page.

 

Other papers could take up to three days to make the change. I had to check those papers every day to see if the change had happened.

 

Now I really like Eaton's Corrasable typewriter paper...medium weight 16 pound 25% cotton.

The original erase with out a trace paper...from before 'white out'.

80 sheets cost $1.05 back the.....that was paper too good to stick in a Jukie Daisy  wheel printer.

 

It was in case I ever wrote a letter. So it remained for a couple generations, hidden away with paper too good for a Ball Point Barbarian.

 

A typewriter paper is only coated on one side, so Eaton's will bleed through....

But it was a typewriter paper.

Eaton's is a great paper for any ink that shades.

 

With  ESSR.....where Eaton's of the 17 papers, was the only one to remain blue....never darkening, much less turning black.

 

[PAKMAN]

My favorite blue black for bad paper is Parker Quink Blue Black.

[Chris1]

Though I loved the smell of Quink from when I first started using fountain pens (about nine years of age - in primary school), I found its behaviour frustrating throughout my schooldays. I haven't bought any Quink for probably half a century for that reason. I wonder if it still smells the same. It used to say 'Contains Solv-X' which I believe was a phenolic substance and ate the internals of several of my cheap school pens. I was a lot older when I realised not all inks were the same and varied in many ways apart from colour. Now I probably have too many (is that possible?)

 

I did buy a big, plastic bottle of the ESS Registrar's Ink, which I nicknamed Sahara; the 'driest' ink I've ever tried. Most of it sat unused in that bottle till the meat of the recipe precipitated, leaving a pale, watery liquid of no use to man nor beast. It went down the plughole.

 

The old iron gall Montblanc blue-black - permanent for documents - was a discovery and I bought plenty till it was discontinued. At the time I was using three or four bottles of it a year, plus Penman Sapphire and red inks too. The replacement MB blue-black was not the same (obviously). I have, but haven't yet tried, the Montblanc permanent black, but I'm digressing.

 

The Pelkan 4001 blue-black was a recent, inexpensive, experiment and it seems perfectly fine; I am sure the reason it doesn't go black on some paper must be down to a component of the paper preventing the oxidation step. I ought to try an experiment where I take some of the inked newsprint and add lemon juice - I suspect that would blacken it! If I do that, I'll let you know what happens.

 

However, thank you all for these interesting comments and I may yet buy other blue-black inks to try.

[Bo Bo Olson]

23 minutes ago, Chris1 said:

ESS Registrar's Ink

The lady at the 'ordering desk' said when I bought mine, it was only good for 3 years in it didn't have chemicals in it...or certain chemicals.

After close to a decade I did finally get rid of mine, in it came out black, not BB. Of course I do shake old inks.😎

 

[75-FP]

Thanks to everyone for chiming in on this. This has been a really interesting read. I have an update but wanted to provide some additional background information first.

 

I work in a corporate manufacturing environment so most of my writing is jotting down notes on reports or in a notebook. The copy paper we use is 92 bright, 20 lbs and I have been writing on the same "brand" of paper for 10+ years. I never really had a problem up until COVID. My guess is our office supply company has had to shop around which mills they are getting the paper from. I noticed a dizzying array of countries of origin on the reams especially when there were major supply chain constraints. During that time I had experienced issues with feathering a number of times but typically it resolved itself once we opened up a new case of paper. This recent occurrence has gone on much longer and I'm not seeing an end in sight hence me turning to this forum for answers. 

 

My writing style favors a finer line and my current collection of pens are all Western style fine. I realize blue-black isn't the most exciting color out there but it is professional and just different enough looking to suite my plain-Jane workplace requirements. I tried poking around online to find a good ink for bad paper and found a variety of different recommendations but nothing specific to blue-black ink. With the recommendations made in this thread I purchased the most easily available samples to get via Goulet Pens and tried them out on the bad paper tonight. Based on my results Lamy and Platinum seem to be the best options. 

[txomsy]

Thanks for the report back. Specially your test, which is most useful.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Have you tried Pelikan 4001 BB?

[75-FP]

9 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Have you tried Pelikan 4001 BB?

I have not. I did not see anyone who actually have samples of that when I was poking around online and didn't want to commit to a full bottle if it didn't work. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

It's only been legal in the US for the last six months or so. So there would be few tests.

 

Living in Europe I never had that problem.

 

The American's used wimpy US rats to test for cancer instead of sturdy Norwegian rats like in Europe.....it had been legal for decades in the US until about a decade ago.

 

It is known/reputed to be one of the world best BB's...one of the driest....if not the driest.

 

[AceNinja]

4 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

It is known/reputed to be one of the world best BB's...one of the driest....if not the driest.

My experience is similar to this. Between 4001 BB, Diamine Registrar's BB, i find that 4001 BB is even drier than Reg's BB, which is already widely considered as one of this driest ink.

 

And, my bottle of 4001 Brilliant Black seems even drier than the 4001 Blue Black.

[arcfide]

10 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

It's only been legal in the US for the last six months or so. So there would be few tests.

 

Technically, it's always been legal. The story goes that Pelikan was initially scared off by regulations, but after a lot of requests, a bit more independent research helped to convince Pelikan that, in fact, it had always been legal, and that they could safely restart distribution to the US. So, there were never any real issues with legality and only ever overly cautious legal departments. 

[AceNinja]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

 

Technically, it's always been legal. The story goes that Pelikan was initially scared off by regulations, but after a lot of requests, a bit more independent research helped to convince Pelikan that, in fact, it had always been legal, and that they could safely restart distribution to the US. So, there were never any real issues with legality and only ever overly cautious legal departments. 

That's what I understands too based on Pelikan's Perch's article.  It's like one of the dumbest reason ever that US didn't get to enjoy 4001 BB for so many years.  There was no change in ink formular to suit US, it was just oppssie.

[Bo Bo Olson]

8 hours ago, AceNinja said:

And, my bottle of 4001 Brilliant Black seems even drier than the 4001 Blue Black.

I've heard that before................well, my 15 year old bottle of the black, struck me as a real glistening black....but being retired had discovered color. I don't ever see using it.

 

In I have @ 6-7 BB's will use it some day. I've read Edelstein Tansinite is a good BB, but havn't opened the bottle yeat, from at least three years ago.

I make the mistake to go to the ink section, and say...OK I have that ink...haven't used it a while....

[TSherbs]

@75-FP Thanks for the follow-up and image

[Runnin_Ute]

My favorite blue black has always been Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. Even during the time Pelikan wasn't importing, I was able to go through multiple 62.5 ml bottles of it. My last purchase was of two of said sized bottles in I believe it was 2021 from Cult Pens in the UK.

 

That being said, on some papers even it isn't very good. I blame the paper more than the ink and pen in many of those cases. I keep it in a Pelikan 140 with a fine nib. Should I put it in a EF as well? Perhaps.

[Bo Bo Olson]

The complaints came from folks using an EF and PP paper....paper was the key, poor paper is poor paper, but some folks really cheap out in the wrong corners.

[Lithium466]

I had good success with Platinum blue-black and every cheap paper I threw at it.
As a bonus, it has better lubrication that Pelikan 4001 or Diamine Registrar, ESSRI, etc., but it doesn't darken much, if you're into that.

 

That said, I'm with Bo Bo, paper is key. Sometimes you don't have a choice.

[Bo Bo Olson]

24 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Sometimes you don't have a choice.