Stipula Deep Blue

[girlieg33k]

I wrote several of the pens in my last rotation dry and had to ink a few more this evening....so of course that means a few more mini-reviews.

 

The usual caveat: I scanned the mini-reviews so colors may vary depending on your monitor. I'm limited to posting 600pix wide images here, but click on the image or the link below it to view the full-size image. The full-size image may give a better, sharper representation of the color.

 

Note: This one is called Stipula Deep Blue (Blu della Robbia), but I wrote Stipula "Dark Blue" in the mini-review.

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-dark-blue_600pix.jpg

Click here to view the full-size image

 

 

[pmsalty]

Thanks so much for the mini-reviews they help broaden one;s experience with different inks.

PMS

[Opus104]

This is a keeper. And fast drying too . . .

 

Thanks for these reviews g - what a great service to the community!!

[scogre]

Ooooh! I just added this to my list of inks to get! Thanks! It should go well in my Etruria!

 

Scott.

[errantmarginalia]

I love this ink; it became my favorite from the moment I first used it. Great color, wonderful flow, impeccably well-behaved, lovely shading (ca you tell I like it). Thanks for all of the great reviews,

David

[sam]

nice dark blue!

i'll have to add this to my growing list

[tcheuchter]

Nice dark blue. Does the colour change in a medium nib? Would it be a bother to ask for another sample?

[CharlieB]

This color looks really nice. I had always heard that the Stipula blue ink was sort of a grayish blue, but your sample is a beautiful dark blue color. I may have to add this to my list of inks to acquire -- not that I need any more inks!

[MicheleB]

You are a pro! Thanks for doing these - they are quite useful. I am now hoping Charlie buys this so I can sample it! Hey Charlie!

[girlieg33k]

Glad that the mini-review was useful to some of you. Rather than replying to each of the messages and emails that I received about this review, I'm going to post the answers and additional request for scans here.

 

First, I am not aware (and I'm not sure) whether Stipula has (or had) different variations of blue ink. I bought my bottle from Swisher in the last month, and it was the only Stipula blue ink listed on their site. In fact, Swisher's drop down menu labeled it as "Dark Blue-Black." Pendemonium's site lists it properly as "Deep Blue (Blu della Robbia)" -- and again, it's the only Stipula blue ink listed on their site.

 

Back in 2005, Wim apparently did a review of Stipula Calamo Blue here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...?showtopic=2753 and this raised many questions as to whether Wim's review is on same ink. The answer is: "I don't know." But yes, the scans do certainly look different.

 

My bottle is labeled Stipula Calamo Deep Blue. Perhaps at one point Stipula sold ink labeled "Stipula Blue" but I have not seen it. However, Wim notes in his review that his is a "pale blue." I can state with confidence that Stipula Deep Blue is not a pale blue -- it's a dark blue with slight purplish-gray hues.

 

Second, I have used Stipula Deep Blue in other pens -- all with equally good results. The color does change a bit, depending on the nib size (which is to be expected), but it remains a relatively dark blue. In response to the request for additional scans, here they are:

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-mnib.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in M nib writing sample #1

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-fnib.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in F nib writing sample

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-mnib2.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in M nib writing sample #2

 

 

Third, I've not had problems with Stipula Calamo inks. As David noted above, they are well-behaving inks. They have excellent flow, are neither too wet nor too dry, and they dry fast compared to other inks. The other Calamo ink colors I currently have are: Dark Red (Borgogna), Sepia (Terra di Siena), and Moss Green (Verde Muschiato).

 

Fourth, the Calamo bottles hold 70ml/2.4oz of ink. The bottle is huge, deep, and has a wide mouth -- which is good for filling larger/longer pens with larger nibs. I use relatively small pens, and yes, it can get messy sometimes -- but I don't worry too much about it. I prefer to have this problem rather than the one I have with Cartier bottles -- the bottle's mouth is so small and narrow that it often prohibits filling even medium-sized pens. Forget filling a large pen like a Pelikan M800 from the Cartier bottle (I cannot even get my Pelikan M400 in there), but have a go at it with the Calamo bottle.

 

Lastly, I don't use the Stipula Netto Ink Refill system, so I cannot respond to the questions about it. I do recall that someone posted about it on FPN a few months ago, and I'm sure that information can be obtained through a search. (Note: While the Stipula Calamo bottles can obviously be used with the Netto system, my understanding is the Netto system can be used for other bottles/brands of ink as well.)

 

 

Edited to fix links to additional scans.

Edited October 14, 2007 by girlieg33k

[southpaw]

YOU SIMPLY MUST STOP ALL OF THESE REVIEWS!!! My ink shelf is overflowing, my ink budget blown, and I have enough ink to last me for the rest of my life if I live long enough to make Methuselah look like a teenager!

 

 

 

 

But seriously . . . Yet another superb mini review. Keep up the great work!

[CharlieB]

YOU SIMPLY MUST STOP ALL OF THESE REVIEWS!!! My ink shelf is overflowing, my ink budget blown, and I have enough ink to last me for the rest of my life if I live long enough to make Methuselah look like a teenager!

 

But seriously . . . Yet another superb mini review. Keep up the great work!

 

She doesn't invent the inks. She just buys them and reviews them. If you don't want to end up drowning in ink, do NOT open up any of her ink review threads. Even the bad inks look good when she writes about them!

Edited October 15, 2007 by CharlieB

[saintsimon]

.... I prefer to have this problem rather than the one I have with Cartier bottles -- the bottle's mouth is so small and narrow that it often prohibits filling even medium-sized pens. Forget filling a large pen like a Pelikan M800 from the Cartier bottle (I cannot even get my Pelikan M400 in there),...

 

This constitutes a misuse of the Cartier bottles.

They are meant to fill these:

 

http://i4.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/b7/a8/b076_1.JPGhttp://i19.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/b7/a8/b18d_1.JPG

 

Pics from http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170157985456

[tomw]

Dear Girlieg,

 

Thanks so much for your very helpful reviews. I lookforward to them. The Stipula you review here looks great to me. Have you done any tests of its water resistance? Water resistance is not a major issue but it's be a bonus.

 

Once again thanks for your service to the community!

 

Tom

 

 

Glad that the mini-review was useful to some of you. Rather than replying to each of the messages and emails that I received about this review, I'm going to post the answers and additional request for scans here.

 

First, I am not aware (and I'm not sure) whether Stipula has (or had) different variations of blue ink. I bought my bottle from Swisher in the last month, and it was the only Stipula blue ink listed on their site. In fact, Swisher's drop down menu labeled it as "Dark Blue-Black." Pendemonium's site lists it properly as "Deep Blue (Blu della Robbia)" -- and again, it's the only Stipula blue ink listed on their site.

 

Back in 2005, Wim apparently did a review of Stipula Calamo Blue here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...?showtopic=2753 and this raised many questions as to whether Wim's review is on same ink. The answer is: "I don't know." But yes, the scans do certainly look different.

 

My bottle is labeled Stipula Calamo Deep Blue. Perhaps at one point Stipula sold ink labeled "Stipula Blue" but I have not seen it. However, Wim notes in his review that his is a "pale blue." I can state with confidence that Stipula Deep Blue is not a pale blue -- it's a dark blue with slight purplish-gray hues.

 

Second, I have used Stipula Deep Blue in other pens -- all with equally good results. The color does change a bit, depending on the nib size (which is to be expected), but it remains a relatively dark blue. In response to the request for additional scans, here they are:

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-mnib.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in M nib writing sample #1

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-fnib.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in F nib writing sample

 

http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/stipula-deep-blue-mnib2.jpg

Stipula Deep Blue in M nib writing sample #2

 

 

Third, I've not had problems with Stipula Calamo inks. As David noted above, they are well-behaving inks. They have excellent flow, are neither too wet nor too dry, and they dry fast compared to other inks. The other Calamo ink colors I currently have are: Dark Red (Borgogna), Sepia (Terra di Siena), and Moss Green (Verde Muschiato).

 

Fourth, the Calamo bottles hold 70ml/2.4oz of ink. The bottle is huge, deep, and has a wide mouth -- which is good for filling larger/longer pens with larger nibs. I use relatively small pens, and yes, it can get messy sometimes -- but I don't worry too much about it. I prefer to have this problem rather than the one I have with Cartier bottles -- the bottle's mouth is so small and narrow that it often prohibits filling even medium-sized pens. Forget filling a large pen like a Pelikan M800 from the Cartier bottle (I cannot even get my Pelikan M400 in there), but have a go at it with the Calamo bottle.

 

Lastly, I don't use the Stipula Netto Ink Refill system, so I cannot respond to the questions about it. I do recall that someone posted about it on FPN a few months ago, and I'm sure that information can be obtained through a search. (Note: While the Stipula Calamo bottles can obviously be used with the Netto system, my understanding is the Netto system can be used for other bottles/brands of ink as well.)

 

 

Edited to fix links to additional scans.

 

[tcheuchter]

Thank you to Kate [girlieg33k] for sending a sample of this all the way to Canada. The colour is as represented and described in the review. Sent a THANK YOU in PM but no response for weeks now. Anyone hear from from her lately? Miss her ink reviews.

Ian

[Maja]

Thank you to Kate [girlieg33k] for sending a sample of this all the way to Canada. The colour is as represented and described in the review. Sent a THANK YOU in PM but no response for weeks now. Anyone hear from from her lately? Miss her ink reviews.

Ian

Looks like she's on holidays until the end of November (check out her last post on this page: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...howtopic=43130)

 

Thanks for all the ink reviews, Kate!

[girlieg33k]

Aww....you posted the info here as well, Maja...

Glad the ink reviews have been helpful to those who who view them.

And, I'm pleased that the Stipula Deep Blue arrived safe and sound, and met your expectations, Ian.

Now that I'm back from my travels -- having suffered through only 2-pens in the last 2-weeks with only 3-ink colors -- I loaded a bunch of pens this evening for a brand new rotation. I'll post mini-reviews probably later in the week when I can sort through them, and attempt to scan them properly.

 

-Kate

Edited November 26, 2007 by girlieg33k

[girlieg33k]

Have you done any tests of its water resistance? Water resistance is not a major issue but it's be a bonus.

Tom

Tom,

 

Pardon the late-reply. I didn't even see your question until Maja bumped the topic and it came up in my "view new posts" search.

 

With regard to Stipula Deep Blue's water-resistance, I always do a water test after I review an ink. If result is not particularly remarkable, I don't post it unless someone asks specifically. This ink is not water-resistant. Traces of the color remain but the text is not legible. It has a bit more resistance than PR or Waterman inks -- both of which nearly wash off -- but not by much. Stipula does not market any of its inks as water-resistant, but every once in awhile an ink will yield a very pleasant surprise after a water-resistant test (like w/ Platinum Blue), despite no mention of water-resistance by the manufacturer.

 

Hope that helps...

 

Kate

Edited November 26, 2007 by girlieg33k

[Stephen-I-am]

This color looks really nice. I had always heard that the Stipula blue ink was sort of a grayish blue, but your sample is a beautiful dark blue color.

I just got some in from Swisher pens, and the ink I received does look like a grayish blue (not the deep blue of the first scan in the review). The color in pendemonium's swab is a good match for the color I see. I find it to be a pretty though subdued color, nice shading and flow. A notice on a card that comes inside the box says that the glass of the bottle is "treated to protect the ink from the deterioration caused by exposure to light", which makes me wonder what will happen to it once it's on paper.

 

Stephen

[alexanderino]

YOU SIMPLY MUST STOP ALL OF THESE REVIEWS!!! My ink shelf is overflowing, my ink budget blown, and I have enough ink to last me for the rest of my life if I live long enough to make Methuselah look like a teenager!

 

But seriously . . . Yet another superb mini review. Keep up the great work!

She doesn't invent the inks. She just buys them and reviews them. If you don't want to end up drowning in ink, do NOT open up any of her ink review threads. Even the bad inks look good when she writes about them!

You do realise southpaw was actually joking ...