What Accounts For The Color Change?

[JJBlanche]

I'm just beginning to use Pelikan Blue-Black, and notice a dramatic color change as it dries. It goes on Royal Blue, but within 20 seconds fades to a kind of purple-black. Over the next few hours, it changes to a grey/purple/blue/black.

 

I've heard iron galls described many times as having this exact color changing property. I've also heard that Pelikan Blue-Black is not an iron gall ink. As such, what accounts for this unique color changing phenomena?

[lapis]

Your'e right (partly).

 

Inks can change colour as they dry for at least two reasons. One, the different components in the ink oxidize differently when spread out over a greater surface area such as paper. Secondly, they also differ differently (no pun here) as to their susceptibility to light, especially sunlight, which basically of course can cause a fading out. Thus, different fade-outs. I.e. a blue-black will fade out completely different from just a blue or a black.

 

No Pelikan inks today (since 20 years ago) contain any iron gall anymore.

 

Mike

[Daosus]

If it makes you feel any better, when I used Pelikan Royal Blue, I remember it changing color slightly as it dried.

[psfred]

I will have to try this, but I think also that the residual sulfite in the paper will bleach many blue inks, and that will reduce the blue component.

 

Also, as the ink actually dries as opposed to being absorbed by the paper to be surface dry (that is, won't smear) it may in fact change light absorbing characteristics without any actual chemical change. It will also sink deeper into the paper.

 

I notice this particularly with blue inks for some reason, may just be that the change is more noticeable with them. My Manuscript Calligraphy blue also becomes much more water resistant once completely dry -- if you run water over it very shortly after writing, it will run and spread quite a bit. If you wait a couple hours, when it becomes somewhat lighter in color (medium blue instead of intense royal blue), it's quite resistant, showing almost no effect no matter how long you soak it.

 

The same thing happens with other inks as well, I'm sure, but I suspect we just don't see the difference so much in say black.

 

Peter

Edited June 28, 2008 by psfred

[dcwaites]

My NOS Parker Quink Blue-Black with Solv-X has very little visible change, as it dries, and after several weeks, whether on acidy or acid-free paper.

 

My new stock Parker Quink Blue-Black(no Solv-X) has a noticeable change as it dries, from dark blue to a lighter blue, and then adopts a green tinge over weeks, again on both acidy and acid-free paper.

 

When I bid for, and won, 5 bottles of the NOS PQ Blue-Black with Solv-X, I thought I had over-stocked. However,

1) seeing how this ink is much more permanent than the new stuff, and

2) the fact that the Solv-X has managed to get a few troublesome pens to become nice ones,

I think I'll hang onto what I have. It shades nicely, too, in my wetter pens.

 

I think that the main blue dye that Parker are using at the moment is not very stable. Current stock PQ Blue-Black, Permanent Blue and Washable Blue all fade, with Washable Blue being the worst.

 

The worst ink I had for colour change was a bottle of new Sheaffer Skrip Blue with changed from Blue to what I called Bug-guts Green within a few days. Others on this board told me that it belonged to a bad batch of that ink. It went down the sink.

 

The main ink-jet printer companies (HP, Canon, Epson) have been working on the chemistry of their inks, making them more archival. It would be nice if some of that chemical technology flowed over to the FP market...

 

 

[CharlieB]

The worst ink I had for colour change was a bottle of new Sheaffer Skrip Blue with changed from Blue to what I called Bug-guts Green within a few days. Others on this board told me that it belonged to a bad batch of that ink. It went down the sink.

 

Interesting.... I've only had good experiences with the new Sheaffer Skrip Blue. I've been through several bottles, and I've never had it turn green, so I agree that you must have had a bad batch. I consider this ink to my second favorite "basic blue" after Waterman Florida Blue.

 

In general, I've found blue and black inks (but not blue black inks) to be the most stable.