Private Reserve Velvet Black

[Liquidmetal490]

Hello! Although I’ve been a member of FPN for a long while now, this is my first post. I saw that PR’s Velvet Black only had one review and as I’ve used and enjoyed this particular ink for going on three years I thought a second review might be valuable.

 

The review is broken down into three different papers: standard OfficeMax 20lb copy paper, regular filler paper, and Levenger’s Annotated Rhodia paper for the Circa system. I’ve also run the ink under water on each of these three types of paper with the results below. To test the ink I used two pens: a TWSBI Diamond 540 with a F nib and a Cross ATX with an EF nib.

 

Computer Paper:

Velvet Black works rather well on standard copy/computer paper. It has a good flow, minimal feathering, and is completely dry in no more than 5 seconds. Feathering was a little more pronounced with the ATX’s EF nib (I previously used a Lamy Safari with Velvet Black and a M nib and then found absolutely no feathering) I find that there is no smearing on computer paper. I think the scan is a fairly accurate reflection of the color in reality. Unfortunately the difference between Velvet Black and the other inks I used for comparisons was a little more pronounced in reality than on paper (explained below). Bleedthrough is noticeable, but virtually identical to Auroa Black and Noodler’s Heart of Darkness.

 

Filler Paper:

I’ve found that Velvet Black actually works rather well on generic filler paper. The performance is surprisingly similar to that on computer paper and there is surprisingly little feathering. Dry time is slightly faster than computer paper. Bleedthrough was actually less than on computer paper.

 

Levenger/Rhodia Paper:

As with other inks, Velvet Black’s performance on Rhodia paper is quite different than on cheaper papers such as the computer or filler papers. Most significantly is dry time. Unfortunately dry time on this paper can last up to 30 seconds, noticeably longer than Aurora or Heart of Darkness. This can make writing difficult and smears more frequent (I accidently smeared the “Saturation: high” part of the review when I was writing it for example). I think the color is awesome, but the long dry time certainly leaves something to be desired.

 

Comparisons to other inks

Unfortunately the comparisons to Aurora Black and Heart of Darkness didn’t come out as I had hoped. The differences between the shades is more pronounced in reality than the scans demonstrate. As best I can summarize, Aurora and Heart of Darkness appear more as a matte black whereas Velvet Black is more “bright.” But, it is certainly black and shows absolutely no shading or hints of gray or brown. I personally love the color and look of Velvet Black.

 

Water test results

Velvet Black is water soluble. I tested the Velvet Black, as well as Aurora and Heart of Darkness, for water resistance by running samples of each of the inks on each of the three types of paper used above under the sink tap for a good five minutes. The results are pictures below, but to summarize: Velvet Black and Aurora ran off of the computer and filler papers. A surprising amount of ink was left on each of these pages, but you can tell it will wash and smear under water. More of each of these inks ran off the Rhoida paper. On all three pages, Heart of Darkness laughed at the H20’s feeble efforts.

 

Overall

Overall Velvet Black is an excellent black ink. I use it daily in my TWSBI for use on copy paper and filler paper for notes. However, the drying time leads me to Heart of Darkness for use on higher quality papers such as Rhodia. Either way, I highly recommend you give it a try!

 

I hope you enjoy!

[penspouse]

Nice review. Thanks for posting.

[terminal]

Great great review! I love comparisons like this!

 

The feathering on the office max paper looks like more than 'minimal'... is it just the pictures?

 

What do you think of this in terms of the vlaue for the price?

[georges zaslavsky]

Looks like a good choice when my bottle of herbin perle noire will be finished

Edited June 16, 2012 by georges zaslavsky

[quinden]

I love my PR Velvet Black, thanks for your review!

[goldiesdad]

Great review ... Thanks for posting ... as said in a previous post I do like comparisons ...

 

Thanks

[Ghost Plane]

I rarely use black so it had never occurred to me to try this ink. :embarrassed_smile: I'm glad of your review as this is one of the view brands available locally.

[Liquidmetal490]

Great great review! I love comparisons like this!

 

The feathering on the office max paper looks like more than 'minimal'... is it just the pictures?

 

What do you think of this in terms of the vlaue for the price?

 

 

It might be the picture and the way it scanned. There's a bit of feathering from the F nib on the TWSBI that I find tolerable. The EF nib on the ATX causes much more feathering and is pretty annoying on everything except Rhodia type paper. The ATX causes even worse feathering on the filler paper to the point where I won't use it. At least with this ink I've found that F and M nibs on several pens don't feather as badly as EF nibs.

 

The value for the price I think is excellent! It's one of the reasons I use this ink. For example, Goulet Pens has it in 50ml for $8.75. Aurora on the other hand goes for closer to $14. Not too much of a difference, but I don't like paying that much more to use an ink on daily work papers that will more than likely end up in the shredder or recycling bin. For more professional paper, letters, journals, etc. I pay the extra money for Noodler's Heart of Darkness or Aurora. But for a heavily used daily ink Velvet Black is a good deal

[senzen]

Interesting ink and great review! Thank you.

[jaderabbit]

A very amicable ink! If only it had a little more water resistance, I wouldn't be so afraid to write my notes with it.

[ObserveClosely]

Thank you for a useful review of one of my oldest and most fav inks!

 

For those who use ink for ink+wash sketches, be aware that PR Velvet Black readily washes into a very interesting mixture of blues and violets. With a tiny touch of green. More here. It's FUN!

[drbalajipsy]

I use Parker Vector.

I love Black ink.

Does the PR Velvet Black or PR Chocolat do not clog the pen in your experience?

[Uncle Red]

I've had no trouble with Velvet Black clogging a pen.

[BillZ]

I had trouble with my Kaweco FP with F nib writing "dry" with Kaweco cartridges. I got a few free Velvet Black ones from Dromgoole's and they work perfectly. Lay down a nice line that dries reasonably fast. Other inks may do the same thing in the F Kaweco but since I found this I may just stay with it. Haven't tried it in the rollerball,yet. May be a mess!

[coyotewhisper]

Nice review and a great first post. Looking forward to more of your posts.

[tenney]

I've had no trouble with Velvet Black clogging a pen.

Is that true for all of the PR inks (i.e. are all of their inks "safe")?

[Scribblesoften]

This was one of the first inks I purchased. Sadly the extensive drying time on Rhodia and Clairfontaine rendered it unusable

[lovemy51]

thx for the review! this and Ultra Black are my bestes best blackest black ( ) y have.

[Ad_Astra]

I've had no trouble with Velvet Black clogging a pen.

Is that true for all of the PR inks (i.e. are all of their inks "safe")?

 

Yes, PR inks are almost all safe. Some of the red/brown shades were being reported to 'turn' more frequently a while ago, but I dunno if that was just a bad batch or if that's been an ongoing issue. It hasn't happened to my Chocolat or Copper Burst though.