Old Parker Blue-Black Vs New Parker Blue-Black

[pennonia]

So Parker is redoing their whole line up. Effectively old previous pen color have been taken out of the production and came back with a tweaked design and new colors. The inks also changed. Here's a comparison of the Blue-Black

 

Left: New ---- Right: Old

 

 

 

The old one is the greenish blue-black (on the left in the bottom picture), the new one is actually blue in color.

 

Does anyone know whether the other colors have been updated as well? Unfortunately my distributor doesn't have the old bottles in stock anymore. I think the new blue-black looks better, but now that I know the old one is out of production I think I'll probably keep this for myself instead of selling it. It effectively is a limited edition at this point.

[lapis]

Thanks for the comparison but again, no thanks to Parker. The old one was never blue-black but instead a washed out turquoise-grey (IYAM equivalent to Waterman's) and this new one is "only" a simple blue.

[rickap]

So I am not seeing things.

 

I got a sample of Quink blue black a few weeks ago and it is the color of the old you show. I liked it and bought a bottle and got the new ink in the same box you show for the new. I actually like the new color better. It's a dark blue but a nice dark blue and reasonably saturated.

 

Thanks for your comparison,

Rick

[Olya]

I like the new one a lot! Might finally buy a bottle. Indeed, not a blue black, but a very nice looking deep blue

[Chrissy]

It looks more like a blue than a blue-black to me.

[carlos.q]

Is this the UK "permanent" Quink blue-black or the "washable" blue-black available in the US?

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that when I saw the thread I was thinking this would be about "vintage" vs. "modern". I seem to recall discussions where people claimed that "modern" Quink and "modern" Waterman inks were the same with different packaging, so I was curious. Especially since I'm bummed that you can't get Permanent Quink Blue in the US any more, only the Washable.
I also like the look of the "new" Blue-Black (but agree that it's really just "blue"...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pennonia]

Is this the UK "permanent" Quink blue-black or the "washable" blue-black available in the US?

 

It is the UK "permanent" one.

 

I'll admit that when I saw the thread I was thinking this would be about "vintage" vs. "modern". I seem to recall discussions where people claimed that "modern" Quink and "modern" Waterman inks were the same with different packaging, so I was curious. Especially since I'm bummed that you can't get Permanent Quink Blue in the US any more, only the Washable.

I also like the look of the "new" Blue-Black (but agree that it's really just "blue"...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Washable Blue is definitely not in the Waterman lineup but Parker Blue, Blue-Black and Black totally look like their equivalent Waterman colors on my ink swabs. I'd bet good money on it that it's the same ink and it makes sense since Newell Rubbermaid probably wants to simplify their production process.

[Dip n Scratch]

I have been looking for a blue/black myself. But my personal taste is more for a black/blue after experience of the Shanghai Hero B/B.

Obviously Quink B/B is a waste of my time. I have a old stock bottle of Permanent Blue that is darker than both swatches.

Quink Blue/Black (with Solv-X) was the first ink I ever encountered & we are talking mid 1970's at school. Which is why I have been looking at Blue/Black variants with ferro-gall content which are like midnight, not evening.

Sorry Parker, but your inks have gone the same way as your pens - downhill IMHO.

[carlos.q]

I like this new blue-"black" a lot! It looks a lot better than the old Quink teal, I mean, blue-black.

 

Does it have any kind of water resistance at all?

[dcwaites]

I have a few bottles of 'proper' vintage Parker Blue-Black with Solv-X. It is a proper blue-black, not the teal or royal blue being shown above.

And it has Solv-X.

[The Good Captain]

I'll pick up some - sometime...!

[pennonia]

I like this new blue-"black" a lot! It looks a lot better than the old Quink teal, I mean, blue-black.

 

Does it have any kind of water resistance at all?

 

It does okay.I did a water drop test, left it there for 2 minutes and after wiping everzthing was still there, of course smudged a little. I compared it to R&K Cassia, Morinda and Diamine Oxfrod Blue and all 3 dissolved from the paper (Rhodia).

[Olya]

I caved quickly and bought a bottle fairly recently. I love it a lot! The formula has been definitely changed and is a lot more stable now.

 

On my paper(s) this new Blue Black isn't quite such a deep sparkling ocean blue, but very close.

 

The ink has even quite a good water resistance!! And no fading to teal or whatever else!!

 

I highly recommend this newly formulated BlBl, it's all-round great!! (So far..!)

[WJM]

I have a bottle of the Parker Blue Black in a box which looks identical to the "old one" on the photos in the opening post. It definitely gets very teal-ish when its dry and it seems completely identical in color and behaviour to Waterman Mysterious Blue. Considered that both companies now run under the same owner I wouldn't be least bit suprised if this actually was the exactly same ink just in two different bottles.

 

However this "new one" looks very interesting - maybe not truly a blue-black but a very good-looking blue, perhaps slightly darker than "royal blue" type inks. I'm gonna have to check it out.

Edited November 19, 2018 by WJM

[Needhelp]

I cant wait for this ink to come to my nearby stationary stores. They sell only Parker inks and they have a ton of Quink blue black, the old one.I am using one myself right now and I feel the colour is alright, the new one looks amazing. This is really the colour that I would like to have.

Finally, I think Parker is doing something good again. The newer pen models including the jotter looks really nice and way better than before.

[sansenri]

I don't have any Parker Inks, but if the old Blue Black is like Waterman Mysterious Blue I'm glad they have changed it... I've never seen a less inspiring green-black, possibly because I was hoping it to be blue-black...

 

(I'm currently using R&K Salix in an ebonite pen and I am loving it, blue with a slight greyish tint, but no green tone at all, which grows darker blue-black as it dries)

[jasondmillar]

I have just bought a bottle of Parker Quink Black and Waterman Intense Black and they appear to be identical on swabs and in pens.

 

In the UK Waterman is often more expensive per bottle, so if theres a silver lining it is at least that there is no sense paying the Waterman premium anymore.

 

If cost-cutting is the goal, I wonder if the next step for Rubbermaid will be to get rid of Parker proprietary cartridges.

Edited December 17, 2018 by jasondmillar

[WJM]

I bought this new Parker Blue Black yesterday and I like it very much.

 

Granted I'd call it more of a dark blue than blue black, but it's a very good looking blue, so that's not really a complaint.

 

I made a little water test and I can also confirm that this new ink has a reasonable water resistance, while the old Quink Blue Black had none.

 

This ink is really a big step up by Parker in their ink line and I hope they'll keep this one.

Edited January 9, 2019 by WJM

[LanceSaintPaul]

I like Blue-Blacks. From these examples I would never select either for a Blue-Black.

 

If their names are ignored I could imagine choosing one for its actual color. But who names like this? No apparent correlation between name & ink. Maybe they match the ink to name while viewing under some highly colored lights. Not Blue-Black, but "Blue-Black".

 

We live in an Air Quote world.