Noodlers' Blue Ghost

[Inka]

Once I finally got a Broad nib pen, the Dollar Calligraphy pen recently received from forum member "badrsj", I felt it was finally time to do a better Noodlers' Blue Ghost review.

I've tried this ink in other pens, with finer nibs, and it really calls out for a wider nib to get the full effect.

First I tried writing the review on white 24# printer paper and the ink just didn't "pop", very hard to see and next to impossible to photograph.

So I tried it on Canary Yellow Ampad legal paper and the results were much better, far brighter against yellow than against white paper.

Needing a line-less paper in 8-1/2"x11" format, so my pre-made ink review template would work better, I finally went with some Staples 25% cotton Ivory Premium LaserJet paper.

Now the ink really does "pop" right off the page, almost as if it has a light source of its' own while under my bright UV light source.

 

So here we go, my review of the best "invisible" ink I've ever used and the most entertaining ink I've ever used too!

 

First a shot of the paper and yes it already has the review written on it, even though since it is invisible ink my scanner won't pick it up...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/N-Blue-Ghost-on-Ivory.jpg

 

Next, since my scanner can't pick up the ink on the page I had to place it under my 25w UV Black Light, take a picture with my camera on a tripod, ISO 100, WB set @ 2 and a fairly long exposure time...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/Blue-Ghost-Review-UV1.jpg

 

If you can read my review on the page, pic taken under my bedside UV light, the last line says "...using a Broad or Calligraphy nib is a "must"."

I've tried this ink in finer nibs and in different pens but the much wider Dollar Oblique Calligraphy nib does a fantastic job laying down enough of this ink to make it work.

 

Dollar Calligraphy pen, the one I'd used for this review...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/DollarCalligraphy1.jpg

 

*Blurry [*sorry, the AF was out of focus & didn't notice until uploading pic] macro shot of Calligraphy nib...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/DollarCalligraphyNib.jpg

 

I even tried this ink in my Preppy conversion eye-droppers that were way too fine.

 

Using Blue Ghost in another Dollar pen, one with the standard M/F nib seen below, worked better than the eye-dropper F nib yet still not quite as well as the Calligraphy nib pen.

 

Here's a shot of that blue Dollar Demonstrator, with the standard M/F nib and with Polar Blue ink inside.

[NOTE: The humidity where I live, even inside my home, is so high {@ 60%+ humidity indoors & 94%+ humidity outdoors!} condensation forms inside the piston area and blind cap]...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/DollarDemonstrator.jpg

 

Macro of the standard Dollar M/F nib...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/DollarStandardNib.jpg

 

What absolutely doesn't work out well at all are my F and/or XXXF+ nibs, like the one on my daily-writer [they just don't lay down enough ink to make the Blue Ghost show up well].

 

Here's a quick macro of the nib underside, XXXF+ reworked, on my favorite pen and daily-writer as shown here...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L-PFNibBottom.jpg

 

Side view of the same, showing this nib is @ a "needle-point" and under @ 20x magnification you can see the Iridium ball, although this macro doesn't quite show that there's a ball there at all...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L-PFNibLeftSide.jpg

 

EDIT: Had a double nib-shot post, removed same and replaced with another shot of the opposite side...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L-PFNibRightSide.jpg

 

 

Well, there you have it, my review of this incredible and fun-to-use Noodlers' Blue Ghost "invisible" ink.

I've even written an e-mail to an old friend that lives about 1,000 miles away, to see if he has a black light handy.

He wrote me back and said he does, so I've written him a letter using this ink and I've got to tell you it was the most fun I've had writing any letters!

Not only is this ink fun to use but I've also done some extreme wash-testing on it and not even pure 100% undiluted Clorox bleach was able to remove this ink from any paper once fully dried [did I mention it dries VERY FAST?].

I may be in the half-century range age-wise but I felt like a kid again using this ink, kept asking myself "Why didn't we have cool stuff like this when I was a kid?".

This sure isn't the old lemon juice so-called invisible ink trick I did back in grade school; this stuff is the real thing and I absolutely love it!

Edited March 23, 2009 by Inka

[Anam Cara]

Thank you for a great review Scott!

I was wondering about Blue Ghost, but wanted to see it in action before trying it out.

It DOES sound fun and I look forward to playing with it too!

 

~Cara

[betsypreston]

I loooove weird stuff like this, so I bought a bottle as soon as I heard about it.

 

I, too, have had trouble with the ink showing up on bright white papers. Seems to me that I also had pretty bad luck with dark papers. I was hoping that I could write on black paper and have it glow like mad, but seems to me it didn't work. SORRY that this is so vague. It's been a while since I experimented, so I can't say exactly what worked and didn't work. My point is only that you should try a test on each paper that you'd like to use, cuz it's a bit fussy about certain papers.

 

Some guy in Hong Kong on eBay sells key-ring flashlights with 3 black light LED bulbs. They were relatively cheap. I bought a lot of 12 or something and sent them off to everyone I wanted to send Blue Ghost letters. I made special stickers to let people know when they need to get out their black light and look for secret messages.

 

I had pretty good luck with the ink in a Sailor 1911 with a fine nib. It wasn't the best for writing because the line is so fine the words didn't get much glow going and it was harder to read, but still legible. The fine nib was great for "secret" embellishments to decorate the envelope. I'd write curlicues and other little things all over. I could pack a lot of decorations densely into a small space and get a good glow going.

 

For writing I had good results with a Lamy Safari with a bold point. It laid down a nice thick line which glowed beautifully. The only hassle is that I only have the little penlights and I have to hold it with one hand and write with the other in order to see what I'm doing. I might have to consider getting a black-light desk lamp.

 

The stuff is really cool. I was under the impression that it was a limited edition so I bought two more bottles. It was so much fun I didn't want to run out and then kick myself for only having one bottle.

[Inka]

Thanks for the compliments and the feedback, my friends.

 

I too have tried the UV-LED flashlights and while they work per letter/word, they're not so good for writing with this ink.

I even have 15" UV CCFLs in my computer case [the inside of my PC is all UV reactive, even the Mainboard and CPU cooler] and they really don't do an adequate job when trying to write letters.

I'm old enough that when I was a kid I had the black light posters and both 18"-24" black light fixtures all over my bedroom, much to the chagrin of my father [hehehe].

 

Here's what I'm using now, an old Bankers' lamp and a spiral DAMAR 25w UV bulb.

Here's the Bankers' lamp first;

[NOTE: the spiral was so long I had to remove the left inner threaded fitting and replace with flat washers and 2 flat nuts to get the bulb to fit]...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/BankersLamp.jpg

 

One I'd modified it, the bulb screwed into the socket without a problem...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/DamarUVFinlamp.jpg

 

DAMAR makes a 15w spiral too, but the 25w works much better and each have a lifespan of 10,000 hours.

Here's a shot of it when lit...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/UVFBulbLit.jpg

 

Here's a shot of the bulb and packaging, ordered from a local light bulb/fixture supplier I'd found in my local Yellow Pages:

Pic borrowed from DAMAR Website...

 

http://www.damarww.com/common/lightimages/24082a.jpg

 

Keep in mind that I had also tried some standard desk lamps with those cone-shape reflectors and they didn't work, absorbed the light into the flat white shade.

Table lamps with shades also didn't work very well, since the bulk of the UV light comes from the sides of the spiral and needs to be directed/reflected downward from a horizontal.

What I'd really like to get is one of the long tubes like I had as a teenager, one of the 18" or 24" tubes, like this 40watt DAMAR tube and then just get a florescent fixture for it...

 

http://www.damarww.com/common/lightimages/t12blb.jpg

[TwilightFury]

I love this review! Thanks!!!

 

Now I want to write Ghost letters.....

[loweevan]

I'm sold! Although I'm practicing self-restraint for the week, this ink has just been added to the list of things to purchase Monday. (Is it really self-restraint if I'm just counting the days?) I'd decided to buy a Safari LE (orange) with a 1.1 nib (pending testing it out at the store), so I'm glad to hear that this ink "needs" a broad nib. I don't think I've been this excited to write a letter in some time. I'm already planning a sort of game for the recipient that will require them to figure out how to read it.

 

Thanks for your review, Inka!

[ToasterPastry]

Great review!! I'm trying to think of a reason to get this ink...maybe for letter exchanges. For the G-rated information, I'll use Black. For the X-rated, I'll use The Ghost.

[oldnavy1988]

Ive ordered a sample of Blue Ghost and a black light bulb. Thanks for your review.

[oldnavy1988]

I've tried my sample of Blue Ghost. Its wonderful and great fun to use. White paper does not offer the contrast needed for high visability of this ink, but off-white and yellow work well. I used a fine point eye dropper pen and it did a fine job dispensing the ink in sufficient quantity to make the writing very legible. I used the Damar 25w spiral UV blacklight bulb as mentioned above and it worked perfectly. The ink dries much less bright than when it is first applied but still remains highly visable under this light. There is no bleed through and no evidence of ink on paper in normal white light. However, if the ink is put on too heavily as I suspect perhaps a broad nib may the paper will shows signs of wrinkling from the excessive fluid on the paper. Otherwise 100% stealth.

Lots of fun to play with, I felt like a kid again. I received a small sample from Pear tree pens and will, sometime in the future, be ordering a full bottle to compliment my stock. Try it out.

[paulrbarnard]

What happens if you write over it with a standard ink? What i am thinking here is that you can write a secret message to someone and write a 'standard' letter on top of it. That would be quite fun. I'm hoping that the fluorescence will show through another ink. Especially if you over write with a fine nib.

 

I would certainly get a bottle for that use. I can then send love letters to her in doors without worrying about the kids reading them ;-)

[oldnavy1988]

Nothing that I've heard of. One grandfather I read of writes his grandaughter a letter in normal ink, then turns the paper horizontially and writes her messages over top in Blue Ghost. So, I would imagine that it works fine although I have not tried it. I have also heard of people using a 'code word' in the standard text (i.e. blue ghost etc..) to let the receiver know that there is a message beneath in invisable ink. Like I said, I ordered a sample from Pear Tree Pens, they give you about 2mls to play with plus 3 other samples of your choice for under $10 delivered to your door. Check it out you won't be disappointed.

 

Don

 

What happens if you write over it with a standard ink? What i am thinking here is that you can write a secret message to someone and write a 'standard' letter on top of it. That would be quite fun. I'm hoping that the fluorescence will show through another ink. Especially if you over write with a fine nib.

 

I would certainly get a bottle for that use. I can then send love letters to her in doors without worrying about the kids reading them ;-)

 

[SamCapote]

Great review that was recently linked to.

[BklynWriter]

I still have an unopened bottle of this ink. I think I will play with it soon. Very cool for journaling...bwahahahahaha!!! you can write all those naughty thoughts and no one will be the wiser if they came across your journal.

[amberleadavis]

This is a wonderful review! I love Ghost Blue. It is a base in a lot of my mixed inks. It improves the water resistance and the resilience of the ink. It's a rather dry ink, which I find frustrating, but it's wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

[indigo123]

I decided to add to this review to answer some questions not addressed by the original reviewer. First of all, it's true that this ink works best on off-white papers and does not show up on dark or brightly colored papers. I put several colors and types of paper to the test, writing in blue ghost the type of paper on the upper left with a fine point cheap fountain pen. Under that I write with a Sheaffer Calligraphy fountain pen (medium point). To the right, for comparison, I write with a cheap kids' invisible ink marker (Top Secret) and with a UV permanent security ink pen (Dri Mark). Here's the first round of inked papers - on the left they are in indirect sun, and on the right in direct sun.

http://i.imgur.com/ZmyLkjb.jpg

 

Here is what they look like under black light (similar set-up as the original poster). Note that the brightness and type of black light may change how the blue ghost looks, with the best results being a florescent type black-light bulb. However, even the cheap black light on the cap of the kids' marker will allow blue ghost to be visible. Apologies for some bleed-through from a previous test. Please ignore these slight shadows.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gfvg80W.jpg

 

Here's a photo of the same papers under cheap black-light flashlight. Not the greatest image, but you can see how different UV light sources might shift the color and contrast of the ink.

 

http://i.imgur.com/pOrbxHz.jpg

 

Here is blue ghost on Rhodia papers and on black origami paper with a smooth enough finish to show ink with a slight sheen (except Dri Mark which is clearly visible in the light). For some reason the blue ghost showed up slightly pale and barely visible on Rhodia papers in normal light. On all other papers there is no trace of blue ghost, slight trace of Dri Mark, which has the most sheen and hint of color when dry:

 

http://i.imgur.com/cfiWCIr.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/p5hteec.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/FyFQgnQ.jpg

 

Finally, here is one of the above papers, written on as if there is no invisible writing (I used fine point fountain pen with Quink). As you can see, the invisible ink has zero effect on what's written over it, though if you use blue ghost over darker ink, it may smear depending on the nature of that darker ink. I have been successful using blue ghost without smearing over more permanent inks applied with other types of pens - like permanent black india ink)

 

http://i.imgur.com/kaSEJan.jpg

 

I hope this is helpful to anyone considering this ink for whatever their purpose. If you're on the fence about trying it, consider how much money and effort it's worth to you to simply feel a sense of childlike glee sitting down to "play" with a fountain pen. Sure, there are, indeed, actual uses for this ink (and I've found more than I expected to find), but the honest truth is that for me, the enjoyment and sheer fun of using this ink is, by itself, worth a recommendation. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Best,

Indigo

[NicolausPiscator]

Wonderful review! Thank you! I also have this ink in use, but unfortunately nobody discovered it until now when I wrote some additional lines under letters, on cards etc. Probably they don't use uv light... however this ink is great fun to use.

[Phonz]

Holly magical ink batman!

[timotheap]

This thread is so nice - thanks for the pictures ! I can't see the Photobucket ones but those of Indigo123 are amazing.

 

I'm toying with the idea of getting a bottle of Blue Ghost for myself (why, oh why) and I found this blog post that has also amazing pictures: https://onfountainpens.com/2015/01/noodlers-blue-ghost-fun-fountain-pen-ink/

 

Including :

 

• seeing the ink seeping through a Lamy feed
• a drop of Blue Ghost dissolving in water

[inkstainedruth]

I used to think that Blue Ghost didn't actually have any practical applications (other than Nathan Tardif coming up with a "dog and pony show" ink) -- amusing, but that was it.

But I ended up using it for entries in my password notebook. And I believe some people have used to increase the water resistance and/or UV resistance of some inks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[timotheap]

thank you inkstainedruth. Just as I was thinking "be reasonable, you don't need it, you dont' want it..." Alas. I am weak. And that means getting a UV lamp as well. And maybe a dedicated pen for it.