Zebra Sarasa: Waterproof?

[veri]

Just looking for a quick clarification. I've read on blogs / personal tests that Sarasa ink in their gel pens is waterproof, presumably because of being a pigment ink despite being water-based.

 

Zebra says otherwise.

 

Anyone know for sure?

[WillSW]

I have a few Sarasas, I can do some tests. What are the traditional waterproof tests?

 

(a side note - I prefer the Jetstreams, though they're a bit more expensive)

Edited September 16, 2010 by WillSW

[veri]

I have a few Sarasas, I can do some tests. What are the traditional waterproof tests?

 

(a side note - I prefer the Jetstreams, though they're a bit more expensive)

 

Well, this guy -- http://www.moleskinerie.com/2006/06/pen_review_unib/comments/page/3/ -- seems to have already done them. I'm just assuming that the Zebra CSR was wrong.

[mstone]

it's possible that the ink varies per lot, so they will not make any guarantee (i.e., waterproofness isn't in the contract spec for their supplier, but it might be an added bonus)

[mrt77]

Zebra Sarasa ink is definitely waterproof. I've tested them myself a few years ago and I couldn't tell much difference between the waterproofness of the Sarasa vs the uniball 207.

 

According to the Zebra web site, Sarasa ink is pigmented, which usually means the ink sinks into the paper fibers, making it very difficult to remove with water or solvents.

[bluemagister]

Zebra gel ink, like most pigmented gel inks, is not only waterproof, but also anythingelseproof. You can soak it in any solvent you wish and it won't come off the page and it will never fade. Always look for gel pens where the plug in the back of the refill cartridge is clear, as a brown/yellow plug (like in the G2 and Pilot's other gel pens) means that the ink is DYE-based and therefore not solventproof.

 

Noodler's inks use water-soluble cellulose dyes that react and permanently bond with paper. True, pigmented gel inks use a pigment that gets trapped in the paper fibers after the hydrated polymer (often xanthan gum!) evaporates away.

 

 

I use Sarasa pens EVERY SINGLE DAY and I love them love them love them. Jetstreams are OK, too, but they are dye-based and will run and smear in any solvent but water.

[veri]

Zebra gel ink, like most pigmented gel inks, is not only waterproof, but also anythingelseproof. You can soak it in any solvent you wish and it won't come off the page and it will never fade. Always look for gel pens where the plug in the back of the refill cartridge is clear, as a brown/yellow plug (like in the G2 and Pilot's other gel pens) means that the ink is DYE-based and therefore not solventproof.

 

Noodler's inks use water-soluble cellulose dyes that react and permanently bond with paper. True, pigmented gel inks use a pigment that gets trapped in the paper fibers after the hydrated polymer (often xanthan gum!) evaporates away.

 

 

I use Sarasa pens EVERY SINGLE DAY and I love them love them love them. Jetstreams are OK, too, but they are dye-based and will run and smear in any solvent but water.

 

Thanks for this. I don't know where I got the idea, but I was under the impression that the brown/yellow staining in the gel behind the ink meant that it could stand up to water and other solvents even though Signo 207s don't have it, and I never personally tested the G2s.

 

I have an email from Pilot describing their gel inks as "water-resistant" and resistant to check washing. Resistant, eh.

 

Mechanistically, how is it that pigmented gels -- like those from Uni-Ball, Zebra Sarasas, etc. -- cannot be washed out from between paper fibers once it's been deposited there? I spent a bit of time around organic chemistry labs before doing what I'm doing now, and I just have this image in my mind of being able to find a solvent that could get that pigment out of there.

[bitterwonder]

I use them in drawings and makes washes by going over them with water. Te result is washy but work for color notations.

[mrt77]

I have an email from Pilot describing their gel inks as "water-resistant" and resistant to check washing. Resistant, eh.

 

Well, the tests I've done would say no. I'm not saying Pilot is wrong here, maybe they've changed their formula... but I'd not trust the G2 ink for checks. I know the Sarasa and 207 ink is virtually fraud proof, so I stick to that when writing checks.

[bluemagister]

Resistance is not the same as "proof". G2 ink won't budge underwater, but spill a little alcohol on it and it runs like crazy. It's dye-based ink and not reactive dye ink like Noodler's Bulletproof line. Pigmented ink contains little, charged particles of pigment that get into the paper and won't come out. It is VERY hard to solvate gel ink for HPLC.

[veri]

It is VERY hard to solvate gel ink for HPLC.

 

Good to know. Never got a chance to try that just for grins -- wonder what kind of solvent would do it.