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This was something I worked on a few months ago when trying to decide which blue-black ink to convince my wife to let me get myself for Christmas. I’ll let the images speak for themselves, but there are definite advantages to both inks. In the end, I got a bottle of Air-Corp and put Prime of the Commons at the top of my wishlist for the next time someone asks me what I want for a present. I prefer the color of ACBB, but also the absolute waterproofness of PotC. The main reason PotC came out second was its tendency to feather on most paper. Another major factor is that PotC costs about double the price of ACBB once shipping from the UK is taken into consideration. Third, my wife’s adverse reaction to the color (“It’s just blue”) also helped move PotC to the backseat. I spent a lot of time comparing these inks and didn’t put all my thoughts or photos in this post, so if there’s anything you want to know about them that I haven’t included please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments. J Pen Used: Pilot Plumix <--This is a dry writer, so both inks turned out lighter and with more shading than they would have in wetter pens. For all images, Prime of the Commons is on the left and Air-Corp Blue-Black is on the right. Cheap Legal Pad Rhodia 80gsm (Due to PotC’s tendency to feather and be hard to clean, I tried a 20% dilution [4 parts ink : 1 part water] and included it under the undiluted example.) Writing Sample (Legal Pad) Color Comparison (Rhodia) (From the top: lines 1, 3, 5 = PotC; lines 2, 4 = ACBB) Water Resistance 1. Drip test 5 minutes after writing 2. Soak test 30 minutes after writing 3. Soak test 24 hours after writing Of course a few weeks after doing all this I discovered Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black and was surprised to find myself preferring the traditional color over the funky tealish inks I had been so into previously. Pelikan BB has since duly fulfilled my quest for a perfect Blue-Black. Go figure.