Search the Community

Hey, I really hate to open another topic on Baystate Blue. But I really don't know how to find ALL the BSB threads that are available, and check whether this has already been comented on (For what is worth, I have searched as best I could via Google, here and elsewhere, but I couldn't find an appropriate thread about this). So then, I thought I might ask everybody a question: Does YOUR (sample of) Baystate Blue turn purple on plain, white, copy paper (80-90 gsm), and predominantly on such paper? I don't mean a hint or a tinge of purple - rather bright, saturated, vibrant ... purple. To put a bit more context into it, I must say I just received my 3 oz. bottle of THE ink (ordered on Amazon, shipped by the manufacturer) a few days ago. I made sure to clean the pen extra well (flushed until water ran clear, THEN flushed with minor concentration dish-soap solution and left it in for 24hrs., THEN flushed until water ran clear of bubbles, and left another 24 hrs. with clean water in it, AND finally flushed dry, and left another 24hrs. to ... well, dry out, with nib resting on absorbent tissue paper - so, I guess the pen was .. clean), then loaded it with THE stuff. In case anybody is wondering, the pen is a black HERO 616 mini version with an M nib - I had well researched this ink beforehand (but apparently, still not well enough), so I knew well enough to choose a cheap pen. So far (3 days after) the pen behaves perfectly (with no melted plastic/feeder, or flow modification; it actually behaves better than with Diamine Blue Velvet in it; I do expect the rubber sac of the aerometric filler to be stained, but I couldn't care less; we'll see about the rest). And then I tried it on for size. First, on a glossy paper notebook - white (don't know what paper the supplier used, because the notebook is internal stationery at the HR firm I work at). And it came out ... purple. I felt my throat going dry. Secondly, on plain/cheap A4, 75gsm, ECF (Elementary Chlorine Free), Unpunched, Ecolabel copy paper - obviously, white (generic brand, nothing to do with printer manufacturers). And it came out ... purple. I was gutted. Not far from crying (not really, but still...), considering how many inconvenient properties and risks I am ready to put up with, just for this color. As in this BLUE color, not purple color! Then I needed to scribble something really quick, and the first paper that came to hand was the back of a store receipt (so thin, thermal paper, I would say, and also white), and the closest instrument at hand was the BSB pen. And what do you know - it came out as the perfect, pure, intense and bright cobalt blue I had thought I was buying. Exactly that! Amazed at my discovery, I started scribbling "Test Color" on every paper I had at hand - which means that now I have quite a few books and book covers scribbled on their last page in BSB. And the color stayed blue (albeit with some hints of purple in some cases, but which are BARELY discernible). Also, I checked ALL my results the following day, in plain daylight (on a beautiful sunny day, around noon). And they were unchanged: my (sample of) ink is purple on some papers, and the proper blue on others. And some papers are white, others are cream, and others plain yellow. Thus, it seems that my BSB reacts with the paper and changes hue, for I can think of no other explanations. Now, I know what many will say: Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Tomoe River, etc. And that's all fine - to each his own, but I am not really a fountain pen afficionado, nor do I plan on becoming one (I have only 3 inks, and ... let's see, erm... 7 fountain pens, and I really want to stay at this level). I really place practicality above tastes, and I consider it dandy enough to be using a fountain pen (in spite of the extinct-species/wolly-mammoth looks I get from some...), that I most certainly won't carry Tomoe River pads with me to the meeting room. Nothing wrong with those that will, as I was saying above. My point, however, to anybody reading this, is that performance on plain copy paper is THE deal breaker for ME, as I won't change paper except entirely accidentally. So it doesn't really help me to know how the ink performs on those FP dedicated papers (actually, I already do considering how much research I put into this color), and/or that I should change stationery. And the color is the deal-breaker part of the performance - as I was saying previously, I will put up with many things, but not with a different hue/color, because that makes it a different ink, actually. I have also read about reports that Noodler's inks have some relatively looser Q.C.s (i.e.quality controls), in that performance can vary from one batch to the another, within the same product line (for instance, different batches of BSB might behave differently). So then, I am well aware this could be a batch-related rather than a product-related problem. Being thus aware if that as well, I dare (after a mammoth post) phrase my question anew: Does YOUR (sample of) Baystate Blue turn purple on plain, white, copy paper (80-90 gsm), and predominantly on such paper? N.B.: for those who don't know/don't remember, would you be so kind as to test it a bit on some copy paper, if possible? I know it doesn't really do much for you, but I would really appreciate it, and it would mean A LOT to me to know whether I could still like this ink (that otherwise, I have to confess it, I would love in spite of all its other shortcomings... eh, true love i guess they call it, lol)

I found this paper at my school and decided that I just had to share it here. It's SOL copy paper, made in Australia, suspiciously unavailable online, but there's tons at my school so I'm happy about that. Since I assume it's not readily commercially available, this'll just be a short blurb about the paper in case other people chance upon it. Specs: Brand: Australian Made (?) Name: SOL copy paper Recycled: 30% Size: 8.5x11 letter size but also available in A4 size Brightness: 96 ISO Weight: 20lb (74 gsm) Format: Loose leaf copy paper, 500 sheets/ream URL: http://www.australianmade.com.au/licensees/australian-paper/sol-copy-paper Summary of the review: Good shading, some sheen in a Japanese F nib, very little feathering, allows for a fine line that's a little rough around the edges. Fairly white and fairly light.This paper makes me happy. So the outside is very unassuming, to put it nicely. Here's a picture from the internet: http://www.eurobiuras.lt/media/dynamic/img/preke_319842/18135_large_po-dau-35573.jpg The paper's light like one would expect, and it's something I like in a paper. The pen and ink here is a Pilot Metropolitan F with Diamine Blue Velvet. "But Tea," you exclaim "Japanese fines don't hardly feather on ANYTHING!" Okay, kind of true, but they still do better on some papers than others, and I only have one pen with me, and some review is better than nothing. Enough talk, time for show and tell. The paper isn't slippery smooth but it's smoother than most copy papers. From my experience it feathers* a tiny bit, maintains a good line width, and shows shading and what little sheen I can expect from a Japanese F nib on something other than Tomoe River. No bleedthrough and barely any showthrough. http://i.imgur.com/mDKbwpTh.jpg yay shading yay thin lines! The two most important things to me tbh. The lines look fuzzy but trust me it's not spreading. I'm pretty sure it's cause the paper's not smooth enough so when the ink pools it settles in the weird cracks and dips on the paper's surface. When the ink comes down thicker it smooths out some. Close-up. http://i.imgur.com/BCnXzcUh.jpg Comparison with a Red Uniball Signo DX 0.38. http://i.imgur.com/mDKbwpTl.jpg If you look closely you can see sheen. Picture has been edited because the colors wouldn't come out right; the first pics are more accurate but this one shows the pinkish red sheen like it appears irl. It's not very obvious and looks kinda like jpg compression artifacts but it's there. http://i.imgur.com/mF7eCKWh.jpg Comparison to the same pen and ink in a Campus mid-grade notebook. yes, the line here is thicker than on the SOL paper. http://i.imgur.com/o3VM7pSh.jpg That's it! Anyone else have this paper and have opinions on it? Have you seen it in stores before? I sure haven't but I'd like to.

Here's a quickie review on a bagasse copy paper by Tree Frog. These are cell phone pics that were auto-corrected on my comp, so they're not completely true to color. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Paper/Tree%20Frog.jpg Pretty happy with the paper. It doesn't have the "cheapie" feel some eco-friendly papers have. Not as smooth as Clairefontaine or Rhodia, but not distinctly textured either. Both sides appear to be uniform. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Paper/Closeup2.jpg Handles all but my broad, wet nibs well. The broad stub caused some feathering and a little beet of bleedthrough. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Paper/Closeup.jpg A closeup of the bleedthrough http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Paper/Bleedthrough.jpg It does ghost, but it's also only 20lb paper. I don't think it's that bad, and it's not too distracting to write over. But, if you hate ghosting this probably won't appeal http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/LitlJaimo/Fountain%20Pens/Paper/Ghosting.jpg

I've been doing lots of research on using an alternative to fountain pens when it comes to using standard copy paper, or "cheap" paper. I am aware that extra fine nibbed fps are good for this type of paper, but I recently learned of rollerballs that use fp ink, like the one from J Herbin or Kaweco. These look so cool, and I can still use my inks! But I can't find much feedback regarding using them on copy paper. Does anyone have any experience with these? Does the ink tend to bleed and feather, are they typically scratchier than on better paper like Rhodia? I would appreciate your opinions! If it helps any, I'm considering getting a Kaweco rollerball, so that's where my concerns are going towards to. Thank you.

Hey there. I just bought my first fountain pen (Lamy Vista with a fine nib) and haven't invested in my first bottled ink yet. I would need some suggestions on buying inks. I'm a middle school math teacher. I plan to use my fountain pen to grade papers. I'm looking for inks that are suitable to write on office copy paper or regular school notebook paper, doesn't bleed through too much, and affordable since I'll using a lot daily. I'm looking in the range of turquoise, purple, green and orange. I usually don't like grading in red ink. Does anyone or any teachers here have some good suggestions for me? Or maybe other colors that are not red? Thank you so much.