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I bought this package of Mb Permanent Blue probably in 2014. Sticker says best before Nov15. I'm finally using them, just emptied one cartridge, and noticed...a message? The number 45 written inside the cartridge. I examined the other cartridges (see photo). The three on the left are unopened. All different numbers. Can anyone explain why these numbers were written inside the cartridges? And what they mean?

Hi all, Montblanc seem to be shaking up their line a bit, Midnight Blue is no longer listed as being a permanent ink and two new permanent inks are being introduced. The packaging is the same format as the existing inks with new graphics, All white with blue and black text. The bottle is the same shoe as we are used to with the existing line up (with the nice two part filling arrangement). http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5477/10108346353_779b6d73ca_z.jpgIMAGE_1.jpg by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Included below are samples of the new ink, and some from Royal Blue for comparison. My scanner is now older than some forum members, that is to say rather tired. I have taken photos in direct sunlight for comparison. Both inks were in Lamy Safari pens with medium nibs. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/10116527246_e1c1a9baf1_z.jpgMontblanc Permanent Blue on Rhodia by Bigeddie100, on Flickrhttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/10116406034_5589af727b_z.jpgMontblanc Royal Blue on Rhodia by Bigeddie100, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3671/10116489245_b6dc2e255b_z.jpg Montblanc Permanent Blue on copy paper by Bigeddie100, on Flickrhttp://farm4.staticflickr.com/3722/10116459185_46749139fe_z.jpgMontblanc Royal Blue on copy paper by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Analysis:The flow of the new ink was surprisingly dry (much lighter flow than that of the new black ink), I was expecting more punch. The colour is a pleasant true blue (not so purple as the Royal Blue) with some nice shading. In terms of performance, there was no feathering, bleed or show through on the Rhodia. On the copy paper there was quite a lot of showthrough and bleed, much more so than Royal Blue; but the colour did not seem to soak in to the paper and spread as much, whereas Royal Blue lost a lot of it's density. Water resistance:These new permanent inks from MB are the first that I have seen with an ISO certification for permanence, here I am only testing water resistance when dry. The inks proved to be very water resistant, I would be hard pushed to detect the difference between inks before and after soaking. Certainly this ink along with the new Permanent Black are the most water resistant inks out there, unlike the pigment inks nothing floats off of them. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/10116653463_80c76125ea_z.jpgWater resistance in progress by Bigeddie100, on Flickrhttp://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/10116561223_bec75a871d_z.jpgWater resistance by Bigeddie100, on Flickr Conclusion: I like it, it's quite a nice colour and performs well on Rhodia paper, on cheap pulp the performance would suit one sided use, where the appearance is good but the bleed and show through are worse than non-permanent equivalents. The biggest downside is the price, these new inks are being sold from MB at £19 a bottle compared to £11 for the standard inks. For my uses (typically on FP friendly papers) I would stick to Royal Blue.

Did Montblanc reformulate it's Permanent Blue ink this year? The first bottle purchased in 2014 performed flawlessly in my MB-146 and Waterman Kultur. Each pen start writing immediately regardless if left unused for a day or even several days. My second bottle purchased earlier this year has cause both pens to hard start if left unused for just several hours or more. I've even thoroughly flushed each pen with JB's and water between the last four refills and they still hard start. Getting really frustrating.

Here's one of the better inks in the 1 oz. Eternal series of Noodler's inks. It's soft and slightly chalky, but looks great on Rhodia. Definitely recommended! http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/VFJH2O.jpg