On The Longevity Of Noodler's Blue Ghost

[Silent Speaker]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/silentspeaker/blue-ghost.gif

 

Greetings!

 

I have been for sometime enamoured with the idea of invisible ink, being the sneaky and secretive type myself and all, so after finding reading this 2 year old thread:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/112678-noodlers-blue-ghost-aging-properties/

 

And noting particularly the last post where FPN’er Chemyst describes his BG bottle’s ungraceful aging, I wish to ask others who have had this ink for some time what their experiences with it have been.

 

Firstly, I would like to know whether or not its UV-reactive property diminishes over time; how does long it take for the ink to stop reacting to UV light and become truly invisible, and thus whatever you've written is then forever lost? If it does in fact stop reacting that is.

 

I would not think that it’s “Bulletproof” designation dictates that it remain purely invisible as such a title is supposed to define an ink that remains totally visible!

 

So, I also wonder if there comes a time when the ink eventually ages to the extent that it attains enough visibility on the page in order to be noticeable without any UV stimulus at all.

 

If Chemyst reads this thread: how is your ink writing now? Can you see it without black light?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In short, I wonder what the prospective 'long term' aspects of this ink are.

 

Do you think that one could write something with Blue Ghost, and say, 10 years later or so, return to it to find that it's still as invisible as it was and that it still fluoresces under black light?

 

What’s it’s “half-life”? - How long would it take before the UV glow loses some intensity, and becomes 'dimmer' than it was initially?

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

Living in certain environments - boarding school, colleges, student digs and the like - has instilled in me a certain paranoia when it comes to private writings (people I used to live with were all such delightful snoops!.... though I admit, so was I ), so such an ink would be most helpful in allaying the ever-present fear of prying eyes (they’re watching you! :ph34r: ).

 

So, with their great ‘blacklight of knowledge’, can anyone enlighten me?

 

Alternatively, does anyone know how one goes about asking ‘The Noodler’s Man’ himself on how he speculates (or, rather, spectre-lates!) this most unusual and interesting of his fine creations reacts to time's inexorable passage?

 

Perhaps when time begins to fly, even phantoms die?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/silentspeaker/sadblughostie.jpg

Edited September 5, 2011 by Silent Speaker

[agchristie]

I recently was reading some notes I had written with BLue Ghost two years ago and it was still perfectly legible, however I didnt think to compare with new writing. I think there have also been some longevity tests of Blue Ghost in the ink comparison section in the Reviews Forum. I also love the idea of invisible ink and I really must get one of those fingerUV lights from Gouletpens so that I can use the ink more often. I just have a small UV flashlight which is a bit impractical when writing longer texts.

[Silent Speaker]

*saves thread from the doom of the 2nd page!*

 

Thanks silexink.

 

I had a look at those comparisons you mentioned.

 

In one, BG apparently washed away after a 45min soak in (possibly slightly soapy) water (! wasn't it supposed to be bulletproof?)

 

In another (a long running sunlight exposure test) it started to fade in about a month, but "has gone away completely under UV. But it was fairly persistent for about a year."

 

Apart from the water test anomaly (I read others where this has not happened and BG is waterproof) - the UV test is interesting.

 

I doubt using one of those little UV flashlights to occasionally read a message would be able to equal a year's output of UV from the sun itself! (though, I don't know what kind of output a UV lamp bulb or LED can produce - anyone know?)

 

Anything I wrote would be in a volume of some kind (book, notepad, filed paper etc.), so constant UV exposure at sun levels doesn't really worry me.

 

The tester didn't mention BG having left any trace of itself after over a year's worth of exposure, so I'll assume there wasn't any at all - which is good to know.

[penemuel]

Now you've got me wondering about this, because I have a whole big bottle of it and I think I may never use it all up... I don't want it to get to the point where it's unreadable at all under UV light.

 

Does the still-liquid ink retain the UV reactive properties longer than dried ink on paper, or vice versa?

[Silent Speaker]

Does the still-liquid ink retain the UV reactive properties longer than dried ink on paper, or vice versa?

Now that's an excellent question. I no idea to its answer though

 

I would, taking into account the long term exposure test, keep a bottle of BG in a dark, cool place, away from any light that would stimulate it's fluorescing properties - where you should keep all of your inks, really - ie. a desk drawer or someplace.