Parker Quink Blue-Black

[wastelanded]

  On 4/22/2013 at 5:44 PM, Sandy1 said:

Hi,

 

Thanks for your kind words!

 

I don't think this Review shows anything too terribly new / exciting, but its time had come to get ticked-off my bottomless To Do list.

 

Once again, I didn't find colour variation in the near term, nor the gradual colour shift (migration) over time. I like to think that being from Parker, (Rubbermaid), there's pretty good quality control / assurance, much the same as Waterman inks and other 'global' marques, so that would tend to rule-out variation on a bottle-to-bottle basis. That said, Waterman BlBk is also reported to have stability issues; and Pelikan 4001 BlBk occasionally deals a Joker.

 

As always, I welcome dear readers to share their experience, and contribute their examples to this thread.

 

Bye,

S1

 

Oh, I don't doubt their QC is better than most. This isn't a case of dodgy batches like P4BlBk, it just reacts differently to different papers in my experience. Personally, I've grown to like that aspect of it.

 

True, it's not the most exciting of inks, or full of subtle nuances or je ne sais quoi. But I wouldn't kick it out of my desk for eating crackers.

[Pterodactylus]

http://imageshack.us/a/img51/7817/6njq.jpg

 

(Parker Vector - M ..... Parker Quink Blue-Black)

Edited July 18, 2013 by Pterodactylus

[Sandy1]

  On 4/22/2013 at 4:53 AM, dcwaites said:

Ahh, memories...

 

High School was written in PQ Permanent Blue-Black w/Solv-X. When I went to Uni, I upgraded to PQ Perm. Black.

 

A few years ago when I returned to the FP fold, I bought a bottle of the new, improved PQ Perm. Blue-Black sans Solv-X, complete with new colour. Most of it is still in the bottle.

 

I was able to buy 5 untouched bottles of PQ Perm Blue-Black w/Solv-X, and this is what I use to rescue sluggish pens. A few days of writing and the Solv-X actually seems to do what it is advertised -- Cleans the pen and makes it write as new.

 

However, I have just come across a sample of both new and old Blue-Black on some cheap paper a few years ago. Both are now a lovely shade of greeny-blue...

 

BTW, lovely review, as usual, Sandy

 

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your compliments!

 

I also used PQBlBk with SOLV-X thru uni, and continue to use it as the primary ink in my daily writer [office] in the same Parker Sonnet.

 

When I travel I like to explore the pen & stationery shops, and sometimes have the good fortune to come across a stock of that ink, usually in one-shutter shops of the sort without bar-code readers, take only cash, and have smiling staff who are glad to be of service.

 

As my work product is the property of my employer, it is grist for the mill, so according to the document processing rules is destroyed after the content is converted to digital: thru the scanner into the shredder. Consequently I am not much concerned about longevity / fidelity of those originals. (Field notes are done in IG ink.) That said, I have come across my annotations & marginalia in old text/technical books, where the Quink remained very much itself.

 

For the ink in this Review, it seems to be the case that it is sensitive to paper, even in the short term; and that long term stability cannot be taken for granted, and may be less stable than other 'simple' non-Washable inks. e.g. MB Royal Blue, Diamine Sapphire, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, PR American Blue.

 

As I need the storage space, I won't leave this ink in the bottles, so I'll endeavour to hasten its departure by adding it to mixes, doing grocery lists & bumph, but it is unlikely to be replaced once the bottles run dry.

 

Bye,

S1

[mAnuscript69]

I'm back with a scan of this ink's colour shift.

 

For reference, the last line was written minutes before scanning the image with a Jinhao 159 (tuned for very wet flow) on Rhodia 80g/m² paper. I've colour corrected the scan to the best of my abilities to replicate the colour seen in person.

 

 

With this combination I have had the best luck of the ink retaining it's colour as compared to other pens and papers.

After a week, a teal hue is definitely apparent, reminding me a little of Diamine Twilight.

 

[lahlahlaw]

Awesome review, this is a highly available ink and its good to see what it actually comes out looking like.

[Newjelan]

Great review, thanks Sandy.

 

I bought this ink a year ago for a vintage Waterman and was dreadfully disappointed with the colour. However, a few weeks ago I tried it in my Platinum Century #3776 Bourgogne with a Broad nib (closer to a medium). It looks great and a couple of people thought it was so nice they asked what ink it was and where I got it. I have now moved it from the rear of the bottom shelf to the front of the top shelf!

[mAnuscript69]

  On 4/28/2013 at 10:15 AM, mAnuscript69 said:

...

With this combination I have had the best luck of the ink retaining it's colour as compared to other pens and papers.

After a week, a teal hue is definitely apparent, reminding me a little of Diamine Twilight Eau De Nil.

 

Fix'd.

[Vendome]

I've been using the Quink Black/Blue cartridges for a couple of weeks now and I must say I'm delighted with it. A great ink, with a fantastic shade / hue when used on Silvine writing pads and Lion Brand blue air mail paper.

 

It is now my everyday blue ink as it has replaced my Quink Washable Blue cartridges which is a bit wishy-washy for a Royal Blue and does tend to fade on the page.

 

Jason

[whych]

I have found that it changes to a darker colour after you have been using it in the pen for a few days.

If you pen is still damp from cleaning, it is more blue.

Same when first filling the pen,it starts bluer and goes to a darker colour after a few days of use.

[PolarMoonman]

a wonderful review of an awesome ink

[Sandy1]

  On 4/23/2013 at 6:21 PM, Pterodactylus said:

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/373/quinkblueblackresponse0.jpg

 

(Parker Vector - M ..... Parker Quink Blue-Black)

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

Thanks for another sample.

 

It seems that you're amonst many who've used this ink quite early during their time with FPs, and still find it to be quite OK - it does have many admirable qualities.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

  On 4/28/2013 at 10:15 AM, mAnuscript69 said:

I'm back with a scan of this ink's colour shift.

 

For reference, the last line was written minutes before scanning the image with a Jinhao 159 (tuned for very wet flow) on Rhodia 80g/m² paper. I've colour corrected the scan to the best of my abilities to replicate the colour seen in person.

 

 

With this combination I have had the best luck of the ink retaining it's colour as compared to other pens and papers.

After a week, a teal hue is definitely apparent, reminding me a little of Diamine Twilight.

 

 

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for showing us the results that you're achieving.

 

As much as I try to give a fair depiction of an ink using my papers & pens, there are many other combos out there, and if PQBlBk has some wobble as to its behaviour, its grand that those can be shown too: for some people, the extent of the variation wouldn't be bothersome, but to others it may be a deal breaker.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

  On 5/6/2013 at 6:52 AM, lahlahlaw said:

Awesome review, this is a highly available ink and its good to see what it actually comes out looking like.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for your kind words!

 

As we've seen, there is some variation as to its appearance due to the use of different pens & papers. That is usually the case with inks with a lower dye load.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

  On 5/6/2013 at 10:17 AM, Newjelan said:

Great review, thanks Sandy.

 

I bought this ink a year ago for a vintage Waterman and was dreadfully disappointed with the colour. However, a few weeks ago I tried it in my Platinum Century #3776 Bourgogne with a Broad nib (closer to a medium). It looks great and a couple of people thought it was so nice they asked what ink it was and where I got it. I have now moved it from the rear of the bottom shelf to the front of the top shelf!

 

 

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

Its a pity that this ink was disappointing pairing with the intended Waterman. I mean, it sounds pretty good: a fairly simple 'classic' ink, that is very low maintenance & 'safe'. But one never knows until the ink's in the pen, and onto paper. (I do a lot of pen cleaning!)

 

You must tell us about the unfortunate match: was the ink too light or too dark? Or was it mostly about nib width?

 

I like to use a smattering of pen+paper combos in the Reviews. Are there any here that resembled the results from your pen/s?

(My pen+paper pick was the Platinum President Purist on HPJ1124: 'I like the slightly wide nib that gives a value dark enough to keep what's written well anchored to the page, with just enough shading to distinguish itself as an FP ink.')

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

[Sandy1]

  On 5/6/2013 at 1:42 PM, mAnuscript69 said:

 

  On 4/28/2013 at 10:15 AM, mAnuscript69 said:

...

With this combination I have had the best luck of the ink retaining it's colour as compared to other pens and papers.

After a week, a teal hue is definitely apparent, reminding me a little of Diamine Twilight Eau De Nil.

 

Fix'd.

 

 

 

Added: Eau de Nil, My Review: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218286-diamine-eau-de-nil/

[Newjelan]

 

You must tell us about the unfortunate match: was the ink too light or too dark? Or was it mostly about nib width?

 

I like to use a smattering of pen+paper combos in the Reviews. Are there any here that resembled the results from your pen/s?

(My pen+paper pick was the Platinum President Purist on HPJ1124: 'I like the slightly wide nib that gives a value dark enough to keep what's written well anchored to the page, with just enough shading to distinguish itself as an FP ink.')

 

 

Hi Sandy,

 

It's a Waterman 525 with a Fine/Flexy nib. Even with flex the ink looked like a washed out Teal (yuck), with the Platinum Century Broad it looks like a soft, elegant blue-black, and I think your description of it in the President is consistent with my observation.

 

With respect to paper, I tend to use Rhodia (dots), Japanese LIFE! Notebooks, some other cheap Japanese notebook paper (dont know the brand but awesome quality) and Leuchtturm Dots (A5) notebooks. In my experience this ink looks particularly rich on ivory paper.

[Sandy1]

  On 5/8/2013 at 10:46 AM, Newjelan said:

You must tell us about the unfortunate match: was the ink too light or too dark? Or was it mostly about nib width?

 

I like to use a smattering of pen+paper combos in the Reviews. Are there any here that resembled the results from your pen/s?

(My pen+paper pick was the Platinum President Purist on HPJ1124: 'I like the slightly wide nib that gives a value dark enough to keep what's written well anchored to the page, with just enough shading to distinguish itself as an FP ink.')

 

 

Hi Sandy,

 

It's a Waterman 525 with a Fine/Flexy nib. Even with flex the ink looked like a washed out Teal (yuck), with the Platinum Century Broad it looks like a soft, elegant blue-black, and I think your description of it in the President is consistent with my observation.

 

With respect to paper, I tend to use Rhodia (dots), Japanese LIFE! Notebooks, some other cheap Japanese notebook paper (dont know the brand but awesome quality) and Leuchtturm Dots (A5) notebooks. In my experience this ink looks particularly rich on ivory paper.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for telling us about you choice of papers, especially the Ivory paper - I have most of a ream of Creme paper that is dreadful FP-hostile, so I'll try the PQBlBk on that paper.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

  On 5/6/2013 at 5:49 PM, Vendome said:

I've been using the Quink Black/Blue cartridges for a couple of weeks now and I must say I'm delighted with it. A great ink, with a fantastic shade / hue when used on Silvine writing pads and Lion Brand blue air mail paper.

 

It is now my everyday blue ink as it has replaced my Quink Washable Blue cartridges which is a bit wishy-washy for a Royal Blue and does tend to fade on the page.

 

Jason

 

Hi,

 

I'm glad you're delighted with PQBlBk!

 

Thanks for mentioning the papers that are a good match. I've found most Blue papers are too dark for inks with a low dye-load, so I use saturated inks, such as PR Midnight Blues. I much prefer the hue & lighter value of ye olde airmail papers [Elko] and aerogrammes, that are akin to Powder Blue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_blue

 

Alas, the Washable inks, by their very nature, tend to be unstable and prone to fading. Even though we've seen that PQBlBk is not so predictable, I hope it is more stable that a Washable ink.

 

Bye,

S1

[Sandy1]

  On 5/6/2013 at 6:34 PM, whych said:

I have found that it changes to a darker colour after you have been using it in the pen for a few days.

If you pen is still damp from cleaning, it is more blue.

Same when first filling the pen,it starts bluer and goes to a darker colour after a few days of use.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for sharing you experience with this ink!

 

Most of the inks with a low dye-load are suspecptible to changing appearance when left in a pen for an extended period. For the most part, that is due to evaporation hence the dyestuff becomes more concentrated [per unit volume].

 

I tend not to leave ink in a pen for more than a few days, so I rarely notice such behaviour. It also depends on the cap seal. For example, my Parker Sonnet has a cap with a space around the cap jewel that operates as a safety feature - if swallowed by a tot, the cap won't block their airway. I'd rather deal with a concentrated ink than a cyanotic tot - there's less fuss.

 

If you find the darkness of the ink at start-up to be a nuicance, (especially if picking up where you left off in the same document), I suggest charging the pen with fresh ink before writing, and capping the pen when not in active use.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited May 12, 2013 by Sandy1

[Sandy1]

  On 5/7/2013 at 2:57 AM, ParkersandPilots said:

a wonderful review of an awesome ink

 

Hi,

 

Thanks!

 

Glad you like the review and the ink!

 

Bye,

S1