A Few Faded Flowers...

[napalm]

Just 4 days after starting testing this in a northern orientation window. A few comments by looking in person at the test sheets, in order of resistance to fading:

 

1. Platinum Pigment Blue seems unaffected, no visible differences in the samples

2. Iroshizuku Asa Gao is a close second, there's just a very slight discoloration

3. Pilot Blue Black has slight discoloration and yellowing

4. This place is shared by Platinum Blue Black, Parker Blue Black and Diamine Grape. Discoloration is easily noticed.

5. Shared by Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu and Diamine Syrah (as a % of color loss).

6. Diamine Amazing Amethist is nearly gone.

 

The ball points are holding well except Parker Black.

 

Other comments: Since Platinum Blue Black has the problems associated with iron gall inks, yet it performs on par with Parker Quink and worse than Pilot Blue Black, I don't see any particular reason in insisting to use this ink against other "blue-black" alternatives.

 

[PAKMAN]

Interesting results! Thanks for the comparison!

[laserlight]

Thanks for the test! I was supposed to send a writing sample written with Platinum Blue-Black to amberleadavis but have not gotten round to it yet.

 

Other comments: Since Platinum Blue Black has the problems associated with iron gall inks, yet it performs on par with Parker Quink and worse than Pilot Blue Black, I don't see any particular reason in insisting to use this ink against other "blue-black" alternatives.

 

Referring to Platinum's information about ink page and comparing to your results, it looks like what was described:

 

Many decades ago, we could not develop pigment ink for fountain pens. So we mixed ferrous tannic acid and blue dye-based ink to make ferric tannic acid, so to say “Blue Black” colored ink. I will skip boring details, but we compounded blue dyes together with ferrous tannic acid, and this Blue Black ink is became oxidized in the air after writing and become ferric. Hence, its color turns blue after writing. However, the blue dye color will gradually fades away and only the ferrous iron remains on the paper permanently.

At first, the blue color, later changed to black; that is why we call it ‘’Blue Black’’, the name comes from its function, not the color itself.

 

What I am curious to know is how it would fare against Pilot Blue Black in the long run: I read that someone here did a pH test and figured out that Pilot Blue Black is not iron gall, yet it appears to be waterproof and fade resistant, and yet It does not seem to be a pigment ink either. In your test thus far, the results don't seem all that different to me, so if indeed Pilot Blue Black is not a pigment ink, then it wins (other than possibly in the colour). Mind leaving your test on longer?

[napalm]

Mind leaving your test on longer?

 

I surely will, my intention is to check every week until most of the inks are gone. Will post pics any time I see something interesting.

 

Edited July 4, 2014 by napalm

[amberleadavis]

Thank you!!!! I love these.

[inkstainedruth]

Is there any particular reason why you chose a north facing window? No criticism, just curious (when we bought our current house the so-called "master bedroom" got turned into my sewing and project room because it was on the northwest corner of the house, and therefore had both "even" light and afternoon light; also of course, because it was bigger and because we thought we'd hear less street noise at night in the back corner on the same side of the house -- not realizing of course that we'd hear *more* noise because it's a corner lot and our street T's onto a fairly main road... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[napalm]

My south windows are street facing, and I wanted to avoid displaying colored paper there, also they have grilles that would had interfered with my samples OTOH since most of these tests are done in direct sun, I was somehow curios what would happen when picking shadow.... so basically these samples were sitting at room temperature (no overheating by direct sun) and diffuse light. From what I've seen, it didn't help them much....

[napalm]

Evening of July 7th:

 

 

- Platinum Pigment Blue is unaffected

- Asa Gao is very tenacious

- the ballpoints are doing great except Parker Black

- the paper started to yellow

 

 

[amberleadavis]

Great JOB

[napalm]

Final scan, 12 July (please note that unlike the previous 2 pics I used a scanner not a camera):

 

 

 

[amberleadavis]

Did any of this shock or surprise you?

[napalm]

Did any of this shock or surprise you?

 

Shock - no. Surprise - yes, I didn't expect Asa Gao to perform that well.

[amberleadavis]

 

Shock - no. Surprise - yes, I didn't expect Asa Gao to perform that well.

 

 

I was surprised between the difference between Grape and Amethyst.

[napalm]

I was surprised between the difference between Grape and Amethyst.

I believe they're not the same dye i.e. Amethyst is not some diluted Grape. I also noticed something strange when flushing the pen with Amethist, it came out as some sort of metallic gray, like it reacted with the fluorinated tap water and changed color. Grape made my whole sink purple as expected lol.

[amberleadavis]

Grape was my most serious stainer until the KWZI 12, but both are clean now.

[napalm]

This is another test I started on July 4 and scanned today July 19. (15 days in the window)

 

[amberleadavis]

That Rollerball red is doing well.

[napalm]

Yep, I have several very stable Uniball red ink pens, one is specifically marked "uni-ball Vision fine" "waterproof/fade-proof", it's a roller-ball too.

[napalm]

A new test started just a few days ago. Northern window, rainy days until now (not much sun).

 

[Cyber6]

Wow.. Peche sucks... no surprises there..