Waterman Inspired Blue

[musicman123]

Waterman Inspired Blue (formerly known as South Seas Blue) was actually my second bottle of ink, but after I got a billion more, I totally forgot about it. Now, as I'm going back into my drawer, I'm revisiting the beautiful color, and making a review for it. Here it goes.

 

This review will follow my normal standard format for reviews, with pictures following a small blurb. The pictures were taken with an iPhone 6, back camera, in artificial lighting. Effort has been made to show the true color, but your milage may vary depending on your monitor. If you would like to see all my ink images, you are free to go to http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews

 

Here is a preview of the ink. It is a nice blue color, which is close to turquoise.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Ink.jpg

 

The review was written with two pens. First, I used my favorite Nemosine Singularity with a TWSBI B nib, which is slightly finer than a Nemosine B, but only by a hairline. Next, I used a Monteverde One-Touch Engage refillable rollerball pen which takes fountain pen ink.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Nib.jpg

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Nib%202.jpg

 

The review was written on HP 32lb Premium Laser Paper, which can be found at Staples for the whooping price of $19.99, or on Amazon for $15.39. This is my new "standard" paper I will be using for all my reviews, writing, and comparisons. I still have a bit of HP 28lb, which is now discontinued, but I am going to be moving to this one now, as it is much better, IMO.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Paper.jpg

 

Here is a swab of the ink. The left swab was 1 pass, with a barely saturated Q-Tip. The right swab was the 2nd pass, with a heavily saturated Q-tip.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Swab.jpg

 

The ink, like most other Waterman and Parker inks, has very nice characteristics. The ink flows medium wetly, and provides sufficient lubrication. Also, there some shading, from a light blue, to a dark blue. The ink exhibited no feathering, bleed, or show through, and had no dry smear at all. The ink has a slight red sheen, which is visible on the Nib #2 picture, and also the sheen picture below. It sheens more often on Tomoe River paper than this paper.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Characteristics.jpg

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Characteristics%202.jpg

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Sheen.jpg

 

The ink dried on par with the other inks I have tested on this paper, taking roughly 17-18 seconds. This paper is extremely smooth and nonabsorbent which is the main cause of the long times. However, this is not a problem for me as I am a strong overwriter.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Dry%20Time.jpg

 

Here is a poorly drawn ghost to show how the ink looks with sketching, and coloring.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Ghost.jpg

 

Here is a comparison with other ink colors. Use this as a calibration for your monitors and the photos. I did not intend this to show similar colors.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Comparison.jpg

 

Here is a water test. The top grid had drops of water placed for 10 seconds, then vigorously wiped downwards. The bottom text did not receive any drops of water and was only wiped with in the same motion as the grid. The ink did not fare well at all in the water test. Most of the places where the droplets were placed were completely annihilated by the water, and the ink had extreme amounts of wet smear—one of the worst I have seen. I neglected to take a picture of the water test, before the drops were placed.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Water%20After.jpg

 

Lastly, here is a scan of the review. Use the scan to read the rest of the review. I did not intend for it to show color accuracy. The pictures are the most accurate representation of the color.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Waterman/Inspired%20Blue/Scan.jpg

That's all folks! I would give this ink a 7/10, because of the water test failure. If you liked this review, stay tuned for more to come!

 

[Jamerelbe]

I got a sample of this from the Goulets recently, and I have to say, I really like it. Enough to want to buy a bottle, somewhere down the track! Problem is, I have a growing list of inks I could say the same thing about - so it may be a bit of a wait...

[rithomas]

I have used South Sea Blue in a Platinum Preppy 03 nib converted to eyedropper. This combination is the fastest pen I have. It writes wet, smooth and beautiful. Shading is nice also.

 

It is very close to the color of inkjet printer cyan. My coffee-filter chromotography shows that it is almost pure cyan with a bit of green added.

 

It is not at all waterproof, so I am using it less now, after a notebook disaster. I tried a water-resistant mix of 1 part Noodler's Bullet Proof Black and 6 parts South Sea Blue, but it turned out an ugly green color.

 

It baffles me why Waterman's changed the name -- it is exactly the color of a tropical lagoon.