Parker Vacumatics And Blue Inks

[ArmaSpinaRosa]

Hello everyone! I have a very specific question; what blue ink is safe in a parker vacumatic. I am not ocd about cleaning out my pens and am sometimes forced to write on cheap paper. Thanks!

 

-a first time poster

[migo984]

Hello everyone! I have a very specific question; what blue ink is safe in a parker vacumatic. I am not ocd about cleaning out my pens and am sometimes forced to write on cheap paper. Thanks!

-a first time poster

I use lots of different inks in my Vacs without problems, but if you're worried about cleaning, try one of the Waterman blues, like Serenity Blue. They are benign inks. Generally OK on cheaper papers but are not waterproof.

[Buzz_130]

Welcome to FPN!

 

I use many Parker vintage pens (Vacs, "51s", 75, Duofolds, 45s, etc), and I exclusively use blue inks. If I want to be sure that the pen is operating well, I use Waterman, Mont Blanc, or Sheaffer blue inks. Once I've confirmed that my pen is working, I broaden the range of blue inks to whatever suits my desires. My two exceptions to this rule are that I don't put nano pigment inks in vintage pens, and I have not used iron gall inks outside of my Esterbrook Js and modern pens. I'll eventually try a modern iron gall in a "51."

 

For cheaper paper, I'd lean toward drier inks. Pelikan does very well here, and I find Mont Blanc works very well. My favorite is Iroshizuku Asa Gao as I find this is a great ink with a color that I enjoy. I have at least one pen filled with Asa Gao at all times.

 

Buzz

[TSherbs]

Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue in my Vac right now. Pretty good on cheaper paper, too.

[ac12]

Parker Quink, Sheaffer Skrip, Waterman, Pelikan 4001, Pilot

[Dr.Grace]

I tend to use Herbin Éclat De Saphir in vacs that I don't want to stain. Cleans out nicely.

[ArmaSpinaRosa]

What about sailor inks? Are those ok?

[Buzz_130]

Regular Sailor inks (Jentile) are held in high regard here on FPN and should cause no problems. I would not recommend using the Sailor nano pigment inks in your Vac.

 

Buzz

[ac12]

One comment about some inks. Inks that behave like Parker Quink, Sheaffer Skrip and Cross/Pelikan may be discouraging on some papers. The reason is that some of the cheap papers will absorb the ink while it is drying. This causes the dye to also be absorbed INTO the paper where your eyes won't see it. So when the ink dries, it looks faded and washed out. It is not the fault of the ink but the specific combination of the pen, ink and paper that causes this.

 

With absorbent paper, the DARKER the ink you start with, the darker the dried ink line. I think in some cases that might be a reason for using blue-black vs. blue. The darker blue-black survives the absorbent paper with a darker ink line that the lighter blue ink. This was also one reason that I used Parker Quink BLACK ink in college, rather than blue ink.

 

It is for this reason that getting ink samples to test in YOUR pen on YOUR paper makes a lot of sense, rather than buy a bottle (or several bottles) of ink and be discouraged by the results.

Edited December 27, 2015 by ac12

[ArmaSpinaRosa]

Awesome, thanks for the help everyone!