Pelikan 4001 Blue Black Question

[Tanzanite]

I made a comparison of Pelikan Blue Black in carts and bottle and the differense was big. Is this normal or is there somethig wrong with either of them?

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Oh my! It seems you're a victim of the uncertainty of P4BlBk cartridges.

 

Such naughty_word incidents were previously mentioned, (e.g. Post № 30+ https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/192761-pelikan-4001-blue-black/?p=2548970), yet I'm not aware of a solution other than returning the offending cartridges to the Vendor for refund/replacement.

 

I am disappointed that Pelikan has not resolved the issue. (Bah!)

 

Bye,

S1

[Tanzanite]

Thank you for this link! I first bought the carts after seeing the ink on FPN, and got very disappointed. But I read that it was a dry ink so I bought a bottle and filled a pen with a wet nib and loved the colour. When I now had a cartridge pen with a wet nib I put a cartridge in it and the ink was once again pale and grey. Disappointing. Well, it is only ink...

[The Good Captain]

Sorry for your problem but I only use this wonderful ink from a bottle.

As I also 'do' wine and beer.

Hey-ho.

Happy New Year.

[lapis]

What? No wine or beer from a cartridge??

[Sandy1]

What? No wine or beer from a cartridge??

 

Hi,

 

As I abstain from alcohol, yet appreciate its ritual value, a cartridge-size 1ml serving of spiritous liquor would be enough to wet my lips for occasions such as baptisms, weddings, wakes, etc.

 

Can I drizzle it onto my lips from a P99 Technixx and still kiss the Bride?

 

Bye,

S1

Edited January 4, 2016 by Sandy1

[grainweevil]

It may not just be a cartridge issue; my first bottle of Pelikan BB was very similar to the OP's cartridge sample. Couldn't fathom why so many enthused about the stuff, shrugged my shoulders at the queerness of folk, and ended up using it in blends with other 4001s. Fortunately I liked one of the mixes well enough that I recently got round to buying a second bottle. Now I see why people enthuse; it's like a totally different ink. Happy days!

[arcadeflow]

The top color seems to be the color that the ink from the bottle turns into, when the ferrogallic content oxidizes and the blue dye fades (in alkaline paper at least, like Oxford 90 gsm). If cartridges are coming like this, I suppose this might be caused by a precocious oxidation of said ink. Maybe the plastic is not resisting the ink and the blue dye is changing or the oxidation taking place early. Actually, I'm not sure if the blue dye fades or the oxidation of the ferrogallic component just darkens it out enough for the color spectrum to change, since the ferrogallic part is basicaly transparent before oxidation.

 

I'm curious for a comparison of both after the bottle version oxidizes fully. If the cartridge looks the same, I actually would prefer it that way, I'm not a fan of color changes, even though I absolutely love these IG inks. Both this and the old IG Lamy BB did this, and Waterman and Parker blue-blacks (same ink, got both!) also changes color dramatically (unless acidic paper is used). I want to find a bottle of Sheaffer blue-black around here since it delivers what it promises, never heard about color changing.

[carlos.q]

The top color seems to be the color that the ink from the bottle turns into, when the ferrogallic content oxidizes and the blue dye fades [...] If cartridges are coming like this, I suppose this might be caused by a precocious oxidation of said ink.

+1

[lapis]

Can I drizzle it onto my lips from a P99 Technixx and still kiss the Bride?

 

Bye,

S1

From my point of view, yes, but I would refrain from offering to anoint her lips with the syringe used to take the liquor out of the cartridge..

[Chumango]

I recently purchased three bottles of the blue-black from the same vendor at the same time. Two of them are like the top color in the OP - a grey-black with only a hint of blue. When I write it is very pale, then darkens before my eyes.

 

The third bottle is like the bottom swatches, maybe even bluer. Very nice color.

 

Go figure. The factory must have problems getting pigment in every bottle.

 

I have found that a 4:1 mix of the "grey" blue-black with Pelikan royal blue (80% B- is very close in color to the blue bottle I have, and it is still water proof.

[white_lotus]

Yes, I have a bottle that also is very light and darkens before my eyes. I'll definitely try the mix.

 

Inks do not typically contain pigments but dyes. These inks are somewhat old. Being IG ink, they are subject to degradation. What arcadeflow said.

 

Also, Konrad, the maker of KWZ ink has said IG inks should not be kept more than five years, as they are somewhat unstable wrt color.

[Notgatherox]

A few months back, an issue was raised in the local group with regards to 4001 Blue Black. I wonder if it was related?

 

I quote:

 

"Pelikan 4001 Blue Black Product QC Issue

It has comes to Straits Pen attention that a batch of Pelikan 4001 Blue Black Ink that we have sold have some quality control issue of the chemicals separating. As such, we will endeavor to offer a 1 to 1 exchange for affected bottles. These can be identified by having a violet or purple tinge. If you have any of these bottles, please email us at pen@straitspen.com and we will help."

BTW: The batch number for this problematic 4001 Blue Black is 14F

~Epic

[MarkTrain]

Yea, same thing; bought three bottles last summer. Two bottles came out grey (date code -14F or June 2014), while the third bottle came out blue-black (date code 15C or March 2015). Initially, there were rumors that Pelikan reformulated the ink, making it more iron-gall like, but it appears that the ink produced in ~2014 was simply bad (ie oxidized).

[white_lotus]

Oh now that's very interesting. I bought mine in the US from a store that got a batch of Pelikan BB, but that hasn't been available in the US for a few years. I thought I read somewhere that 2012. But maybe these bottles are more recent.

 

There's no date code that I can find on the box, but the ink definitely has the violet/purple tinge to it.

[grainweevil]

Never thought to look before, but my blue-challenged old packaging bottle (bought in January 2014 from Cult Pens) had a date code of 301 - please tell me that doesn't translate to March 2001?! If that is the case, I fancy we can put my own unhappy experience down to age. Like MarkTrain, my "good" bottle also has a 15C date code. (Should be stamped into the front flap of the box, white_lotus.)

[white_lotus]

I found it: on the front flap. Mine is 14F, so the bad batch. Thanks for the info.

[MarkTrain]

Never thought to look before, but my blue-challenged old packaging bottle (bought in January 2014 from Cult Pens) had a date code of 301 - please tell me that doesn't translate to March 2001?! If that is the case, I fancy we can put my own unhappy experience down to age. Like MarkTrain, my "good" bottle also has a 15C date code. (Should be stamped into the front flap of the box, white_lotus.)

My previous purchase of blue-black was in 2012. All bottles came in the old packaging (dark blue with the light blue puddle) and all were good. The date codes on the boxes were all 202, except one marked 111. It looks like Pelikan recently changed the way they date code things from a 3 digit number to an alphanumeric system. I am guessing that the first digit is the last digit of the year and the next two correspond to the month. So 202 = February 2012 and 111 = November 2011. If so, 301 would be January 2013.

[tinta]

Just curious, where are the 14F etc...... numbers to be found on the 4001 b/b bottles? Of the three bottles I have, one is in use & a 62.5ml & 30 ml.in reserve.

[lapis]

Thanks for that question. I don't see any 14F or anything similar on any of my 4001s.

 

Mike