Cheapest Ink Around - Pilot Blue Black 350 Ml

[NicolausPiscator]

Hmm... this ink is so easy and complicated! I really like it in my ink tests and dabbling doodles but when I fill it into my fountain pens it doesn't please me any longer. Maybe that I am contaminated in my ink writing taste with Sailor's blue black? Or Montblanc's Midnight Blue?

[lapis]

I like and use the heck out of both (blue and blue-black) and still don't know which one is "better". If I could use only one (ink) in general, it'd possibly be either of those, I mean, for that price....

[Does b- tell me anything?????]

[DasKaltblut]

Man I love the shape of the 70ml bottle. I think it is one of the best looking ones currently made.

[NicolausPiscator]

Hihi! Indeed, I think so, too. It was the reason why I bought it, just to have it as I don't use this blue black, it is too blue for my taste... but maybe I should pimp it with some drops of Pilot black...

[PAKMAN]

Never tried this ink, may have to now! Has a look reminiscent of Parker Penman Sapphire.

[DasKaltblut]

Hihi! Indeed, I think so, too. It was the reason why I bought it, just to have it as I don't use this blue black, it is too blue for my taste... but maybe I should pimp it with some drops of Pilot black...

Go for it - and let us know who it turns out

 

*I mean HOW it turns out* !!!

Edited January 8, 2018 by DasKaltblut

[NicolausPiscator]

Ink lives, so there will a who for certain.

[IndigoBOB]

Nice review. Very nice images.

 

They do have it available on Amazon Prime, now... Or very soon to be.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P35A74/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

It's not the most stand outish inks, but it's an Ol' Reliable, that at this price is hard to run out of.

 

It's definitely nice to see such an inexpensive availability of an ink that has such great characteristics.

 

Definitely seems that it would benefit from a wetter nib for more personal pleasure IMO. I have an Ebonite Himalaya with a wet ebonite feed that gets even juicier with TWSBI Eco/Mini nibs I have waiting around for such an opportunity .

 

My Lamy Vista should be able to handle any EDC usage as well, though I may find it hard to empty out the Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses, but I musingly digress.

 

An optimal value indeed!

Edited January 28, 2018 by IndigoBOB

[Torrilin]

Huh, have the Pilot blue black now (in cartridges like a sensible whatsit since I’m extremely picky about blue). I might not hate it. It shades ok in an italic and the dry time is acceptable. I can’t decide for sure whether the dodgy line variation is the pen or the ink yet, and I haven’t thrown it at many papers. But the first impression is good. If I don’t have black for contrast I seem to read it as a shading black, not a blue, which is always a good sign. (Don’t ask me what the difference is between a shading black, a black black, a grey and a blue black is really, I don’t know the answer, I just know I don’t like blue ink and I often don’t like grey)

[Honeybadgers]

Never tried this ink, may have to now! Has a look reminiscent of Parker Penman Sapphire.

 

 

Very much not like sapphire. I'd say sapphire is much closer to something more vivid blue with much heavier sheening, like diamine velvet blue or dc supershow blue by private reserve.

 

It's also a lot, LOT less fiddly than sapphire ever was. this is ink, Sapphire was a chore.

[Inkling13]

Every time I see this title, it makes me cringe. Its not the cheapest, but the most economical ink around. Where else can we find an ink that is waterproof, well behaved and as ubiquitous as Pilot ink? No where. We forget that ink should be like paper, inexpensive and high quality, since we burn through it the fastest as consumables. We would balk if a tank of gas cost half the price of a used car, but with some inks priced today, it seems we take it happily up the 🍑.

[Torrilin]

Most cheap paper is annoying and icky tho. Feathery bleedy mess, often has trouble with pencil smearing. There’s reasons people make a point of reviewing things like dollar composition books for fountain pen use. I haven’t seen anyone reviewing reams of looseleaf, but over 20 years out of school and I can still find the stuff that probably won’t be gross by feel. There’s definitely reviews hitting up copy paper tho and if you need a cheap paper for a young artist that is the way to go. (Or an older one)

 

Cheap ink tho is much less of a total crapshoot. If it comes in a huge bottle like this, it’ll be a pretty decent ink for a lot of uses. And the huge bottles are always a good deal per mL, tho I’m not sure there’s anything else that is THIS good a deal in the US.

 

And if you want a really “inky” ink, blue black tends to be a good spot to look.

[Olya]

Every time I see this title, it makes me cringe. Its not the cheapest, but the most economical ink around. Where else can we find an ink that is waterproof, well behaved and as ubiquitous as Pilot ink? No where. We forget that ink should be like paper, inexpensive and high quality, since we burn through it the fastest as consumables. We would balk if a tank of gas cost half the price of a used car, but with some inks priced today, it seems we take it happily up the .

Very good point.

 

The other day, whilst wating for my first Pilot ink in the huge 350ml bottle (have used so far only the squat bottles), I thought "how crazy that they sell their ink in these (soda) bottles, where did they get the idea from?", until I realized that this was pretty normal some decades ago...

 

Being pretty happy with the inks and pens I have, I have realized I must really look for better paper, can't believe what terrible paper is on the market and I've largely put up with it so far.

 

I think it's needless to say, but Pilot ink is my total everyday and workhorse ink! Most of my other inks are (almost) ignored in favour of Pilot's 3 standard offers! I'd say Pilot did a very good job with these

[Flaxmoore]

Overall, this is a fantastic ink and an absolutely insane deal for probably enough to get me through med school on its own. It really has everything I want, waterproof, sheen, shading, and a very professional color.

 

You will need an empty bottle to refill from, however, since it's in a 12oz glass bottle. The lid of the bottle has a pour spout, making refills of bottles with normal sized necks very easy. I really like lamy bottles for my inks, but an iroshizuku would do, too.

Med school, eh? MS1? Best of luck- I wouldn’t redo MS3 for anything.

[Mescof1]

Thanks for posting this; I'd never heard of it before. Ink looks great. Will have to get a bottle. Thanks again.

[Lloyd]

How is this ink with UV light? Is it a fader?

[Inkling13]

It fades up to a point, if i remember right. I tested them under my 800w metal halide lamps, and it survived several months of this 18 hours a day while remaining legible, even after the paper started to brittle.

[Lloyd]

It fades up to a point, if i remember right. I tested them under my 800w metal halide lamps, and it survived several months of this 18 hours a day while remaining legible, even after the paper started to brittle.

This seems like a bit of overkill for getting over Seasonal Affective Disorder.

[Inkling13]

This seems like a bit of overkill for getting over Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Lolz. I was gardening without any access to the sun. All legal I assure you.

[aurore]

What (beside many other aspects) is interesting about this ink: if you put a written sample under a water tap and wash as much a can only the blue colour stays. With most blue inks only the purple colour stays (if anything).