Non-Feathering Blue Ink?

[sansenri]

did actually, KWZ IG blue #5 is IG...

 

as mentioned one main chracteristic of IG is not to feather

 

here is my test pad (one side of which is clearly not treated for cost containment because on a post-it you usally write on one side only)

 

the lighter blue ink is Pelikan royal blue

 

the darker ink is KWZ IG #5 blue and it is an iron gall, although Konrad, the chemist who developed these inks has an innovative formula in which not all the ink is IG. This allows the blue ink to stay blue, although it turns slightly darker with time.

The note was written one day ago.

 

As you can see although Royal blue is not an ink prone to feathering in this case it does quite badly, because the paper is really absorbent.

KWZ IG shows almost no trace of feathering.

 

I assume other IG would show similar behaviour

 

 

[Maccabeus]

did actually, KWZ IG blue #5 is IG...

 

 

Doh! So you did! My apologies. Thanks for the visual

[sansenri]

@Maccabeus you are welcome

Konrad's lab is in Poland, he has a website, you can order online, his inks are not too expensive, although shipping to US may be costly.

I think one of the US pen distributors has them though, Vanness if I recall.

Edited January 18, 2018 by sansenri

[sansenri]

there's a new topic on IG inks just today by the way

[tonybelding]

This morning's mail brought me half a dozen blue ink sample vials! I got Aurora Blue, Pilot/Namiki Blue, J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis, Visconti Blue, Monteverde Horizon Blue, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix. These were inks named in this thread as being good on cheap paper, and most of them did not disappoint.

 

Pilot Blue, Visconti Blue and Horizon Blue all showed some signs of feathering and bleeding in my composition book, with Horizon Blue being the worst, although none of them were too bad. (Not as bad as Liberty's Elysium from the last batch, for example.)

 

Aurora Blue and Bleu Myosotis were quite good.

 

Salix was exceptional, as expected from an iron gall ink, but it's the least "blue" of this group.

[tinta]

For my own purposes, Pelikan 4001 b/b & Platinum b/b do not feather on APICA notebooks, on Rhodia vellin, bank cheques & Sustainable Earth sugar cane bagasse.

I don't know if the above colours are "blue enough", but blue-black inks are the only blues I use. Platinum's blue-black is a much "brighter" shade of blue than Pelikan's version.

 

These two inks also don't feather on the computer printer invoices (no idea about the kind of paper used) that I occasionally have to write on.

Edited January 25, 2018 by tinta

[2airtoon20]

This morning's mail brought me half a dozen blue ink sample vials! I got Aurora Blue, Pilot/Namiki Blue, J. Herbin Bleu Myosotis, Visconti Blue, Monteverde Horizon Blue, and Rohrer & Klingner Salix. These were inks named in this thread as being good on cheap paper, and most of them did not disappoint.

 

Pilot Blue, Visconti Blue and Horizon Blue all showed some signs of feathering and bleeding in my composition book, with Horizon Blue being the worst, although none of them were too bad. (Not as bad as Liberty's Elysium from the last batch, for example.)

 

Aurora Blue and Bleu Myosotis were quite good.

 

Salix was exceptional, as expected from an iron gall ink, but it's the least "blue" of this group.

I thought most inks feathered on bad paper? Feathering is caused by unwanted ink spread because of the coarse nature of some papers. So although it might have to do a little bit with the nature of the ink, it might be the paper.

[tonybelding]

I thought most inks feathered on bad paper? Feathering is caused by unwanted ink spread because of the coarse nature of some papers. So although it might have to do a little bit with the nature of the ink, it might be the paper.

 

I tested them on a wide selection of paper.

 

After reviewing carefully, I think the real winner might have been Aurora Blue. It's a bit more purple-tinted than I normally prefer in a blue ink, but it seemed practically as good as Salix for not bleeding through, and it's more definitely blue than Salix.

[minddance]

My blues do not feather at all, they are:

 

Waterman Serenity Blue, Pilot Blue, Diamine Indigo, China Blue, Bilberry, Aqua Blue, Florida Blue, Sargasso Sea, Beau Blue, Misty Blue. RK Blu Mare. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Bleu Nuit, Bleu Myosotis, Eclat de Saphir.

 

And I use them in pens that are tuned wet, sometimes in pens that lay down 3D glistening lines that refuse to dry and when they do, most of these inks sheen.

[tonybelding]

My blues do not feather at all, they are:

 

Waterman Serenity Blue, Pilot Blue, Diamine Indigo, China Blue, Bilberry, Aqua Blue, Florida Blue, Sargasso Sea, Beau Blue, Misty Blue. RK Blu Mare. Herbin Bleu Pervenche, Bleu Nuit, Bleu Myosotis, Eclat de Saphir.

 

And I use them in pens that are tuned wet, sometimes in pens that lay down 3D glistening lines that refuse to dry and when they do, most of these inks sheen.

 

What are you writing on, Rhodia paper all the time? I don't think this thread was really aimed in your direction.

 

I started this because I wanted to be able to carry a fountain pen in my pocket and be able to write on any form that I am handed, including double-sided forms printed on cheap copy paper, and to be able to do it using something other than Noodler's Black, and more specifically with a blue ink that will stand out visually on a black printed form. That's about the worst situation that I would expect to run into normally, and it does happen from time to time.

[7is]

I use L'artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Mediterranee. It's as good as Pelikan 4001 b/b but with more vibrant colour. Way better in behaviour than Aurora Blue in my opinion.

[tonybelding]

I use L'artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Mediterranee. It's as good as Pelikan 4001 b/b but with more vibrant colour. Way better in behaviour than Aurora Blue in my opinion.

 

Whoah… Yet another ink brand! I can't keep track of them all.

[tonybelding]

I thought we'd pretty much hashed out this subject, but here's a bit of news for y'all… If you will remember, Organics Studio Accident (or "Oops") ink was the absolute winner of my tests, easily outperforming everything else I tried when it came to not feathering or bleeding. The problem was that I only had half a bottle left, and it's not available anymore.

 

…or is it?

 

I did some digging around and found it still listed on the Pen Chalet website. Haha, surely that must be a mistake! Well, I decided to go ahead and order a few bottles and see what happens. They arrived in this morning's mail.

 

I don't know what the story is. Have they been sitting forgotten on the shelf for years? Or is this ink still in some sort of limited production? Is it exclusive to Pen Chalet? I just don't know. What I do know is that I got mine, and I'm happy!

 

Oops is a very distinctive ink with traits unlike anything else I've used. I think it performs better on crummy paper than even Noodler's Black, which to me was the long standing champion. I can write on absolutely anything with this, even using a wet pen. (It's a bit dry; it likes a wet pen.) It's also a shading monster, and an attractive sky blue color. It's a fully waterproof pigment-based ink, and it's a high-maintenance ink, but I don't think any worse than Texas Blue Bonnet.

 

I might write up a full review when I find time.

[dcwaites]

It looks like Oops is being re-branded as Accident...

[tonybelding]

It looks like Oops is being re-branded as Accident...

 

Uh, I don't think that is anything new? All the ones I've seen, old and new, had Accident printed on the box and Oops on the bottle.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I'm kind of surprised that nobody has recommended IG. Yes, you said that you're looking for a blue and not a blue-black, but R&K Salix is a very pretty cornflower blue, and in my (admittedly limited) experience, you can't do much better for non-feathering, non-bleeding ink than Iron Gall. I taught English Literature for years, and I take lots and lots of notes in my Bible. The pens that I use have either F nibs or a Nemosyne .6mm stub. ESSRI, R&K Salix, and R&K Scabiosa (more purple than blue) all perform admirably on both the porous, pulpy mass-market books from school and the onionskin-fine Bible paper.

 

I'm with you on Salix. I don't have Scabiosa (yet : )) but I imagine it to be super well-behaved too. Iron gall for the win.

[tonybelding]

I'm with you on Salix. I don't have Scabiosa (yet : )) but I imagine it to be super well-behaved too. Iron gall for the win.

 

Salix was one of the inks that I tested, and it performed very well. However, it's not nearly as blue as Accident, and it doesn't handle the very worst paper as flawlessly as Accident does.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

Texas BlueBonett. From Dromgooles

[minddance]

Finally got my hands on Pelikan 4001 royal blue. In an unadjusted Pelikano fine, it behaves perfectly, even on my worst absorbent papers, but may appear dry on Rhodia. What have I been missing all this while?

[Ted Jake]

I have had a lot of luck with Private Reserve American Blue Fast Drying Fountain Pen Ink. I write on cheap copy paper all of the time with no bleed through. I have even had success writing on extra thin triple copy receipt book paper with no bleed through and it looks nice.