Some Ink Tests

2024-11-15T09:18:28Z

13 hours ago, AmericanMonk said:

Is this your sugarcane paper?
https://www.staples.com/treezero-treefree-100-recycled-8-1-2-x-11-multipurpose-paper-20-lbs-92-brightness-5-000-sheets-ct-228007534/product_697216

Nope. 😀 My sugarcane paper is in the form of spiral notebooks. About a year or so ago, I found an unopened bag of notebooks I bought at Staples something like 15 years ago. In it was 2 of these B5 sugarcane notebooks.

2024-11-15T12:00:12Z

On 11/12/2024 at 5:48 PM, Penguincollector said:

@Lithium466, I understand that weird association with certain inks- but Waterman Florida Serenity Blue has so much going for it. The red sheen, the blue that shades in the right pen but also is very saturated out of others, not to mention that it plays well with sacced pens. I say give it a try, it might surprise you. Regarding Lamy blue, I only have a few cartridges from pens that I have bought, but it’s almost a blurple already.

You and @USG convinced me to give it another fair try. I have it now in a Parker 45 (figured it would be a good match, I didn't want to try it in a Japanese EF), along with 7 other blue/royal blue inks. I'll bring all that to work and see if I die of boredom during meetings

Regarding Lamy blue, there seems to be a lot of batch variation, but it always looked a bit more blurple (than the Waterman) to me too.

Do you happen to know if bottled Visconti blue is eradicable? The cartridge version is (and very disappointing), but I heard they are of different formulations.

2024-11-15T18:05:06Z

7 hours ago, USG said:

Nope. 😀 My sugarcane paper is in the form of spiral notebooks. About a year or so ago, I found an unopened bag of notebooks I bought at Staples something like 15 years ago. In it was 2 of these B5 sugarcane notebooks.

When you opened that bag did a rainbow pop out? 🤣

What a fun find!

Congrats on your new FPR EFUF nibs! I find them to be a bit finicky in the FPR Himalaya + ebonite feed combo, even after heat setting, but I also fully disassemble my pens when I give them thorough cleanings and the time and inky fingers spent on re-alignment is my fault in that regard. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing more of your samples with flexy goodness included!

2024-11-15T18:11:55Z

6 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Do you happen to know if bottled Visconti blue is eradicable? The cartridge version is (and very disappointing), but I heard they are of different formulations.

Please pardon my intrusion on your conversation. I am also interested in Visconti Blue and I, too, find the cartridges disappointing, which I purchased in lieu of a sample vial. The bottled blue looks beautifully vibrant by my eye but the cartridges should be labeled as "Pastel Lilac", IMO.

I can no longer find the top-heavy inkwell style that Visconti used to use, so my ongoing question with Visconti Blue (VB) is: did they change anything about the ink when they switched from their top-heavy inkwells to their current inkwells? I'm guessing that the answer is "no" but I am not sure.

VittaR posted a video where she compares the cartridge vs bottled VB, which includes her analysis of the two inks' permanence, but the video was posted before the inkwell change. Her analysis of the bottled ink can be found here:

Similarly, An Ink Guy does resistance tests and he had the same results.

But he, too, got his ink during the old inkwell era and can't answer my question.

Lastly, the ink swatches found at InkSwatch.com include a water resistance test on the lower half, as seen here:

They all have the same results: Visconti Blue (bottled) has minor water resistance. It'll smear if you run a highlighter over it but it is possible that text could still be read if you spill a glass of water across the page.