Noodlers Color of the King

[kookychick]

For the full resistance to UV light, the contrast will end up being less - that is just the nature of UV light resistance. As for the Russian and Singapore colors, put them under a fluorescent black light and watch what happens before your eyes - there is indeed bright purple there within the hidden wavelengths.

 

I have Russian Lermontov and Rachmaninov, and I knew the Russian colors had black light qualities, but I had no idea the Singapore colors did, too (I have all of them)! [searches for a place to get a cheap black light]

 

A Purple Wampum with Baystate Blue water resistance and intensity can be made in the 1940s style...but for bulletproof qualities it would have to combine the properties of several different families of inks. People might get quite upset with such an ink if they are expecting a conventional ink...but it would have "all of the above" in terms of properties and contrast/depth.

 

The difficulties in pleasing a greater number of people will appear when the contrast is dramatically increased - that is the Baystate Blue road. High levels of contrast will require much stronger and more dramatic dye families.

 

Anyone for a periwinkel purple? We made nearly a dozen for Sam at Pendemonium early on...but she kept rejecting them as not being quite "periwinkel enough". That seems to be a color everyone thinks of differently.

 

The closest color to the "Color of the King" was that in the first 3 runs of the UK "Socrates", which was changed later due to one of the components not being as UV light resistant as the one that replaced it (I wanted 100%, not 93%).

 

So - dark and high contrast, dark and standard contrast and properties, or periwinkel?

 

Yes (I want it all)! Maybe there's enough room in the market for all three? I would love a "dark and high contrast" bulletproof purple ink for writing margin notes, for personal correspondence, and for my journals. I have Baystate Blue, and am not afraid of the 1940s qualities, if the ink could be made as high contrast as possible but still possess all the great bulletproof/eternal qualities (I'm not as concerned about resisting forgery, but I'd love archival properties/UV resistance/waterproofness).

 

I, too, would settle for less contrast to get the bulletproof qualities, if the tradeoff had to be made. But the unique 1940s "everything" ink has really piqued my curiosity! I'd love to get a better sense of what you mean by people getting "quite upset" if they expect a conventional ink--what would be the perceived problems? Would the flow be stingy? No problem--I'd get my nib adjusted and/or I'd add some InkSafe. Would it stain a lot more? I'd just try to be more careful, and live with inky fingers. Hell, I'd flush my pens outside, if I was worried about staining my sink! But I realize not everyone would feel the same way.

 

I would use a "dark and standard contrast and properties" bulletproof purple for more formal correspondence, for class note-taking, and for official paperwork that doesn't require blue or black ink. And I could definitely use a bulletproof periwinkle for the same things that I'd use the dark/high contrast ink, too! (I'd gladly take the Pendemonium "rejects"! )

 

One of the "Color of the King" bottles has a small palladium disk imbedded in the glass at the rear and has no number etched in the front - under that disk is a mid-grade diamond carved into the letter "N". A similar stunt was pulled with the "Red Oak Garnet" bottles, each of which had a garnet imbedded in the glass and a pure silver oak leaf overlaid beneath it as if the garnet stone were a mere acorn. Glass is hard to work with that way - and eventually unexpected cracking and chipping discouraged me. There are also two bottles that have glow in the dark caps that state "Redeemable - 1 - Gallon" and a serial number - which have never been claimed!!

 

That is seriously cool! Whoever has these bottles are really lucky ducks!

 

Thanks again for being so willing to make inks that are innovative and make so many of us so happy! :clap1:

[Eternally Noodling]

I, too, would settle for less contrast to get the bulletproof qualities, if the tradeoff had to be made. But the unique 1940s "everything" ink has really piqued my curiosity! I'd love to get a better sense of what you mean by people getting "quite upset" if they expect a conventional ink--what would be the perceived problems? Would the flow be stingy? No problem--I'd get my nib adjusted and/or I'd add some InkSafe. Would it stain a lot more? I'd just try to be more careful, and live with inky fingers. Hell, I'd flush my pens outside, if I was worried about staining my sink! But I realize not everyone would feel the same way.

 

 

I'm just worried about the group who expect EVERY fountain pen ink to be as weak as a certain blue and blue-black made in Paris that washes off if exposed even to just a foggy day! There was a fellow in Thailand who really painted the whole brand as awful because he did not know how to adjust his nib with one of the custom Indian market inks (which had extreme durability to all light sources), then apologized after I sent him a long e-mail explaining each and every brand and how to adjust them (after he had sent me a detailed list). His pens then worked just fine. If Noodler's could afford a secretary....things would be better on the e-mail front! As it is, we have to rely on distributors to handle that and the answers can sometimes get complex...especially if the questions are unique and very specific - as well as complex.

 

As the standard - it would work instantly with the Platinum pens...such as those given away with each eyedropper bottle. No adjustments are ever needed with those pens right out of the box. It is as if Moore eyedroppers came back to life from 1920 (ever notice how a Moore safety can write with every single vintage ink one can get their hands on made between 1880 and 1950? Truly a universal writing design!). As for staining, I would only be concerned with cheaper grade porous plastics (the kind used for discount bathroom shower curtain rings and plastic toilet seats) and certain very light colored semi-porous resins that are made of vegetable matter. By "porous" I mean a plastic that under magnification has air pockets and a rough surface - looking like over cooked oatmeal under the scope that responds to pressure and can sometimes be indented with just a fingernail. If I were a major pen manufacturer - those plastics would be banned from the factory forever.

 

Just my $0.02

[Deirdre]

I have Russian Lermontov and Rachmaninov, and I knew the Russian colors had black light qualities, but I had no idea the Singapore colors did, too (I have all of them)! [searches for a place to get a cheap black light]

arcflashlight.com

[satrap]

I am so liking the king's jheri curl :ltcapd:

[kookychick]

I'm just worried about the group who expect EVERY fountain pen ink to be as weak as a certain blue and blue-black made in Paris that washes off if exposed even to just a foggy day! There was a fellow in Thailand who really painted the whole brand as awful because he did not know how to adjust his nib with one of the custom Indian market inks (which had extreme durability to all light sources), then apologized after I sent him a long e-mail explaining each and every brand and how to adjust them (after he had sent me a detailed list). His pens then worked just fine. If Noodler's could afford a secretary....things would be better on the e-mail front! As it is, we have to rely on distributors to handle that and the answers can sometimes get complex...especially if the questions are unique and very specific - as well as complex.

 

Thanks for the clarifications!

 

Maybe you could have a "package insert" in each box, like you get with prescriptions, with a FAQ or explanations that this is a special ink, nib adjustments may be necessary, etc.? Of course, this wouldn't answer all individual questions, but maybe it would at least alert potential users? Managing expectations is key--if they "expect" it to be like a weak, traditional ink, then they may be sorely disappointed, but if they're expecting a unique, innovative ink, they may understand and enjoy it better? And the distributors can put "warnings" on their websites as they see fit. Did the Baystate Blue thing improve after some distributors started explicitly saying that this ink may stain? (I'm assuming there were enough fans of the ink family to make the addition of 2 more colors worth it.)

 

It seems a pity to deprive those of us who would be willing to make adjustments as necessary (or find other workarounds) of such unique inks because of those who may have a negative reaction. But I understand that having a bunch of complaints and attempted returns is not sustainable for a company with margins as thin as yours!

[kiavonne]

There is just no way to please everyone. As with BSB, use with caution. They don't have to use it. Noodler's has such a diverse line of inks. If someone doesn't want the "everything" ink, there are lots of others to choose from in various degrees of formula. Honestly, I don't know what other ink maker out there has such a huge line with such diversity. I enjoy my standard Purple, and I use Concord Grape. But, I still want the "everything" ink. Heh, I'm just like that. I'm committed to it if it happens. It would probably be my go-to purple. As with pens and Bexley being the one I will stand behind, so Noodler's is the ink I will stand behind.

 

This is all just my opinion and choice, of course. I respect others who have their own choices and opinions.

[Melnicki]

has there ever been an "all of the above" ink available from Noodler's? I think if it was test-marketed as an exclusive with a website warning, it could be examined how people feel about such an ink. (for those too lazy to go up and read Nathan's post, I'll summarize that an "all of the above" would have BSB-like vibrance, II/VV-like bulletproof archival properties, and have standard purple-like roundness of color (could one say shading is this parameter that people desire?)

 

I think the problem with BSB was that everyone RUSHED to get some of it and some people used it recklessly before the guinea pigs (the ink-first FP-users, not the celluloid-a-holics) could report on its properties. With an initial exclusive seller, this problem could be circumvented, since all the info would be coming from one place.

 

[kookychick]

I have Russian Lermontov and Rachmaninov, and I knew the Russian colors had black light qualities, but I had no idea the Singapore colors did, too (I have all of them)! [searches for a place to get a cheap black light]

arcflashlight.com

 

Thanks, Deirdre!