The Montblanc blues

[FredRydr]

I've lost track of the attributes of the standard Montblanc blue inks in the 50-60ml shoe bottles, and I'd like to sort it out. Please help fill in the blanks. (I added the official MB description, which helps enormously.)

Blue - old shoe bottle - not permanent
Blue/black - old shoe bottle - iron gall
Blue/black a/k/a Midnight Blue - new shoe bottle - ??, From the MB website: "For fantasy - Magical dreams in Midnight Blue come alive from the cobalt skies of your imagination."
Blue a/k/a Royal Blue - new shoe bottle - not permanent, From the MB website: "For finesse - "Noble to the core, Royal Blue lends an air of classical refinement to your writing."
Blue - new shoe bottle white label - "permanent" (but not iron gall??), From the MB website, it is a blue-labeled bottle: "A rich color experience, Permanent Blue in document-proof quality lends an air of permanence to your writing. - Product currently unavailable"

Were there other standard MB blue inks in the 50-60ml shoe bottles over the last 25 years or so?

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[Chrissy]

I believe that Midnight Blue is the current version of Montblanc blue-black ink, Royal Blue is the current (and previous) version of blue ink and Permanent Blue is the current version of permanent blue ink that is permanent but isn't an IG ink.

[Scooby921]

That is my understanding as well. In the shoes you have Midnight, Royal, and Permanent blues as current production. I've not noticed permanent blue to behave like an IG. It doesn't darken over time and it seems more bulletproof once it dries.

I think my pen and ink habit are new enough to have never seen the older bottles of MB shoes.

[sgtstretch]

I have this, not idea on date, or color name as it didn't come with a box.
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[FredRydr]

I have this, not idea on date, or color name as it didn't come with a box.

Ahhh, a bottle from Montblanc's "Dot Period." My guess is that Montblanc wanted to cut costs by using the same black and white bottle labels and boxes for all colors, and only identified the ink by adding a color dot to those labels and boxes. They later changed the dot to a short stripe (see my photo, above). Of course, there was the earlier "Look in the Bottle Period" for bottle labels (again, see my photo, above).

I suspect your bottle contains basic Montblanc Blue. You'll have to do a dip test to eliminate blue/black.

[Chrissy]

I have this, not idea on date, or color name as it didn't come with a box.

Ahhh, a bottle from Montblanc's "Dot Period." My guess is that Montblanc wanted to cut costs by using the same black and white bottle labels and boxes for all colors, and only identified the ink by adding a color dot to those labels and boxes. They later changed the dot to a short stripe (see my photo, above). Of course, there was the earlier "Look in the Bottle Period" for bottle labels (again, see my photo, above).

I suspect your bottle contains basic Montblanc Blue. You'll have to do a dip test to eliminate blue/black.

i think it's likely to be Royal Blue too.

[Scooby921]

I happened to move the bottle last night and noticed my MB Permanent Blue has a blue label instead of the white version in Fred's photo. The box of Perm Blue cartridges I have is white though.

[FredRydr]

...my MB Permanent Blue has a blue label instead of the white version in Fred's photo....

I'll trade you sample vials so we can both compare.

[grainweevil]

It occurred to me to look at my own bottle of pre-loved MB Bl-Blk, and I'm guessing it might fall somewhere in between your two older bottles, Fred. As it has its box as well, thought you might like the whole lot for your viewing pleasure:

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montblancblblk02.jpg

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[jmccarty3]

I happened to move the bottle last night and noticed my MB Permanent Blue has a blue label instead of the white version in Fred's photo. The box of Perm Blue cartridges I have is white though.

Check the expiration dates. My bottle has a white label with an expiration of 11/18. I had a bottle with a blue label with an earlier expiration that didn't seem to flow as well. It's confusing, because the MB web site shows the blue label.

[FredRydr]

It occurred to me to look at my own bottle of pre-loved MB Bl-Blk, and I'm guessing it might fall somewhere in between your two older bottles, Fred. As it has its box as well, thought you might like the whole lot for your viewing pleasure:

I gotta get me some of that Super-Cleaner SC21! A quick search on "Super-Cleaner SC21" reveals people have been wondering what it is for years!