Pilot / Namiki Blue Black - Not what I expected

[ArnieJB]

I just picked up a box of these cartridges for my Pilot VP and I am very underwhelmed by the color. I was expecting a nice dark blue with a hint of black and I get a pale blueish gray. Is that the experience of others here as well? I am guessing that I will have to use bottled ink for this color in this pen.

[kaisnowbird]

Sorry to hear that. I too enjoy an intense dark blue and don't care for those blueish gray or grayish blues.

I'm not sure if the bottled version of the Pilot Blue Black is any better. You might be better off using a different brand ink for blue black.

[KrazyIvan]

It is the same for Namiki Blue. A chalky dull blue.

[Jon Szanto]

It seems that most blue/blacks combine the *least* attractive qualities of each of those colors. Sailor Jentle b/b exhibits similar qualities as the OP, maybe a tad darker. Also, it depends on the size of the nib, as well. An ink has to be intensely dark to be so in an f or xf point, not so much with m or b and on up.

[trhall]

What size nib do you have in your VP? I love Pilot Blue Black in both cartridge and bottle form. With EF nibs it can look lighter / gray looking. But if you have a wet nib or a wider nib you get a beautiful color.

Most of my nibs are Japanese EF (0.2mm) and if they are dry they exhibit the look you describe with Pilot BB, but wetter nibs (even at that size) look very different.

[ArnieJB]

I started with a Fine Nib and switched to a Medium Nib. The color looks a little darker but not any darker than the standard Pilot blue cartridge.

[The Good Captain]

The bottled version is more of a dark blue than a proper blue-black but it's a pleasant-enough colour. I've a bottle of the Blue I got with my 823 and plan to get a bottle of the Black soon so I can mix a more suitable colour.

[reprieve]

Pilot Blue-black is one of my favorite inks, but I admit I was underwhelmed the first few times I used it. I wanted a true blue-black and it was more of a dark blue--but the color grew on me and it is one of the best behaved inks I've ever used. I've never had flow issues with it in any pen, it is water-resistant, and it flushes clean quickly and easily. In wet pens, I get some nice shading and even a bit of sheen on certain papers.

[ArnieJB]

Just a follow up...the color has come around nicely. It is a real dark blue now and what I thought it would be. I am using a medium nib so I will be curious to see when I switch to the fine when this cartridge runs out.

[Koyote]

I use both the blue and blue-black carts in my medium VP and love 'em: the B-B is a nice rich (very) dark blue, and the blue is vibrant but still businesslike. I think it helps to have a broader and wetter nib that really pours these inks down on the paper.

As an added bonus, both inks are virtually waterproof.