Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Private Reserve Naples Blue Ink

Private Reserve ink is one of the workhorses of the ink work, with 45 colors available in bottles or cartridges at a very reasonable price. The wide mouth bottle makes inking a fountain pen very easy, while the relatively low height helps you get every last drop into that converter. The selection of colors is amazing, available in 50 ml bottles, and if what you see doesn't strike your fancy you can buy Private Reserve's ink mixing kit and make your own special color.

So I was very excited when Lily Kim of JetPens very generously sent me some inks to play with and included this Private Reserve Naples Blue. I would never have bought it on my own as the color in the sample chart looks too pale for my taste; I'd rather go with Tanzanite or Sonic Blue, which are similar to colors I already own and therefore I know I'll like.

Surprise, Naples Blue isn't as electric neon as I thought, and I like the color that comes out on the crisp white paper. The ink oxidizes slightly so that the blue gets a touch darker after a few moments, toning down the color and bringing out the beauty of this shade. Writing was fluid and the ink dried quickly, making it a joy to use in my Sailor 1911M fine nib fountain pen on a Rhodia 80gsm notepad. If you're looking for a different blue to try, definitely put this on your list to consider.

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