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Blue Black Ink Mixing Experiment

Fountain Pen Ink Mixed / Multi Color — 12 August 2009
Blue Black Ink Mixing Experiment
My first batch of mixed ink, using my favorite Noodler's Blue Black as the base

My first batch of mixed ink, using my favorite Noodler's Blue Black as the base

I was pretty excited about my purchase of the ink mixing kit that I got for my fountain pen inks, and I thought that doing a review of one of my first mixed inks would be a great office supply review to do.  When I did the review of the ink mixing kit, I made 12 different ink concoctions because there were 12 vials that it came with, and the one I was most excited about was this one that was made using mostly Noodler’s Blue Black, one of my favorite colors.

I assumed that mixing my favorite color to try and make a slightly lighter version would be a fun experiment, so I set out and mixed up the following recipe with my new ink mixing kit:

-1 part Noodler’s Blue Black

-1/2 part Noodler’s Lexington Gray

-1/4 part Noodler’s Whiteness of the Whale

After mixing the ink, I looked at my creation in the vial and thought that it looked pretty nice in there, but really didnt have anything to compare it to because I had never seen a sample of the Noodler’s Blue Black in a tube like that which allowed so much light through it.  After a few days of sitting in the vial (partially to make sure there was no strange chemical reaction that turned the ink into goo or melted the vial) I decided to load my Lamy Safari and give it a test writing.  I think the following scan probably speaks for itself:

Noodler's Blue Black ink side by side with the not so special OSG mix

Noodler's Blue Black ink side by side with the not so special OSG mix

So as you can see there is hardly any difference between the Noodler’s Blue Black and my attempt at making a slightly lighter version of it.  I probably should have known better, or thought about this a little more but the result is pretty disappointing.  At least I have 11 other vials of ink that I mixed up to see if one of those came out a little better, but I figured for the sake of letting others learn from my mistakes, Id still post this review anyway.

© 2009 – 2011, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

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OfficeSupplyGeek

  • http://inkyjournal.blogspot.com Woodworker

    Thank for the story. It keeps us from making mistakes!

  • http://twitoaster.com/country-us/officesupplygee/ OfficeSupplyGee

    Probably not my best office supply review, but at least you can learn from my mistake. :) http://officesupplygeek.com/ink-review/b…

  • http://future-nostalgic.blogspot.com/ Sam

    Great post! I want to have a go at mixing my own inks (at some point)so it’s good to hear about the pitfalls before I take the plunge. Thanks for sharing. :)

  • rcannonp

    @OfficeSupplyGee Does it look any different under the black light?

  • http://corporate-gift-trends.blogspot.com/ Andrew

    Thanks for the post. I was wondering if you would recommend other inks that could potentially mix well.

  • http://goldspotpens.blogspot.com Tom

    More saturation with the lighter colors! You should probably reverse the proportions and do 1 part blue/black to 2 parts lex grey.

  • Aaron

    Try increasing the white, go up 1/4 part at a time, sooner or later it will actually lighten up!!

  • FellerBus

    @OfficeSupplyGee never thought about mixing my own ink! I’ll let sharpie do it for me!

  • http://twitoaster.com/country-us/officesupplygee/ OfficeSupplyGee

    @rcannonp No difference under the black light with the blue black ink

  • rcannonp

    @OfficeSupplyGee Oh well…. It was worth a shot.

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Woodworker – No problem, makes me happy if I can help someone else avoid problems.
    @Sam – Definitely give it a try, its fun.
    @Andrew – I dont have any other suggestions yet, Im just getting started, but Ill be sure to share more.
    @Tom – That makes sense, thanks for the feedback.
    @Aaron – “sooner or later” :) I guess you have to be right with that. :)

  • http://aim-write.com Mark Keating

    OSG:

    You’re actually working backwards. Mix the lighter colors first, then add black bit by bit until you get the shade you want.

    You’re also working with a stacked deck, since Noodler’s inks are very pigment-heavy (compared to more traditional-style inks such as Waterman’s or Parker).

    Any time you mix two colors (pigments, really), they’ll always get darker than either was originally. Here’s a nice primer on the mechanics and effects of color mixing: http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color13.html

    You might also consider adding small quantities of (sterilized) water to tone things down a bit.

    But it’s fun, isn’t it? I call it my “mad scientist” time.

  • http://frindling.blogspot.com/ Chris Chan

    NB: Fountain pen inks are dye based. Dyes are water soluble, whereas pigments are solid particles that hang in suspension in water instead of dissolving.