Noodler's Midnight Blue Review
Specifications
Color: Blue-Black
MSRP: $12.50
Actual Price: $12-$14
Price I paid: I bought this ink for $14 from my local store. This is higher than the price many online retailers charge, but I didn't have to pay shipping or worry about the bottle breaking in transit.
Amount of Ink: 3 oz (roughly 90 ml)
Cost per ml: 13.8¢/ml at $12.50
Bottle: Glass; I encountered no problems with a nearly full bottle, but lever-fillers may be difficult to fill as the ink level decreases.
Where to Buy: Noodler's ink is widely available in the U.S. and can be found at many stationery stores there. Online retailers that sell it include Goulet Pens, Amazon, Shop Writer's Bloc, Anderson Pens, Paper and Ink Arts, Wonderpens in Canada, Pure Pens in the UK, and Hyatt's. If you aren't in North America, Noodler's can be extremely hard to find, and your only choice may be to pay the high shipping fees from the U.S.
At a Glance
Sheen: A noticeable red sheen
Shading: Excellent
Water Resistance: Still legible
Feathering: Moderate
Bleed through: Slight
Show through/ Ghosting: Minimal
Drying Time: Extremely long; On Rhodia paper, drying times were several minutes long.
Wetness: Fairly Wet
Lubrication: Well-lubricated; no issues with skipping or hard starts in any pen tested
Staining: I have not used this ink in a demonstrator yet, but it doesn't stain any of my converters.
Saturation: High
Cleaning: Takes some time due to the saturation.
Okay on Copier Paper?: Yes
Thoughts
Midnight Blue is an excellent blue-black ink with great shading and a dark red sheen. It also performs admirably in regards to bleed through which is slight even on the worst paper. Words remain legible after being doused in water which is great for important notes and documents. Drying times aren't ideal- on Rhodia paper the ink takes several minutes to dry. Another issue with it is cleaning; the high saturation leads to tedious and lengthy cleanings.I highly recommend this ink for its great shading, deep red sheen, and slight water resistance.
Writing Sample
Main Pen: Pilot Vanishing Point Medium
Pen 2: Visconti Rembrandt Fine
Pen 3: Sailor 1911S Extra-Fine
Paper: Rhodia Ice Notepad
Saturation: High
Cleaning: Takes some time due to the saturation.
Okay on Copier Paper?: Yes
Thoughts
Midnight Blue is an excellent blue-black ink with great shading and a dark red sheen. It also performs admirably in regards to bleed through which is slight even on the worst paper. Words remain legible after being doused in water which is great for important notes and documents. Drying times aren't ideal- on Rhodia paper the ink takes several minutes to dry. Another issue with it is cleaning; the high saturation leads to tedious and lengthy cleanings.I highly recommend this ink for its great shading, deep red sheen, and slight water resistance.
Main Pen: Pilot Vanishing Point Medium
Pen 2: Visconti Rembrandt Fine
Pen 3: Sailor 1911S Extra-Fine
Paper: Rhodia Ice Notepad
The brackets indicate that Midnight Blue bled through the paper.
Extended Soak Test
Duration: 1 hour
Paper: Levenger Circa
Gallery
I'm glad to say Noodlers Inks are available in the UK, from Pure Pens (http://www.purepens.co.uk/acatalog/Noodler_s_Inks.html) - well, at least *some* of them *sometimes* are. You know. It's Noodlers :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information, Andrea. Unfortunately Pure Pens doesn't have Midnight Blue in stock at the moment, but I updated the post in case they receive a shipment of it in the future.
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