Parker Quink Blue Ink is one of the 3 current Parker fountain pen ink colors being offered in the United States, along with Black and Blue Black.  This ink, made in France, is an everyday workhorse type of ink that is very inexpensive and produces a nice, soft shade of blue.  Parker calls this ink “washable” vs. the Parker “permanent” ink, which is available in Europe and thus its not forgery resistant and some have found it will fade a bit over time.  However the Parker Quink brand of ink has been around for a long time, being first produced in the early 1900’s.  Pen Chalet has all three Parker Quink ink colors in stock.

Parker Quink Blue Ink

Please note some of the characteristics we found when using this Parker Quink Blue ink, which you may find helpful:

Testing Factors

We used a Rohrer & Klingner glass dip pen for this review on Rhodia N. 18 paper.  This style of dip pen has a larger head, which is equivalent to a medium to broad nib size.

Bottle Sizes

Parker Quink inks come in a large 1.9 oz. (57 ml.) unique glass bottle.  The bottle itself is custom made for Parker with raised lettering on the bottom, as well as the Country of origin (France).  The shape, which has flat sides allow for the bottle to be laid down on its side when filling a pen with the bottle’s final drips.  The opening of the bottle is a very large mouth opening for easy access and maneuverability.

Cost

Parker Quink Blue ink 57 ml. bottles cost a super inexpensive retail price of $10.81.  This is a fantastic price for a imported large bottle of fountain pen ink.

Dry Time

Unfortunately the dry time was not very quick.  Using the Rohrer & Klingner glass dip pen (Medium to broad nib equivalent) I showed a 30+ second dry time.  However, using a J. Herbin glass dip pen (with an extra fine equivalent tip) the dry time was a more reasonable 5-7 seconds.

Bleed Through

There was no bleed through using the Parker Quink Blue Ink with the pens used during this review on the Rhodia paper.

Feathering

Using the Rhodia paper and the Rohrer & Klingner dip pen there was no feathering perceptible to the naked eye.  However, under the water test (see below), there was very apparent feathering and line distortion.

Water Test

Running a wet cotton swab over the sample ink lines after a 3 minute dry time, produced substantial smearing, feathering and slight running of colors.  This is not a waterproof ink, in fact, Parker refers to this ink as “washable”.

Shading

Using a glass dip pen there was very little noticeable shading.  However, using other nib variations will produce a slight shading, but not large.

Conclusion about the Parker Quink Blue ink

This is wonderfully priced imported ink, with a large capacity unique glass bottle.  The blue color fountain pen ink is very soft and can be used on a daily basis.  The Parker Quink Blue Ink should not be used as a permanent or historic document type ink, but has been enjoyed by many pen lovers for almost a century.  Great value, beautiful color, high quality imported ink.  You cant go wrong having all three Parker Quink ink colors in your collection.