Pilot Namiki Blue Ink is one of only 2 color options available. Pilot offers a fabulous variety of colors in the Namiki Iroshizuku fountain pen ink series but only blue and black under the Namiki standard ink label. They do however offer a few additional colors in the Pilot IC-50 ink cartridges. Pilot Namiki Blue ink is one of our favorite blue inks on the market. It has a true blue color, not royal, not navy, but a vibrate bright deep blue color that can and should be used on an everyday basis in any environment or work setting. As with all Namiki and Pilot products, Pilot Namiki Blue ink is an imported ink from Japan and works well with most fountain pens, having a nice flow and is easy to clean.

Pilot Namiki Blue Ink

We have found some of the following characteristics when using Pilot Namiki Blue ink during this review:

Testing Factors

We used a Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pen with a fine nib (which is an exceptional pen by the way) on Rhodia Bloc N. 18 paper for this review.

Bottle Sizes

Having only two colors available, Pilot Namiki also has only one size and comes in a 60 ml. glass bottle. The bottle shape itself is unique, although not too stylistic, as it’s a simple round bulbous shape that can be laid on its side when the ink contents is running low to gather those last few drops. Pilot Namiki uses a unique, simple yet functional design for its glass bottles.

Cost

Pilot Namiki 60 ml. bottles of ink are inexpensive and reasonable for the quantity you receive, as they retail for $12.00, with an everyday price of $10.80 at Pen Chalet. Fantastic price, fantastic color, which puts this blue as one of the top blue fountain pen inks on the market today.

Dry Time

The dry time we experienced during this review, using the Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen with a fine nib was between 8-10 seconds. Not too long for an everyday ink, but not the fastest drying ink on the market today either.

Bleed Through

We experienced no bleeding using the Pilot Custom 823 pen, although there was slight bleeding when the cotton swab was at its wettest. Thus with a thicker nib pen, you may experience very slight bleeding, but most likely it will be imperceptible.

Feathering

We experienced no feathering at all using the Rhodia paper with the Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen. Even after the water test, the lines remained pretty crisp and distinct, showing only very slight feathering.

Water Test

After we ran a soaking wet cotton swab over ink samples using the Pilot Namiki Blue ink, we confirmed that this ink is not waterproof. However, it did hold up well as the lines didn’t distort and very little feathering was experienced, although significant color smearing did result.

Shading

We didn’t experience much shading using this blue ink. However, this is meant to be an everyday dependable consistent ink, where shading may not be as important to the user.

Conclusion about the Pilot Namiki Blue ink

Overall, we love this fountain pen ink. The color is fantastic and will be a favorite of users who love blue ink. It is definitely an everyday type blue ink, dries reasonably well, and is priced as an inexpensive ink with a functional bottle. We highly recommend using Pilot Namiki Blue ink. The added benefit to having Pilot Namiki ink in your collection is that it will be simple to remember what color you purchased the last time…. Blue or Black!