I Really Don't Like 4001 Royal Blue.

I just flushed 4001 Royal Blue out of my M200. I really don't like this ink. It just looks pale and washed out, and I find the nib doesn't glide well with this ink. I like blue ink, but I like it to have some vibrancy. Aurora Blue fits the bill well, and I like Sailor Jentle Blue as well, but I haven't tried Sailor in my Pelikan yet.

I know 4001 Royal Blue has a lot of fans. I'm just not a fan. 4001 Brilliant Black is another story. I like that ink quite a bit.

I understand your thoughts on Pelikan 4001 Royal blue ink. I find with my experiences with any brand Royal blue is that they tend to be more muted. Funny your post just came about at the right time because I was literally thinking of how much I like any Royal blue inks in pens that are gushers and have lots of ink flow like Pelikan nibs tend to have especially on their M or B nibs. This is when these ink appear Saturated. Maybe try this 4001 royal blue ink in a nib that has a lot of ink flow? A side note.. another reason why I like Royal Blue washable inks is often times I forget about flushing my pens for weeks or months later and cleaning my pens is so easy and I don`t worry about my pens getting gucky inside. Pelikan 4001 inks tend to be on the dry side and perfect for a lot of their nibs that have gushing ink flow.

Mine is neither washed out nor pale. Perhaps your pen wasn't fully dried from the last flush? Also, most inks darken after being inside a pen for a couple days.

Suum cuique pulchrum est.

nemo said:

Mine is neither washed out nor pale. Perhaps your pen wasn't fully dried from the last flush? Also, most inks darken after being inside a pen for a couple days.

Suum cuique pulchrum est.

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That's possible, but I find that Aurora blue, for example, has more richness to the color than 4001 blue. I agree, each ink has its own merits. I think 4001 blue is a perfectly good ink. Maybe it's just not one I'm not going to prefer.

Foyle said:

I just flushed 4001 Royal Blue out of my M200. I really don't like this ink. It just looks pale and washed out, and I find the nib doesn't glide well with this ink. I like blue ink, but I like it to have some vibrancy. Aurora Blue fits the bill well, and I like Sailor Jentle Blue as well, but I haven't tried Sailor in my Pelikan yet.

I know 4001 Royal Blue has a lot of fans. I'm just not a fan. 4001 Brilliant Black is another story. I like that ink quite a bit.

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Well, thats why there are so many inks... you just switch to another. I'm a big fan of the Royal Blue from Pelikan but understand your issue. First it needs gusher of a pen to look decent. I've had it in several fine/dry Pelikanos and it just looks so bland. The type of paper plays into it too...as always. The main reason I like it, is that it plays well with poor paper. I've got it in a fine Hero 616 that I tuned the nib to work just right on sub-par paper and still look saturated enough to satisfy my liking. That being said, the 4001 series is in general slightly dry writing. Its made for Pelikans... and like [MENTION=44809]Radium[/MENTION] said... the broader nibs are known to be pretty darn wet writers. They need a "tamed" ink... I hope the Aurora works better for you!!

Need pictures

I've loaded the Pelikan RB into a few FPs and have had nothing but wonderful results with it. It's one of my favorites.
Bear in mind that I write with medium nibs mostly, so that may have something to do with my results.

You didn't say what the nib was on the M200 you had it in? Would I be correct in assuming F or EF? I don't recall ever using Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, but just got my 3rd bottle of Blue Black - I can't put it in something really fine or that is a relatively dry writer. Perhaps that is part of what you are experiencing.

It's actually my favorite blue, not too bright nor too subdued. We can all use what we like.