Franklin-Christoph Blue 72
Ink Review #32
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
Blue 72 is a light to medium blue. While there’s not a lot of tonal variation, there’s still a hint of shading with a distinct cut between light and dark tones when writing in print, and a softer gradient when writing in cursive. While large nib sizes bring out a lot of the shading, it’s not all that percievable with finer nibs.
Ink Splat
Ink Droplets
Performance on paper:
Blue 72’s performance was good: there was no bleed-through or feathering on any of the test papers.
Surprisingly, the dry times were slightly below average, especially on Midori, where even the finer nibs barely dried within the 20-second mark. The water resistance was good.
There was some color retention, and the remains were still crisp and easy enough to read.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
Blue 72 had a medium-wet flow that was consistent across each of the test nibs. I didn’t run into any hard starts, skips, or stops during my tests, and the ink felt well-lubricated, providing a comfortable and pleasing writing experience.
Cleaning was easy as well, and Blue 72 washed out of the test pen and nibs with a single soak and flush.
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper (white) with a medium nib.
Written on Midori MD paper (cream) with a medium nib.
Performance in a pen: 10/10
Performance on paper: 10/10
Color saturation: 4.5/10
Sheening: 0/10
Shading: 3/10
Dry time: 6.5/10
Water resistance: 4/10
Ease of cleaning: 10/10
Shimmer: None
My personal thoughts...
I've had a lot of experience with Blue 72: each Franklin-Christoph pen comes with a cartridge of this ink, as well as a cartridge of black ink. Given my unceasing compulsion to buy a new F-C pen at every pen show, I've been through quite a few cartridges of this ink. It’s an unassuming ink — probably why it’s good to package with a pen — but it’s one I like a lot. I can’t really put my finger on why either, but I liked it so much that I did ask them what it was and was directed to the bottled version. I still feel the same way about it now. It’s simple, but it’s a pleasant, flawless experience.
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper with a Franklin-Christoph Model 45 (medium nib).
More images/info:
Tools and materials used in the writing samples:
A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 7 nib units including a Needlepoint grind, EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm stub, and an Architect grind. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same medium wetness.
A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad
A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook
A Midori MD A5 Notebook
A 68gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook
A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook
A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook