Saying that Parker doesn't have a wide range of inks is a bit of an understatement. Currently it seems that it only sells 3: a black and two blues. I bought a sample of Blue Black a long time ago - and its time to be tested finally came. I loaded it in my Kaweco Sport Classic with broad nib and eyedropper conversion.
Bottle and pricing
Bottle capacity: 60 ml / 2 ozPrice: $10.30
Price / ml: $0.17
Color and saturation
The "Blue Black" in the name is somewhat of a misnomer, because this ink veers more towards turquoise than black. Depending on the light, you can catch faint hints of green in it. It's not very saturated or vibrant, being rather dull. It also changes color as it dries. Wet, it looks more like a true blue, but once it dries it acquires the green/turquoise tint. I don't know why they call it "Blue Black" either, unless the "black" refers to its dullness.I made a comparison with 3 other blue inks: Private Reserve Invincible Aqua Blue, Waterman Florida Blue, and J Herbin 1670 Anniversary Bleu Ocean. As you can see, the Waterman and J Herbin inks are the "truest" blues of the bunch, while the PR ink is most similar to Parker Blue Black, but even PR Aqua Blue is more neutral than the Parker ink.
Shading
Parker Quink Blue Black has a little shading going on, thankfully. It's not much, but a broad nib will bring it out, as will a wide stroke with a q-tip.
In the right light you might even notice some sheen, which is always nice to have, but probably won't be evident in normal use.
Feathering
None.Bleedthrough
Insignificant.Flow, lubrication, and smoothness
I'm pleased that Parker Quink Blue Black flows very well, perhaps a bit wet. It runs nicely in the Kaweco.Drying time
The drying time is lengthy on Clairefontaine 90g paper, but I think the broad nib is at fault here. It's much quicker on cheap copy paper.Smearing when dry
None.Water resistance
Here's the thing. Parker Quink Permanent Blue Black has the word "permanent" in its full name. That would imply at least a modicum of water resistance. Even the official specs say that it is water resistant. If so, why did it perform a lot worse in my water resistance test than Diamine Prussian Blue, an ink which is definitely not water resistant? This ink has no water resistance whatsoever, I'm sorry to say.Conclusion
I'm afraid that I can't recommend Parker Quink Permanent Blue Black because there's nothing that makes it better than other blue inks. I suppose you could go for it if you're adamant about using Parker inks in Parker fountain pens but even then there are much better options and besides, this thing about using the same brand of pen and ink is mostly myth. The color doesn't sing to me either, although, to be fair, it has some decent shading in the right light. It also looks to me like Parker is doing some false advertising (unless my sample was from a bad batch) in regards to the water resistance of this ink. Final verdict: thumbs down.Here are the two sample on photocopy paper and Clairefontaine 90g, respectively.
