Private Reserve

Velvet Black, Ultra Black, Lake Placid Blue, Naples Blue, Sherwood Green, Copper Burst Brown, Candy Apple Red, Tanzanite Purple, Plum, Hot Bubble Bum Pink, Fiesta Red, Orange Crush, Baby Lips Pink, Blue Suede, Avocado, Sonic Red, Sonic Blue, Shell Pink, Purple Haze, American Blue and more.

Check their website for the lastest list of available colours.

There are positive and negative comments expressed about Private Reserve ink but overall this ink is a winner. When in Vancouver, BC Canada drop by Vancouver Pen as they now carry the full line of Private Reserve inks. If you are Victoria BC drop by Simply the Best by the Eaton Centre as Jim also carries the line.

Private Reserve is now making international size cartridges in some of their key colours.

Mixing some Private Reserve ink colours gave unpleasant results. Three colours, now discontinued (July 2002), but bottles may be around in shop stocks, should never be mixed with others: Candy Apple Red, Hot Bubble Gum Pink and Tangerine Dream. Mixing these colours results in a sludge. So although those colours are gone, the cautionary note about mixing inks with different chemicals is still one to keep in mind.

In 2007 Private Reserve came out with three inks in a "fast dry" version. See my comments below.

Comments on the range of colours are as follows:

	Ultra Black I was waiting with eager anticipation for this ink to arrive in Vancouver. When Vancouver Pen received their shipment I made my way down to the store and picked up a few bottles. I expected this to be an Ink of Choice. Big disappointment. Yes it is one of the blackest inks around, but it flows too fluid, just gushes out of pens, with a medium of fine nib you have a chance. With my stub and broad nibs it was unusable. Ultra Black - Fast Dry In the fall 2007 Private Reserve came out with a line of Fast Dry Inks. Ultra Black is one of the colours in this series. It costs more, but I do like the taller narrower bottle (easier to fill a pen with a big nib). Virtually unusable with a broad-nib pen. It just flows and bleeds into the paper. I also did not like the way the ink coated the metal bottom of the nib section that went into the ink, nor how it coated the nib itself. If it was creating this effect on the outside of the pen, what was happening to the inside?
	Velvet Black The Private Reserve Velvet Black is an ink that I am having good success with. Good rich black tone. No gray or blue undertones to this ink. I find the flow good with none of the "gushing" properties I found with Ultra Black. Looking at the two samples, almost an indistinguishable difference, although you can see the Ultra Black is a tone darker. Too bad I can't use it. Black Velvet is one of my Inks of Choice.
	Lake Placid Blue Some say this is a neutral blue. I have used this colour from time to time. When it is freshly laid on the paper, there is a nice brightness about it. Sometimes I go back and look at notes taken with the pen and especially with medium nibs, the ink has a non-de script blue look.
	Black Magic Blue I picked up a few bottled of this, when you open the bottle and see some of the ink on the cardboard liner of the cap you will think you have opened a bottle of Tanzanite Purple in error. The colour is the dark rich purple with added colour to give a very dark blue-black look. I like it, it would be better if it did not have the purple undertones.
	DC Supershow Blue Like most pen users, I am always looking for the perfect blue. This has a bit more punch that Lake Placid Blue and I am enjoying using it. Good flow.
	Electric DC Blue Wow, what a pleasant surprise. I was at my local pen store, Vancouver Pen, and of course went to check out what was new in ink, and there was a new blue by Private Reserver. This one I really like. Rich, bold, lots of character. This blue looks great on the paper.
	Shoreline Gold Gustavo at www.nibgrinding.com send a note back with a nib that he had ground for me. The note was written with a distinct gold/orange ink. It was one of those colours that I kept looking at. I found a bottle at Vancouver Pen and started to use it. I think it will remain as one of the many colours of ink I will keep, but only use from time to time. There is good tone variations on the strokes. The sample to the left is written with a broad oblique Pelikan nib. The ink has a very different look depending on the paper used. It also dries to a darker richer tone than when wet.
	American Blue When this ink came out, I tried it and liked the depth of colour to the blue, so as with all ink addicts, I bought three bottles - a bottle for home, for the office, for the brief case. Doesn't everyone do that? Now that I have used the ink for a while I find that it is really great in a medium nib, but in a broad or stub nib the flow is heavy and the ink is easy to smudge. But I really like the colour.
	Midnight Blues This used to be one of my Inks of Note and it was a real staple on my desk. Great rich blue tones. Good flow, worked in every pen I have tried. The bottles I purchased in November of 2007 had much different characteristics. If found the ink to have a faster flow, and to tend to feather on various paper. I wrote Private Reserve to ask if they had changed their formula, or did I just get a bad bottle. Unfortunately, no reply, and for the time being, I have returned the bottles I most recently bought and not using this ink anymore. Midnight Blues - Fast Dry I bought this in great anticipation but have been disappointed. It does dry faster. But the ink bleeds into the paper. My thought was to stick with the regular line, however, my most recent purchases were disappointing.

Avacado Green

Myfirst reaction to this green was very positive and I ended up buying a couple of bottles. The ink has a softer tone than Sherwood Green, but I have reverted back to Sherwood Green for my green, as I find that colour crisper.

Black Cherry

I must admit, the colour has an appeal. It is almost a burgundy but there is a brown undertone. Overall, good dark tone, writes well with both broad and medium nibs.

Blue Suede

This is really closer to a teal blue/green, but it does have a nice rich tone in both medium and broad nibs. It has been an ink of choice for the past few months. Again, the colour is deep enough to look okay for business writing. I find I use it regularly.

Black

Evidently the formula has been updated and the black is reported to be a very rich colour. Worth a try!

Burgundy Mist

Don't be mistaken by the title, there is really nothing "misty" about this colour. It is a nice rich Burgundy-colour ink, and quickly becoming one I am enjoying to write with. It has even edged into my Inks of Choice.

Candy Apple Red

Reported as gorgeous, comes with its own battery pack. Note the caution on mixing. Flush your pen out when changing colours.

Copper Burst

A real golden brown with, just like its name, a definite copper look.

Ebony Blue - this is a new colour out in the spring/summer of 2008. Looking at the name, I thought this would be a very rich blue black, but it is really a dark Suede Green tone ink.

Ebony Green - this is much like what the name says, a dark rich green.

Ebony Purple - dark rich purple tone, think of black and purple together. I have seem colour samples on various web sites and the one in stores... lots of variation, so open the bottle and dip a nib into it to be sure this is the colour you are thinking of.

Fiesta Red

A dark saturated red, very close to OMAS Amerigo Vespucci. This is a nice dark red that does not scream at you like the Candy Apple Red. (R Ragner)

Grey Flannel

I am not sure why I bought this ink. For a grey ink it has a nice tone. Looks better after it dries than when you are actually writing. Found quite a difference depending on what kind of paper I was using. In the end, not a business ink, but would look good to be used with personal correspondence on a cream paper.

Midnight Blues

Okay, I have bought numerous bottles of this stuff in just a little over a week. Great rich blue-black ink. Good flow, great tone. An Ink of Choice.

Naples Blue

Rich peacock blue, colour and tone dark enough for business writing. I always seem to get good comments when people see this colour on the page.

Orange Crush

This has been described a really being a burnt orange with red and brown tones (R Ragner)

Plum

Good tone, somewhat like the Pelikan Purple, but has a rich colour all its own. I find it great for my home office but a little too startling for office documents!

Purple Haze

A lighter tone of their purple ink.

Shell Pink

The ink has a softer look, which has been described as being pastel in nature.

Sherwood Green

I have now found a replacement for the deep rich Penman Green ink that I used to enjoy. Anyone who likes green, see's this ink and says that is it for them! An Ink of Choice.

Sonic Blue

I would call this part of the blue-gray family of inks, the ink just looks too pale for my taste.

Tanzanite Purple

A deep, rich purple, almost a dark blue, I use this ink often. It is not the type of purple that seems out of place on business documents. This is one of the fastest flowing inks I have every owned. If you have a pen that typically has a slow ink flow... try it with this ink. An Ink of Choice.

Tropical Blue

I had the chance to try this ink out last week, when I first saw the bottle I thought this may be a duplicate of say the South Sea Blue by Waterman, but not so. It is a bright, light blue. Too light for my use but the folks at Vancouver Pen told me that it is receiving a good response.

Washington DC Pen Show Green

In 2003 they produced a Blue for the Washington Pen Show, and then after producing it again in subsequent years just added the colour to their regular line. May this will also be the base for the 2006 Washington DC Fountain Pen Super Show. It is being described as a mid-range green. Not as dark as the Sherwood Green, and not as bright as say the Pelikan Green.