Pelikan Royal Blue [full size photo] – This is an interesting blue / gray ink from Pelikan. To me this is not your traditional “Royal Blue” ink. With it’s slightly muted and silvery gray hues, it stands out amongst the rest of my Royal Blue inks. For reference this the the first Pelikan ink I have used (aside from a cartridge in a Pelikano). I have to tell you, its a very smooth ink. It flows very nicely. For the review I used a “Think!” pen called the “Iceland” with a Medium nib. [As a side note, I will be reviewing the Think! Iceland fountain pen very soon.]

The Think! fountain pen, had no issues with the Pelikan Royal Blue ink. The ink produced great shading in some of the other pens I tested it in. The medium nib in the Think! pen showed shading as well. In each of the pens I tested it in, the ink remained very well behaved – no signs of feathering, no bleedthrough, with a very tiny bit of showthrough. Dry times on the ink were rather quick ~2 seconds or so until it was dry. In the q-tip sample I was surprised at the depth of the shading, very pretty. The silvery gray also adds something to the ink. Its a nice touch.

I used the ink at work for a number of days, and I had received great input from those I questioned about the color. This is a great go-to ink for the office. Not too bright, not boring like a blue ballpoint. Just right, even for my traditionally bold/bright tastes. Two thumbs up from me. I can’t wait to hunt some more Pelikan ink samples for future testing.

This ink, as well as many other inks and pens can be purchased from – my friends at Pear Tree Pens.