Ink Swatch - Private Reserve - Tropical Blue

Private Reserve Tropical Blue is a bright medium blue with a little shading and red sheen.

Scans

There is a little shading on each paper, but not a ton. Also there was some feathering and bleed on Iroful.

Swatch Card Scans. Click to enlarge.

Photos

The red sheen is in every large swatch.

Swatch Card Photos. Click to enlarge.

It shows in the writing, but primarily on the edges of lines.

Microscope

The red sheen is there around the edges of lines, and that small area of feathering/bleed on Iroful is there in the ‘e’.

Ink under Magnification. Click to enlarge.

Chromatography

Chromatography strip scan

Starts with a faint blue line and then not much until the very end where there is a band of cyan with some dark blue around the edges.

Chromatography strip photo under UV light

The area just behind the band at the end is glowing red, and there’s some blue glow from the band and just after it. There wasn’t any noticeable glow in the swatches, though.

Verdict

I’ve used this off and on for a couple years and it’s OK. I initially bought it thinking it was from their Inifinity series that resists drying out in pens, but it wasn’t (oops). Unfortunately, people frequently report issues with mold in this brand of inks. I haven’t had any issues so far, but it makes me wary of using it in some pens.