Ink 350ml INK350BB (japan import)

Pilot inks are well known in the fountain pen community. This blue black is more on dark blue side. Excellent flow properties. Some degree of water resistance which will take care of occasional carelessness with water/other fluids. The large capacity, affordable price, excellent flow properties and a bit of water resistance can make this a go to ink for those who like dark blue inks.

TLDR: Best ink for college/university students, & general use. The only ink that comes close with all these properties (but is STILL expensive as compared to this ink bottle) is J. Herbin's Perle Noire (in 100 ml bottle) but is a Dark Black.Reasons:1. Muted colour, but to MY eyes, still better than the depressing looking Blue Black that Platinum, lamy, or Pelikan has. Not very outgoing like Royal Blues, but definitely has enough gravitas to use in a professional setting too (upward communication in a matrix/hierarchical organization too)2. Enough to last you 4 years of degree college (possibly 5 if you are in those get in post XII boards, and we will let you out with a Masters..) This is an understated quality, you get to use this ink for 4-5 years as your everyday ink that picky professors don't find too aggressive/in your (their) face. With its other qualities (below), this brings in reliability, consistency which is useful in your exams (once you zero in on the pen you want to use this in, for the paper you get in YOUR exams).3. Cleans out easily, does NOT stain, flows well, and is wet (so good to use in Dry pens - Japanese pens), decently (though not to level of Sailor) lubricated, reputed to be very fade-proof.4. Rarely bleeds, shows through or feathers on anything except newsprint/lowest bidder paper.5. Very water resistant - I would rate this 3.5/5 wherePelikan 4001 Royal Blue (washable) is rated 0Platinum Carbon Black (waterproof) is rated 5Points 3 , 4 & 5 show us why it is considered among the most well-behaved inks. I use it as a tester ink alongside Herbin Perle Noire. If a pen does not write well with any of these two inks, it is the pen that has the issue.6. Value - This Pilot Blue-Black 350ml is available at an amazon price which translates to about ₹7.7 / ml. The same for Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue is ⟨₹ 6.8/ml⟩, Pilots same Blue Black ink in 30 ml bottle is ~ ₹ 13.33/ml. All are without shipping included.Now try calculating the same for Sailor Bus numbered inks and especially those overrated Colorverse inks and overhyped Ferris Wheel Press inks.Sailor's Basic series (Blue , Black, Blue-Black) and their Pigment lines are very good and I highly recommend them (but they are not as economical or have extra precautions to be taken (pigment line) or both.Platinum's Mixable series inks are also very good, but they are to be even more carefully handled.Rohrer & Klingner have a Permanent Blau, which isn't really permanent, (I'd rate it 2/5 in water resistance) else could have been a competitor. NOodler's have multiple colours in the Blue Black spectrum (Noodlers Navy, 54th Mass, BBK, BBH and others), and in spite of their issues (like clogging - try KTC/BSB, batch variation) they have their place in the FP world, but still, they do not provide this kind of value (even in USA, forget India)There are Indian manufacturers like Camlin, Bril, Suleka, Syahi, Skylark, Krishna, Daytone, that make inks too.. but they have limited use (camlin/bril for school hence washable), Sulekha is priced at par with Pelikan/Sheaffer, Syahi is too new, Krishna has had batch variations in the past but is fast improving. certain colours can suddenly go out of fashion in Krishna world. Daytone Blue Black is good too, and provides even better value than this & Maybecan be a good competitor, but I haven't used that ink LONG enough. I had a sample long ago, and didn't critically test my pens/inks then. It is cheaper than Pilot, but IIRC, had some feathering issues. Nothing against them, but I would still prefer Pilot as they have proven themselves over the last so many years. Daytone may reach that position in another decade or so. I wish them good luck.In conclusion, this ink in THIS quantity and the price is waaay better than anything anyone is offering. I wish I could Rate this 6 out of 5.