Ink Dips: Callifolio Bleu Azur

I admit I was worried when I stuck in my thumb and pulled out Callifolio Bleu Azur. The ink looked a lot like Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire, an ink that is supposed to be blue but is purple when wet, to my everlasting distress. I wondered if Bleu Azur might be a repeat of the most painful Ink Dip ever. I even loaded Bleu Azur in the same pen, my Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator with fine nib.

But Callifolio Bleu Azur turns out to be an ink that’s true blue in color, albeit a lighter medium blue. It shades nicely. I liked it immediately. The color is on the lighter side, but with enough liveliness to be legible and to keep a reader engaged.

Here is a writing sample on my everyday, not expensive, paper, Staples Sustainable Earth. Words and music by LCD Soundsystem.

The ink resists feathering, showthrough and bleedthrough on Sustainable Earth, but it was useable even on my worst copy paper.

Here is Callifolio Bleu Azur on Rhodia.

And here is Bleu Azur on cream-colored Tomoe River.

Callifolio Bleu Azur is just a very nice ink. Very pleasant. I don’t know much about the brand: I’ve only tried one other Callifolio, Andrinople, which was a nice color but extremely dry. Happily the flow of Bleu Azur was on the wetter, more lubricated side. It cleaned out of the pen easily, too. This Callifolio is very nice.

And while it’s similar to Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire, it’s different. Here are comparison swabs: first Callifolio Bleu Azur, then Edelstein Sapphire.

Bleu Azur is just blue. Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire is purply blue.

Here is paper towel chromatography of Callifolio Bleu Azur.

Confirmation: just blue.

And very nice.