Pelikan 4001 Review - Introducing Dunkelgrün Dark Green Ink

The Pelikan 4001 ink series stands as one of the most reliable set of colors for your fountain pen. Not only are the recommended for optimal performance of your Pelikan pen, they are also safe for many other plunger-filling, converter type fountain pens as well. The 4001 series is also more affordable, in comparison to the Pelikan Edelstein line of luxury inks, at $10 per 30mL bottle. Other than the blue-black being discontinued some years ago, the lineup has remained mostly the same for years and years.

Effective April 2016, the lineup has made a change to remove the "Brilliant Green" and replace it with "Dark Green," or Dunkelgrün.

I know, Earth-shattering news, right? Although I didn't lose any sleep about it, I'm sure that some would at least be interested to know the difference between the two inks, which is slight, but definitely noticeable. 

In terms of performance and safety with your fountain pen, you can still expect the same level of quality from the new Dunkelgrün. I would feel comfortable in putting this ink in any Pelikan, from a Pelikano to a Souveran M1000. To test out the color, I went to a vintage 1940's Waterman Stalwart fountain pen with a semi-flexible 14kt nib. 

As one might expect from the name, Dunkelgrün is a darker shade of Brilliant Green. It seems to take on a cooler, blueish hue when compared against the lighter green. Brilliant Green is less saturated, so it does shade a bit better and is less water resistant than the new darker green color.

Dunkelgrün's color seems to be an homage to the dark green that is synonymous with Pelikan's brand. From the striped Souveran fountain pens to the historical models of yesteryear, the German brand is forever associated with dark green.

What do you think of the change? Are you going to miss Brilliant Green? As of this writing, we have both colors readily available in-stock. Hit the 'Spot to pick up a bottle, international sized ink cartridge or the giant size ink cartridges.