Ink From India?

[Ghosofat]

My wife is in India this week to visit relatives, and she picked up for me as a gift a nice Indian-made fountain pen, which I'm looking forward to seeing, as Indians use fountain pens much more than we do in America. I think it has something to do with the Hindi script.

 

While she's at it, she also is picking up for me some Indian-manufactured Parker Quint ink, bottles of blue and black.

 

When I heard the price, I told her to stock up. For a 30 ml. bottle (about one ounce), the cost is 30 rupees, or the equivalent of about 75-80 cents. That is way cheaper than US ink, but I was wondering: is there any chance this ink might somehow gum up my pen or cause some kind of problem? It is manufactured under license to Parker.

[ZeissIkon]

For a 30 ml. bottle (about one ounce), the cost is 30 rupees, or the equivalent of about 75-80 cents. That is way cheaper than US ink, but I was wondering: is there any chance this ink might somehow gum up my pen or cause some kind of problem? It is manufactured under license to Parker.

 

If it's licensed by Parker, I wouldn't worry about it. In a market that still has a lot of fountain pen users, and where few have a lot of money to spend on repair or replacing bad ink, I'd expect word to get around if there were a problem.

[Nikhil]

Nothing to worry about. Everything from India is cheaper, and isn't any different from US Parker Quink

[dcwaites]

I have a 30 ml bottle of Indian-made Parker Quink Black. It is a slightly different colour black from English PQ Black, and the label claims that it has Solv-X in it. However, I have had no problems with it.

[somnath1077]

 

 

When I heard the price, I told her to stock up. For a 30 ml. bottle (about one ounce), the cost is 30 rupees, or the equivalent of about 75-80 cents. That is way cheaper than US ink, but I was wondering: is there any chance this ink might somehow gum up my pen or cause some kind of problem? It is manufactured under license to Parker.

 

Hi Ghosofat,

 

I use Parker Quink ink manufactured in India. I even brought some ink with me when I came to Germany (where I'm staying now). They're rather smooth-flowing and never caused me any trouble. It is important to remember that products manufactured in India and sold there are much cheaper than in the West but don't let that worry you. There is one problem though: Parker Quink Black is a little weak, so you may not like the color. But or general use it's fine.

 

Best,

 

Somnath.

[Abhik]

Hi Ghosofat!

Are you looking for cheap inks with Western brand names or you are really interested in buying & using good quality inks at cheaper price?

If your option is the second category, you may request your wife to buy inks manufactured by Indian companies like Chelpark, Sulekha or Camelin etc. If, you want to stick to Parker Qunink only, why bother for few cents?

All three manufacturers are in business for 30 years or more. They are reliable and usable. Don't worry about getting mold or clogged.

Hope that you will update your findings!

Best,

Abhik.

[scribbler77]

I have three colors of Camel ink, produced by Camelin in Mumbai. The bottles are 60ml and sold in 2008 for Rp 12.00. I have permanent black, royal blue, and green. The colors are vivid and the ink behaves well. You might have your wife pick up a bottle or two.

[Sandy1]

My wife is in India this week to visit relatives, and she picked up for me as a gift a nice Indian-made fountain pen, which I'm looking forward to seeing, as Indians use fountain pens much more than we do in America. I think it has something to do with the Hindi script.

 

While she's at it, she also is picking up for me some Indian-manufactured Parker Quint ink, bottles of blue and black.

 

When I heard the price, I told her to stock up. For a 30 ml. bottle (about one ounce), the cost is 30 rupees, or the equivalent of about 75-80 cents. That is way cheaper than US ink, but I was wondering: is there any chance this ink might somehow gum up my pen or cause some kind of problem? It is manufactured under license to Parker.

 

Hello,

 

I very much agree. While it may be nice to have a 'souvenir' bottle of Indian-made Quink, the real trophy is finding an ink that can be found nowhere else - or is not exported.

 

I can only imagine the quality & colours.. Hmm. Let us know what comes back home. Also, would it be even worse manners to request you to post some swatches of Indian not-for-export inks?

 

Best Regards,

Sandy1

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I have three colors of Camel ink, produced by Camelin in Mumbai. The bottles are 60ml and sold in 2008 for Rp 12.00. I have permanent black, royal blue, and green. The colors are vivid and the ink behaves well. You might have your wife pick up a bottle or two.

Oh, I am getting so tempted to start trying to find stuff like this. Must resist.

[Ghosofat]

Well, you see my wife is not a fountain pen person, so she just looked for inks that sounded familiar to her. But based on your post and others I recommended that she go back and look for local Indian inks, and sure enough she found some in various colors and bought a bunch for me. I told her the brand names that were in your post. She picked up about eight bottles, and unfortunately she has run out of space in her luggage for my ink!

 

She also bought me three locally made fountain pens, each with (she says) a different nib. We shall see. They are in the 300-475 rupee range, which is somewhere between $7-$11, more or less. I'm not sure which brand she bought.

 

One of my relatives there (she is from India) knew I was interested in pens and bought me a pen--a ballpoint! I almost wept. So I had my wife buy some fountain pens. She is getting a fourth for me tomorrow, some pen she said that looked pretty, was from Mumbai and cost about 475 rupees. I think she may want one for herself.

 

She asked me if I wanted anything else from India and I said no, just ink! Oh, actually also some Saudi Arabian dates, which are not available in the U.S. As usual she's loading up on silk, Rajasthani puppets, and other good values.

 

I'll report back when I get my pens and ink! She's arriving back in the US on Wednesday.

 

Thanks again for the good advice.

 

 

Hi Ghosofat!

Are you looking for cheap inks with Western brand names or you are really interested in buying & using good quality inks at cheaper price?

If your option is the second category, you may request your wife to buy inks manufactured by Indian companies like Chelpark, Sulekha or Camelin etc. If, you want to stick to Parker Qunink only, why bother for few cents?

All three manufacturers are in business for 30 years or more. They are reliable and usable. Don't worry about getting mold or clogged.

Hope that you will update your findings!

Best,

Abhik.

Edited October 25, 2009 by Ghosofat

[Nikhil]

I can't wait to here your results. My dad is going soon, and he says he'll buy some when he goes

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Well, you see my wife is not a fountain pen person, so she just looked for inks that sounded familiar to her. But based on your post and others I recommended that she go back and look for local Indian inks, and sure enough she found some in various colors and bought a bunch for me. I told her the brand names that were in your post. She picked up about eight bottles, and unfortunately she has run out of space in her luggage for my ink!

Tell her to leave behind things that are not necessary, like clothing and shoes. Get her to bring back more ink!

 

She asked me if I wanted anything else from India and I said no, just ink! Oh, actually also some Saudi Arabian dates, which are not available in the U.S.

Um, I'm not sure but this might be a problem at the border. They always ask me if I'm bringing in food like that.

[Ghosofat]

I think I'm up to 10 bottles by now, including two Royal Blue and one red. Unfortunately she's hazy about the brand, as they are now packed (carefully I hope). Also I seem to be up to five fountain pens. Reminds me of the old joke about bar mitzvah gifts.

 

As for food: oh, I've brought back quite a bit over the years personally. Last year we brought back a big kilo jug of Indian muesli, which I really love, and I've brought back dates several times in the past. Also I'm getting cashew nuts and some other dried fruit-related Diwali gifts. At Kennedy airport nobody seems to even bother asking if you've anything to declare.

 

The real must-buy thing in India as you know (apart from ink!) is silk. I always laugh when I see Indian-made scarves in New York stores for $30 that cost maybe $3 in India.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I think I'm up to 10 bottles by now, including two Royal Blue and one red. Unfortunately she's hazy about the brand, as they are now packed (carefully I hope). Also I seem to be up to five fountain pens. Reminds me of the old joke about bar mitzvah gifts.

Okay, glad you're getting more stuff.

 

As for food: oh, I've brought back quite a bit over the years personally. Last year we brought back a big kilo jug of Indian muesli, which I really love, and I've brought back dates several times in the past. Also I'm getting cashew nuts and some other dried fruit-related Diwali gifts. At Kennedy airport nobody seems to even bother asking if you've anything to declare.

*SIGH* Typical. The U.S./Canadian border is stricter than the airport with people coming from all over the world.

[Ghosofat]

So my ink, pens, and dates made it over from India just fine. I'm going to post photographs later but here's the inventory:

 

Chelpark ("Dye based fountain pen ink with Cleen-X"):

3 bottles washable Royal Blue, 3 Permanent Black 1 Ruby Red and 1 bottle is Emerald Green.

 

Each bottle is 60 ml, about 2 ounces, and the price for each is 15 Rupees. There's about 45 Rupees per dollar. So these eight bottles came to under $3.

 

2 bottles of Parker Quink, with "Solv-X," one washable Royal Blue and the other Permanent Black. Price 50 Rupees for 30 ml.

 

One gorgeous, heavy "Jinhao" with a gold point. I'm told the cost was about 500 Rupees. It was sold loose, without a case.

One Parker Vector fountain pen, with a bottle of Royal Blue Quinr, 300 Rupees on the shrink-wrapped package. (I can't get over these prices!)

 

1 Pierre Cardin EliteClub fountain pen, with four cartridges and a ink-filler pump, which the pen store guy installed in the pen for my wife. The price: 80 Rupees.

 

1 Montex Handy Crystal Clear Fountain Pen, with two cartridges and ink-filler pump. Price 25 Rupees.

 

Oh, and two very nice ballpoint pens.

 

OK, so I filled up the Jinhao pen with Chelpark Royal Blue and I LOVE IT. It's hand-feel is magnificent (it seems to weigh about half a pound) and it writes expressively, as I think the nib has a bit of flex to it. The Royal Blue is fantastic.

 

Can't wait to try the rest.

 

One little annoyance: the Chelpark bottle is kind of weird, with a cap that's a bit hard to describe, sort of a thing at the bottom of the cap that peels off, which I did and the cap just sort of plops on and doesn't stay on. My wife says I did it wrong.

 

The pens all have a filler mechanism that's plastic, and fill by suction, by pushing up a little slider thing that creates a vacuum. The ink goes into clear plastic, so you can see it fill, which is kind of neat.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Ghosofat

[Kabe]

can't wait for the pics.

 

Oh, and you gotta try making date pie

[Ghosofat]

I just posted photos in the Writing Instruments forum. I'm especially curious to get input on that weird bottle cap.

[hari317]

I just posted photos in the Writing Instruments forum. I'm especially curious to get input on that weird bottle cap.

 

Hi, I believe that is called a "pilfer proof cap". To open it you just unscrew the cap in the normal way, the seal will break indicating that the cap has been opened. Having said that i observe that the recent production Chelpark caps do suffer from this cap deformation problem, so i usually transfer the ink to my empty MB or Quink bottles.

 

Can you post a photo of the ink carton? I think Chelpark has outsourced the ink manufacture now.

 

Best,

Hari

 

Edited to fix typos

Edited November 3, 2009 by hari317

[returnofpenguy]

Thanks Ghosofat.

 

I am looking for Indian ink and found your posting. How are the other colors working for you?

 

Does other members from India have any other feedback about the Indian inks? I am looking for different colors.

[hari317]

Does other members from India have any other feedback about the Indian inks? I am looking for different colors.

 

Quink Black made here is very good. Dark and free flowing. I like Camel Royal Blue, Crimson Violet, Chelpark Emerald green, Chelpark Blue Black, Chelpark Ruby red. Bril Royal blue is excellent but only available in South India.

 

Best,

Hari