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Is it Vivapen in Slovenia? I found them when looking for more designs and colours of the Greenfield school pen - the nib of which is remarkably similar to that of the Loom (and the Midori).

So yeah...this happened. We just dropped them an e-mail that we're having a "fountain pen" gathering. There were 6 of us total. We got a million cartridges, ~50 pens, several litres of ink, syringes, ... they totally eclipsed Pelikan. Thank you, Vivapen. I have no idea what to do with 410 cartridges I received. For those who don't know, Vivapen makes...almost all of the ink cartridges in this world. They also make inks for most major brands out there. You can probably tell from bottles multiple brands they work for, but there's more. Like Lamy. And Skrip. And Online. And Pelikan (at least the 4001 line). And many, many others. Here's a picture:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/327702-want-to-know-what-pelikan-hub-looks-like-when-youre-from-a-country-that-makes-ink-and-cartridges-for-nearly-all-brands-out-there/?do=findComment&comment=3923117 Maybe not 100% related to the initial question, but interesting post from 2017 on Vivapen.

Thanks for your view but I disagree. I am no ink expert but Pilot Black is the worst ink I used mainly because of bleed through. Apologies if I was not clear, I am not complaining about it’s ink flow. I am asking for other people’s experience with inks. Let me address your points: 1. Paper is Leuchturn 1917 note pad. It is not bad. No other ink that I currently use in my wet writers is bleeding through except Pilot Black. I used J Herbin Lie de The and Perle Noire, Pelikan Blue Black, Kaweco Purple, Platinum Black, Sailor Jentle Blue Black and PR Ebony Blue thus far with no issues. I had experience of Pilot Black bleeding through on other papers before. 2. Generic Cartridges are Vivapen Surf line. It’s a decent Black ink with brown undertones. I would not say it is dry, more average. I don’t understand what is not objective about the comparison. Same pen, same paper. 3. Price is objective. I am comparing ink cartridges with ink cartridges.

Most likely Tombow are buying their ink from Vivapen. Thus Tombow ink would be repackaged Vivapen ink. Considering their location, Vivapen may also be the manufacturer of Sheaffer ink.

http://www.vivapen.com/index_en.html (Apologies to any future readers -- who knows how long they'll keep this on their site)

That's very nice of you to pass that onto schools where it can do some good. I think that would be nearly a lifetimes worth of ink for me. I'd not heard of Vivapen previously.

Thank you, I just wrote to Vivapen asking if they have a cartridge that fits Geha pens or could make a cartridge that would fit them on one side. I've seen many pretty Geha cartridge pens, and at very affordable prices in there are no cartridges. What few one has, has to be needle filled.

Back in September I contacted the Slovenian company Vivapen that makes Scheaffer ink and I was told they now also make ink for Cross. Bit of trivia: I know they also make fountain pens for German companies (Herlitz for example) and they apparently work with Faber Castell now as well. No idea, if it's just low end school pens or more, might send them an email and ask.

I've never had any problems with the generic ink cartridges as far as clogging or soiling is concerned. But I did have some that came with some Reynolds cartridge pens that was a beautiful dark blue - about the best dark blue I had ever come across. Bit it faded within as little a three or four days. Other than that the colours on genetic cartridges can be a bit bland. In fact the only cartridges I've has clog a pen were Vivapen black and even then the pens cleaned up with only water. Vivapen blue is excellent though. Chris B.

http://www.vivapen.com/viewpro.html?id=164 Vivapen cartridges may be rebranded Sheaffer Skrip, and may be the bulk cartridges sold on eBay for a few fourteen cents a pop in heat sealed baggies of 100 or so. If that's the turquoise I think it is, I highly recommend it. Aha, link!

Ink is made by Vivapen in Slovenia. They make some good inks and pens for other manufacturers, Online pens for instance. You can also get their cheaper inks under their own brand "Surf Line", they are not quite as good as the one they make for Sheaffer, but are not bad. And they only cost something like $5 for 50 cartridges here in the UK. Bottles are made in Slovenia as well, about 20 miles away from where ink is made. I think that Sheaffer company headquarters, design and marketing centre is now in Slovakia, and pens are made in China. They are still well made, but they lost connection to their history (for me).

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to answer I am buying refill cartridges, and Vivapen do seem to be based in a town called Celje which is in Slovenia. When asked who made the actual ink for them, I was told: We have our own production of ink for fountain pens, roller ball pens, fibre pens etc. We do not buy inks! Our ink cartridges packed 6 pcs in paper box Surf Line are filled with Vivapen blue erasable ink. Kind Regards, [redacted] Both the vendors I used have temporarily withdrawn the product and are investigating themselves and I contacted Tombow but haven't had an answer. My search for the perfect black will have to continue elsewhere I think.

Sorry to hear that you had this problem. I had good experience, it is a well behaved ink with a nice flow. I think it is made by Vivapen in Slovenia. (They also make Private Reserve ink cartridges, Online fountain pens etc.)

I'm betting that Vivapen is the Slovenian contract manufacturer for Sheaffer (as well as others who are indicated on their website). Check out the photos of their sample cartridges... looks like a Slovenian Skrip cartridge to me on the right side. http://www.vivapen.com/viewpro.html?id=164 So much for the "Sheaffer ink plant in Slovenia" myth.

Yep, makes sense. I have a "suspect" for the Slovenian link as well: supplier to many well-kown world concerns, market-chains, manufacturer of writing instruments etc. like Herlitz, Staedtler, Depesche, Schneider, Diplomat, Sheaffer Pen - Bic Corp., Reform, Senator, Romus, Aldi, Carrefour, WHS etc., has shipped also to Private Reserve several times, based in Slovenia. But then again: once you now the answer, it is easy to find more on this superb network ... https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/124654-slovenia-and-private-reserve/?hl=vivapen&do=findComment&comment=2449775

Hello all from a student from Serbia. I started liking fountain pens last year when hit the thread on the shaving forum, did a little research and found some vintage Parker Vector and started writing with it and felt in love with fountain pens. I have bought few fountain pens after that, mainly vintage, but yet to find one that I'll really like, so now I'm using Vector and Schneider Easy pen. Too bad that in my country FPs and inks are close to imposible to find, whenever in the store and ask for it, I get the look like I'm asking for a heroin. And sadly ordering from outside isn't option so far (money issues). However, I do like fountain pens and inks, and have the Waterman Blue Black, Koh-I-Noor black and Vivapen Blue inks, and some catridges. Currently seeking Pelikan Brown to get out of blue/black monotony, there are blue,black and red Pelikan inks in a few of stores, but brown seems hard to find. I also use some copy paper of unknown gsm and some local notebooks, also unknown gsm, but very smooth and none of the feathering on them, something like 80-90 gsm. Looking forward to hanging around here!

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/202505-an-interesting-thing-to-find http://www.vivapen.com/catalog/index.html?p=1&c=1

I've got some Vivapen black ink cartridges and the bag they're in stinks of TCP, so you could try that. I's related to phenol which is the traditional ink preservative. Chris B.

I like this one! http://www.vivapen.com/viewpro.html?id=161

Those Vivapen cartridges mentioned by Cubic Archon have caught my attention; I believe they are the current manufacturers of Sheaffer Skrip, so that's likely what's in the cartridges. I'm desperately hoping I can get them in turquoise and/or blue-black without buying assortments. Anyone know where to get them in the States? Or if these Ebay carts are the right kind? http://goo.gl/CCuo They look suspiciously like the ones I want, and in bulk they're about $0.13 per cartridge, but...

Unfortunately, Vivapen has flat-rate shipping of fifteen euro per order, on two euro worth of carts. And they don't sell turquoise carts outside of an assortment. I've emailed them, but it's taking a while. Anyone maybe up for a group buy? Not counting shipping, it's about 2.5 cents per cartridge at their prices.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/154792-shaeffer-inks/ Scroll down to post 4 to see this link. http://www.vivapen.com/viewpro.html?id=164 If you have a converter and it runs on you, you need more pens, or a small plastic bottle for ink.