Cheap Ink Cartridges For Average Pen Writer?

[c199322]

Hello everyone, I recently purchased a kaweco sport classic inkroller and I like it a lot. I am a college student using the pen to take notes, hw, etc. I have no knowledge in inks whatsoever but I just need some cheap ink cartridges for replacements.

so my question is:

 

What are some of the cheapest ink cartridges (I believe the short length ones for Kaweco) with minimized paper bleedthrough?

 

the color variation of the ink is not important as long as they are black/blue. I just prefer them to be cheap and do not bleed through paper too much.

 

Thanks a lot

[cubic archon]

Whereabouts do you live? In the UK I can recommend the "Viva" cartridges I picked up for about £1 for a bag of 50 in Rymans. They are made by a Slovenian company - the ink in them is actually really good, certainly on a par with standard blacks like Quink and Waterman.

[Lorna Reed]

I only ever bought cheap cartridges once - they were horrible - not worth even the little money I paid for them.

[sygyzy]

Are there standardized sizes for ink cartridges? Is it just short and long? Are all shorts the same size and similarly are all longs the same size?

[c199322]

I only ever bought cheap cartridges once - they were horrible - not worth even the little money I paid for them.

mind telling us in what ways they were horrible?

 

also I live in US California , San Francisco / Berkeley.

[Possum Hill]

Are there standardized sizes for ink cartridges? Is it just short and long? Are all shorts the same size and similarly are all longs the same size?

There are several types and sizes of ink cartridges -- have a look at Pendemonium's Ink Facts page, near the bottom.

[laiki]

Have you thought of refilling the cartridge using a syringe? I know you said you wanted cartridges but refilling seems to be more economical for a college kid (like myself ).

[c199322]

Have you thought of refilling the cartridge using a syringe? I know you said you wanted cartridges but refilling seems to be more economical for a college kid (like myself ).

 

 

that sounds like a great idea. Would that increase the chances of leaking? what are some nice cheap (doesn't have to be cheapest) ink that doesnt bleed through paper too much?

[Chrontius]

Have you thought of refilling the cartridge using a syringe? I know you said you wanted cartridges but refilling seems to be more economical for a college kid (like myself ).

 

 

that sounds like a great idea. Would that increase the chances of leaking? what are some nice cheap (doesn't have to be cheapest) ink that doesnt bleed through paper too much?

 

Each cartridge has a limited service life in that sort of role, but if you can refill it ten times before it starts to leak, you've still come out ahead.

 

Archon, can you give us some information on those Viva carts? At that price, I could afford to support a cartridge habit.

[BayBee]

I get ink cartridges at Office Depot. Don't remember the price, but they are quite affordable there.

[BayBee]

Oh, yeah, they are Standard International size and will fit into Kaweco.

[BayBee]

And here is a link to Pear Tree site that sells them on-line.

Ink Refills

[Joe in Seattle]

I like Private Reserve carts in my Kaweco.

[cocojj]

If you want variety in colors, Diamine ships free sample cartridges when you order some bottled ink directly from them. Then you can refill the cartridges with the bottled ink you ordered using a syringe.

[cubic archon]

Have you thought of refilling the cartridge using a syringe? I know you said you wanted cartridges but refilling seems to be more economical for a college kid (like myself ).

 

 

that sounds like a great idea. Would that increase the chances of leaking? what are some nice cheap (doesn't have to be cheapest) ink that doesnt bleed through paper too much?

 

Each cartridge has a limited service life in that sort of role, but if you can refill it ten times before it starts to leak, you've still come out ahead.

 

Archon, can you give us some information on those Viva carts? At that price, I could afford to support a cartridge habit.

They're made by Vivapens who seem from their website to be a standard manufacturer of pens and ink in Slovenia - not a premium brand, but supplies for schools and so on. I imagine that Rymans bought them in as a budget line of short international cartridges; the brand wouldn't be recognised so wouldn't be able to command much of a price. I posted a thread about them here thinking that somebody might know whether the company was one that also made Sheaffer now, but I suspect if it was nobody would tell you.

 

The ink itself is a deep black, with slight reddish brown tones. When washed it fades a bit to a brown iirc, but is still mostly readable. I have it loaded into an OHTO Tasche at the moment and it is fine.

 

Most of the high street chains sell big bags of own-brand SI cartridges, which they obviously don't make themselves and must buy in. I did email WHSmiths and ask the source of theirs but they said they couldn't say because of commercial confidentiality. Lots of these cartridges look very similar - the range that Paperchase sells looks identical to WHSmiths' for instance - but without a manufacturer's brand name they could change their supplier at any moment and you'd not know.

[cubic archon]

By the way, I have a Kaweco Sport which I use for annotations, and I fill the cartridge with Diamine Poppy Red. I don't use it that much though, so can't comment as to long term reliability... it would make me feel a bit concerned refilling cartridges on a regular basis.

[Chrontius]

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...

[c199322]

Have you thought of refilling the cartridge using a syringe? I know you said you wanted cartridges but refilling seems to be more economical for a college kid (like myself ).

 

 

I have decided to do that =) What ink would you suggest that is quite cheap and has minimum bleed through? also how long times can i refill the same cartridge before it "breaks"?

[dobro]

Is a converter available that would work with that pen? If so, that's the route I'd take.