Iroshizuku And Sailor... Why Are They So Expensive?

[Mox]

I have tried several Private Reserve, Sailor, Sheaffer, Pilot, Aurora, Noodler's & Iroshizuku inks. Undoubtedly IMO the Iros are worth their premium price. Every color I've tried have behaved extremely well. They have made some of dry pens, write beautifully. Unique colors, perfect wetness, right amount of shading & consistent good behavior across the board with all colors is what has made them my go-to ink.

[rudyhou]

In Indonesia Sailor Jentle ink is $13.20 (50ml), which is slightly cheaper than MB ink.

 

you purchased sailor inks in jakarta? where? i purchased mine only during my trips to singapore, since i never knew they are available here in jakarta.

[zerobuttons]

I'm playing around with inks, and I'm trying to figure out why Iroshizuku and Sailor are always priced the highest in most retailers I see. Does anyone know why?

.....

Several Asian countries have historically had a tradition for high import taxes on goods from US and Europe, and as a punishment US and European countries have set import taxes on Asian goods high as well. Whether this still goes today, and whether it has an impact on the commodity you are asking about, I cannot tell you with certainty. I observed this at my latest visit to Japan this year, however: Prices on Japanese goods also sold in Europe, were in many cases as low as half the price I remembered having seen in Europe. And European goods were not cheap.

 

I bought a bottle of Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo at Kakimori, at JPY 1575, which is less than a third of what I would have to pay in Europe.

[TomJKT]

 

you purchased sailor inks in jakarta? where? i purchased mine only during my trips to singapore, since i never knew they are available here in jakarta.

 

Yes, at Gramedia, Taman Anggrek. But I bought a lot and they might just have a few left. You may also call the distributor of Pilot, they sell black and blue ink.

[rudyhou]

 

Yes, at Gramedia, Taman Anggrek. But I bought a lot and they might just have a few left. You may also call the distributor of Pilot, they sell black and blue ink.

 

thanks for the info. i actually have many bottles of sailor inks. enough to last me for years, considering i have many other brands as well. well, they are limited edition ones, which i doubt available in jakarta. but in a case where i possibly need more sailor inks, i now know where to go. thanks again. much appreciated.

[XiaoMG]

Just wondering, how much is Iroshizuku ink in Taiwan? I just got a bottle of Tsuki Yo today, and it has a nice subtle shading that I enjoy.. but then I remember it's around 3.5x the price of Noodler's and I feel a little bad for spending all that cash.

Normal price is something like $19-20usd here, which is a bit high compared to Japanese prices.

 

The inks are fine, but I am barely willing to pay prices here for them, and the prices in other countries are just ludicrous. Tsuki-yo is one I have contemplated buying a bottle of so I can keep trying it until I figure out why it's so popular, assuming 50ml is enough to unravel such a mystery.

[de_pen_dent]

To be honest, I am not really that bothered by the prices of inks, given that a typical ink bottle will last me years (have a fairly large collection that I rotate through).

 

So the fact that it is $35 vs $20 is mostly irrelevant to me, I dont really have this big confirmation bias within me that makes me want to ascribe all sorts of magical properties to them.

 

I just like Iroshizuku inks - the colors are nice/unique, and more importantly, the inks are all very well-behaved, as has been mentioned. I know I can put whichever ink I want into whichever pen I want, and not have any flow problems or long-term maintenance/gunking issues. I like playing around with inks, but not to the point where I have to come up with "cleaning strategies" or "dedicated pen for XXX ink" or whatever.

 

So far, of the 10 or so bottles I own - I cant stand Yama Budo, and Tsuyu Kusa is somewhat forgettable (it'll get a second chance, though). The rest are fantastic.

 

The other thing I like about them is that the catalog is actually manageable - enough variety to keep me interested, not enough to lead to paralysis of analysis. Diamine is my other favorite ink, but trying to select a Diamine ink makes my head hurt: do I want Asa Blue or Florida Blue or Mediterranean Blue or Eau de Nil or...

 

Noodler is a brand of which I only own 3 bottles (BSB cos I had to try it, BS/AR which is really nice and Ottoman Rose - not sure why I got that), due to the combination of a too-large catalog and varying degrees of finickiness of the inks.

Edited June 10, 2013 by de_pen_dent

[Newjelan]

massive fan of iroshizuku inks. (its australia, even parker quink is $20).

 

WOW! $20 for Parker Quink, you're joking? I paid $8 for a bottle at my local newsagency last year and I'm also in Australia.

[paultyler_82]

Part of the price is the materials, especially where packaging is concerned, but the largest part of market cost in inks may well be the market... Noodler's ink, while less expensive here in the US is quite spendy in Europe, for example. I did recently analyze ink costs per mL and the results were a bit surprising... turns out, Iro is not the most expensive ink in the US market.

 

Least expensive to most expensive, brand and price per mL:

 

Noodlers 0.14

Diamine 0.16

Lamy 0.17

Private Reserve 0.18

R & K 0.24

Sailor 0.25

J. Herbin 0.33 (except 1670)

J. Herbin 1670 0.48

Iroshizuku 0.56

Caran d'Ache 0.77

[K. Cakes]

Part of the price is the materials, especially where packaging is concerned, but the largest part of market cost in inks may well be the market... Noodler's ink, while less expensive here in the US is quite spendy in Europe, for example. I did recently analyze ink costs per mL and the results were a bit surprising... turns out, Iro is not the most expensive ink in the US market.

 

Least expensive to most expensive, brand and price per mL:

 

Noodlers 0.14

Diamine 0.16

Lamy 0.17

Private Reserve 0.18

R & K 0.24

Sailor 0.25

J. Herbin 0.33 (except 1670)

J. Herbin 1670 0.48

Iroshizuku 0.56

Caran d'Ache 0.77

 

Noodler's doesn't package their inks by volume, but by weight. So they are actually more expensive than that. I might also note that J. Herbin has 100mL bottles in certain colors that put its price per mL at .17 - .20 depending on where you purchase it. So you'll end up saving a decent amount if you buy bulk.

 

Just wondering, are these the newer Caran d'Ache inks that are supposed to be coming out, or the older colors of the earth series?

[Ted A]

Part of the price is the materials, especially where packaging is concerned, but the largest part of market cost in inks may well be the market... Noodler's ink, while less expensive here in the US is quite spendy in Europe, for example. I did recently analyze ink costs per mL and the results were a bit surprising... turns out, Iro is not the most expensive ink in the US market.

 

Least expensive to most expensive, brand and price per mL:

 

Noodlers 0.14

Diamine 0.16

Lamy 0.17

Private Reserve 0.18

R & K 0.24

Sailor 0.25

J. Herbin 0.33 (except 1670)

J. Herbin 1670 0.48

Iroshizuku 0.56

Caran d'Ache 0.77

And it looks like, if my math is correct, that the Pendleton inks are 0.40, between the J. Herbin

[iamchum]

WOW! $20 for Parker Quink, you're joking? I paid $8 for a bottle at my local newsagency last year and I'm also in Australia.

 

oh snap sucks to be me living in brighton, everything is hella expensive out here. Last bottle of quink i got was from my corner newsagency

[Newjelan]

oh snap sucks to be me living in brighton, everything is hella expensive out here. Last bottle of quink i got was from my corner newsagency

Canterbury shop owners must be more caring, lol

[paultyler_82]

 

Noodler's doesn't package their inks by volume, but by weight. So they are actually more expensive than that. I might also note that J. Herbin has 100mL bottles in certain colors that put its price per mL at .17 - .20 depending on where you purchase it. So you'll end up saving a decent amount if you buy bulk.

 

Just wondering, are these the newer Caran d'Ache inks that are supposed to be coming out, or the older colors of the earth series?

 

That's true, I was going on an estimated figure for the Noodler's and most all inks were figured based on the standard smaller bottles. J. Herbin does indeed sell some colors in less expensive larger quantity bottles, yet Noodler's larger bottles actually come out to be more expensive per unit than the smaller ones. The Caran d'Ache price is figured for the Colors of the Earth series, but from what I've seen of the marketing materials, the new CdA Chromatics Inks will list at $40 for a 50mL bottle! Though bigger than the 30mL CotE bottles, this sets the price per mL at a higher 0.80 for the new CdA inks, far overpriced in my humble opinion. Also, it seems that the Chromatics have been 'indefinitely delayed' while the entire CotE series has been discontinued... no big loss to me, the only color I liked was Saffron, even then, CdA inks are just pricey.

[Rafael Macia]

I just ordered two bottles of Iroshizuku from Amazon;

Taki-Sumi (Bamboo Charcoal), Black, ..... And Tsuki-Yo, (Moonlight), dark blue.

$48.90 for both bottles,

$4.34 tax .... with free shipping!

and ... shipped from Amazon .... not from overseas.

I think that is a good price.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Rafael Macia

[K. Cakes]

 

That's true, I was going on an estimated figure for the Noodler's and most all inks were figured based on the standard smaller bottles. J. Herbin does indeed sell some colors in less expensive larger quantity bottles, yet Noodler's larger bottles actually come out to be more expensive per unit than the smaller ones. The Caran d'Ache price is figured for the Colors of the Earth series, but from what I've seen of the marketing materials, the new CdA Chromatics Inks will list at $40 for a 50mL bottle! Though bigger than the 30mL CotE bottles, this sets the price per mL at a higher 0.80 for the new CdA inks, far overpriced in my humble opinion. Also, it seems that the Chromatics have been 'indefinitely delayed' while the entire CotE series has been discontinued... no big loss to me, the only color I liked was Saffron, even then, CdA inks are just pricey.

 

Yes, I had heard the new Caran d'Ache inks were going to be even more expensive, which is why I asked. I received a sample of the old Sunset and quite liked it, but I ended up settling on something much less expensive.

I thought I remembered someone comparing Noodler's ink volume to another brand (Diamine?) and tried to find that so I could see if they ever came up with a mL consensus, but I can't seem to find it. I have a bottle of Golden Brown laying around that I don't use, so maybe I'll sacrifice it to see how much the bottle holds.

[qkoexz]

I knew I should have mentioned gold nibs (not necessarily gold-plated) versus SS. Of course my explanation assumed comparing apples to apples. There are many manufacturers that produce gold nib pens with resin (aka plastic) bodies at a lower price point. MB was for illustrative purposes only, not a knock on the brand.

 

As for which ink to chose, the ink review forum provides a great deal of the information you seek. It is an invaluable resource for me.

 

I would like to point out that the material cost for the amount of gold that is used in a typical fountain pen nib will run you.... all of 10 USD or less.

As with any fine goods (pens, watches, audio equipment, shoes, clothes, whatnot), craftsmanship, technique, and utility only go so far to increase the price. The rest you are paying for the exclusivity, luxury, and namesake.

 

Back on topic, a bottle of 色彩雫 ink will run you ~1300 yen on Amazon jp, which is $13.64 US at this point in time.

Edited June 14, 2013 by qkoexz

[r100ridr]

 

I would like to point out that the material cost for the amount of gold that is used in a typical fountain pen nib will run you.... all of 10 USD or less.

As with any fine goods (pens, watches, audio equipment, shoes, clothes, whatnot), craftsmanship, technique, and utility only go so far to increase the price. The rest you are paying for the exclusivity, luxury, and namesake.

 

Back on topic, a bottle of 色彩雫 ink will run you ~1300 yen on Amazon jp, which is $13.64 US at this point in time.

Unfortunately they won't ship it to U.S. addresses even with a Prime account. I was hoping for free two-day shipping.

[Opooh]

Here in Europe it's 30 euro for 50 ml of Iroshizuku, the Shin-Ryoku ( forrest green ) is absolutely gorgeous. With these inks it is like in time before digital photography took over, you had Fujicolor Velvia, people liked them because of their rich saturated colours.

[warblerick]

I've heard that these inks are not so expensive in Japan.

Just today I purchased my first bottle of Iroshizuku ink, Kon-Peki, a rich cerulean blue. I bought it online from Amazon (in the US),the only color they had that was priced under $20. And the seller is in Japan, so I would expect they would cost less there as well. I realy wanted a bottle of Yama-budo, but the price was just too much. Maybe for my 2nd bottle. Shop around...