Noodler's Switch To Plastic Bottles

[Barkingpig]

I can certainly appreciate that each individual has their preferences, and for those who object to the use of plastic for environmental reasons, perhaps there is nothing for it other than to lobby Nathan to choose the other route (higher prices to cover whatever the cost of jars).

 

But, for those who would not mind receiving the ink in plastic but would like to store it in glass, I humbly suggest perusing the wares of places like http://www.specialtybottle.com/ or something similar closer to you if you aren't in the US. You want a wide-enough neck to get larger pens into. Of course you have to pay shipping (would suggest trying to buy all you're likely to need in one order). You also have to make your own labels. Name your poison (and maybe buy a special jar to put it in). Now that I think of it, I'm actually kind of tempted buy a bunch so as to standardize the bottles in my ink cabinet. What an insane idea! But it's just the sort of weird thing I might do.

Thank you for offering this link. I found the prices quite reasonable & would feel safe ordering from a company that specialises in bottles! It is really amazing to me that there is even a second category discussing the "problem" of this change in Noodler's use of a plastic instead of the regular glass bottle. A wise friend once told me "if you had a problem that could go away for $, then it really wasn't a "problem." As others & now you have provided a solution @ about the cost of $1.00 to restore their ink to a glass container I am amazed this is an "issue."

 

Obviously Sailor went a different route when they could no longer obtain their normal bottle used for the Boutique inks. They are NOW in a less useful bottle & cost close to $10.00 more. I am grateful to Mr. Tardiff for his concern to "keep the consumer's cost of ink stable" while solving the problem. (Which we can solve at only a cost of $1.00 if concerned.) I just happily ordered 4 bottles of Noodler's inks & happily the four will cost only a bit more than ONE bottle of the Sailor Bung Box ink @ the "new price!" I believe Mr. Tardiff has our "best interests" in mind; I appreciate his effort to do so. And now you have made it even easier to solve anyone's problems!

[AndyYNWA]

Thank you for offering this link. I found the prices quite reasonable & would feel safe ordering from a company that specialises in bottles! It is really amazing to me that there is even a second category discussing the "problem" of this change in Noodler's use of a plastic instead of the regular glass bottle. A wise friend once told me "if you had a problem that could go away for $, then it really wasn't a "problem." As others & now you have provided a solution @ about the cost of $1.00 to restore their ink to a glass container I am amazed this is an "issue."

 

Obviously Sailor went a different route when they could no longer obtain their normal bottle used for the Boutique inks. They are NOW in a less useful bottle & cost close to $10.00 more. I am grateful to Mr. Tardiff for his concern to "keep the consumer's cost of ink stable" while solving the problem. (Which we can solve at only a cost of $1.00 if concerned.) I just happily ordered 4 bottles of Noodler's inks & happily the four will cost only a bit more than ONE bottle of the Sailor Bung Box ink @ the "new price!" I believe Mr. Tardiff has our "best interests" in mind; I appreciate his effort to do so. And now you have made it even easier to solve anyone's problems!

Sailor has now resolved the issue with the "diamond" bottles used by some boutiques and are now supplying the inks in them again. The "Jentle" bottles will be fased out from these boutiques.

 

Also, it's the boutiques that set the prices, not Sailor. The increase in price from Bungbox is mainly a cause of supply and demand.

[El Gordo]

I can certainly appreciate that each individual has their preferences, and for those who object to the use of plastic for environmental reasons, perhaps there is nothing for it other than to lobby Nathan to choose the other route (higher prices to cover whatever the cost of jars).

 

But, for those who would not mind receiving the ink in plastic but would like to store it in glass, I humbly suggest perusing the wares of places like http://www.specialtybottle.com/ or something similar closer to you if you aren't in the US. You want a wide-enough neck to get larger pens into. Of course you have to pay shipping (would suggest trying to buy all you're likely to need in one order). You also have to make your own labels. Name your poison (and maybe buy a special jar to put it in). Now that I think of it, I'm actually kind of tempted buy a bunch so as to standardize the bottles in my ink cabinet. What an insane idea! But it's just the sort of weird thing I might do.

 

Ok, it is not American but, hey, if they cannot/ do not want to/ deliver what you want or were used to as a customer, or when they fleece you and force you into something you as customer do not like, are they worth your business, local or not? I prefer buying local whenever possible, if the locals are not or no longer able to supply what I need or what I am used to, be it glass, ink, or whatever, I bring my business elsewhere. Eg Europe (example) or in the Far-East. Note that there is also the issue of scale. Check out Chinese suppliers of small glass bottles, down to a few cents (euro or dollar) if you buy 10 000 to 100 000, with minimal orders in that range, probably less than a weeks production for such facilities. I don't have a slight idea how long the Noodlers, Diamines, etc could last with one production run. Surely would need a lot of interested people to get such bottle for personal use in a mass buy...

edited typo's and dinglish

Edited October 23, 2015 by El Gordo

[mhosea]

Thank you for offering this link. I found the prices quite reasonable & would feel safe ordering from a company that specialises in bottles! It is really amazing to me that there is even a second category discussing the "problem" of this change in Noodler's use of a plastic instead of the regular glass bottle. A wise friend once told me "if you had a problem that could go away for $, then it really wasn't a "problem." As others & now you have provided a solution @ about the cost of $1.00 to restore their ink to a glass container I am amazed this is an "issue."

 

I ended up buying from www.freundcontainer.com, decided on getting 48 (i.e., 4 cases of 12) of the amber 2 ounce "packers", amber to block more UV. Those aren't big enough to replace a 3 ounce Noodler's bottle, of course, nor Diamine 80ml, but when I need to use two, I will use two. I could have gotten these from several other sites for about the same money, but I also wanted the caps with the LDPE cone liner instead of regular foam, as I like this feature on Aurora ink bottles, and Freund had both, also making it easy to be sure I was ordering compatible caps. The cost came in at $1 per bottle+cap, but shipping added another $0.35 per bottle.

 

I won't be replacing all my bottles with these, but most of them. I'll put color swaths on the self-adhesive, printed labels I've prepared. Should be nice.

 

I can understand why people wouldn't like to bother, though. For me this is mainly for fun.

Edited October 22, 2015 by mhosea

[rafapa]

http://www.freundcontainer.com/

[amberleadavis]

OOOO I like bottles.

[mhosea]

http://www.freundcontainer.com/

 

Thanks. I corrected the typo in my post.

[inkstainedruth]

I looked into a number of different bottle suppliers last winter when I was trying to find bottles to decant some vintage inks into. I can't find the actual invoice at this point, but I did find my notes on various companies with their bottle sizes and prices, and what types of caps they used, and an old query email to Specialty Bottle about the type of caps they used for their Boston rounds. I was trying to find reasonable prices without having to buy in bulk, and from my notes it looks as if I did end up ordering from Specialty Bottle [www.specialtybottle.com]. I got 4 oz and two oz. Boston rounds, and for some of the 4 oz. bottles I got eyedropper caps. I also got amber glass (several places had cobalt glass, which is pretty but a whole lot more expensive. They're not fancy, but I tried to get bottles with wide enough necks for most of my pens (which admittedly aren't super large because I have small hands).

Standard disclaimers apply. I also looked at freundcontainer.com, and some other companies that I found while searching for companies online.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[WaskiSquirrel]

 

How strongly do you feel that there needs to be a box at all?

 

Would you miss it if it went away?

 

The boxes do nothing for me, whether it is Noodler's inks or the more expensive brands with fancier boxes. They end up as waste once they arrive at my house.

 

The only possible use I see in my usage is as protection during shipping. Since I have received both a Noodler's and a Pilot Iroshizuku bottle which leaked during shipping, I don't know that the box is sufficient protection: the Noodler's bottle was improperly tightened, and the Iroshizuku bottle arrived with a cracked cap. So, maybe the cap is the real issue?

[Barkingpig]

My 3 bottles from Fountain Pen Hospital arrived today & only one was in a plastic bottle. The label simply peeled right off & can be affixed upon the empty Noodler's bottle I had ordered from Goulets for $1.00 prior to their price increase to $2.00. As soon as it has been "sterilised" problem solved. A small inconvenience easily solved for a very reasonably priced ink. I was especially happy to find the label on the plastic bottle was so easily removed.

[maksim]

Was surprised that this came to be.

 

Personally, in the world of digital technology, fountain pens and writing becomes an experience. Part of that experience is inking up the pen from the ink bottle.

 

The top of that experience is getting a Faber Castell or a Mont Blanc GLASS bottle, with the heft and weight to it. It is just an overal luxury experience.

 

I also have some Visconti bottles, the new plastic ones, but even though the design is fantastic, the experience feels cheap, compared to inking up the pen with Waterman florida blue still in a glass bottle.

 

Even if the cost increased a $1... it would be understandable, and well worth it by most people, especially in the days of $5 cups of starbucks. What's an extra $5 amortized over the course of a year?

 

There is a difference between being right and being effective. The UGLY plastic pill bottles just reinforce....CHEAP.

 

I had no interest or urge to buy Noodlers inks, for all of the known issues with certain inks, however I may go pick up a few glass bottles.

 

Lol... Cheap inks reserved for my cheap chinese pens.

[AndyYNWA]

Was surprised that this came to be.

 

Personally, in the world of digital technology, fountain pens and writing becomes an experience. Part of that experience is inking up the pen from the ink bottle.

 

The top of that experience is getting a Faber Castell or a Mont Blanc GLASS bottle, with the heft and weight to it. It is just an overal luxury experience.

 

I also have some Visconti bottles, the new plastic ones, but even though the design is fantastic, the experience feels cheap, compared to inking up the pen with Waterman florida blue still in a glass bottle.

 

Even if the cost increased a $1... it would be understandable, and well worth it by most people, especially in the days of $5 cups of starbucks. What's an extra $5 amortized over the course of a year?

 

There is a difference between being right and being effective. The UGLY plastic pill bottles just reinforce....CHEAP.

 

I had no interest or urge to buy Noodlers inks, for all of the known issues with certain inks, however I may go pick up a few glass bottles.

 

Lol... Cheap inks reserved for my cheap chinese pens.

I totally agree. All prices goes up, everything we buy will be more expensive in the future. The question is just when?

If keeping the glass bottle would have made the ink 1 or 2 dollars more expensive, I don't think many would have objected.

But that's just my humble opinion...

[Ink Stained Wretch]

 

I ended up buying from www.freundcontainer.com, decided on getting 48 (i.e., 4 cases of 12) of the amber 2 ounce "packers", amber to block more UV. Those aren't big enough to replace a 3 ounce Noodler's bottle, of course, nor Diamine 80ml, but when I need to use two, I will use two. I could have gotten these from several other sites for about the same money, but I also wanted the caps with the LDPE cone liner instead of regular foam, as I like this feature on Aurora ink bottles, and Freund had both, also making it easy to be sure I was ordering compatible caps. The cost came in at $1 per bottle+cap, but shipping added another $0.35 per bottle.

 

I won't be replacing all my bottles with these, but most of them. I'll put color swaths on the self-adhesive, printed labels I've prepared. Should be nice.

 

I can understand why people wouldn't like to bother, though. For me this is mainly for fun.

 

Oh, I have bad memories about Freund Bottle, or Container of whatever they're called .

 

Some years ago I had been getting some bottles from Sunburst Bottle Co. All for keeping inks in, of course. On what turned out to be my final purchase they had run out of the plastic cone caps. They said they'd send me some, and that I could just append the caps to the order later. So I did that, and they kept saying they would get them in soon, and I could pay for them when they came in. And then they gave me a date to call in by. Well, on that date I contacted them and it turned out that they had been 100% acquired by the Freund company. The nice lady at Freund Bottle said that they had the plastic cone caps, and she also told me that Freund only shipped via I forget what, but it would cost me something like $15.75 to get the half dozen or dozen caps sent. I think the caps were to have cost a couple of bucks all together. I really can't stand the idea of having to pay a multiple of the cost of an item for the shipping of it, especially since Sunburst Bottle had been fine with sending them USPS which would have cost very little.

 

And so I do not have the caps for my long term storage of ink that I would prefer.

 

I really felt badly treated by the Freund company for not living up to the agreement I'd had with the company they'd acquired. Not friendly of them at all.

[mhosea]

The nice lady at Freund Bottle said that they had the plastic cone caps, and she also told me that Freund only shipped via I forget what, but it would cost me something like $15.75 to get the half dozen or dozen caps sent. I think the caps were to have cost a couple of bucks all together.

Yeah, I noticed that. I got curious and wondered whether I would have saved much by ordering just the caps at Freund and getting the bottles elsewhere. I was astonished to see that the shipping charge would have been $15 and change, just like you say (I don't remember the exact amount). Now, on my order of bottles + caps,I paid $16.88 shipping. Now this is going to annoy you. They didn't ship both orders from the same source! The bottles came from one, and were invoiced separately at a $15.47 shipping charge. The caps came from a different distribution center, a closer one, and were invoiced at $1.41 shipping charge.

[aeba]

It's a interesting thing. At which price point do people expect a glass bottle? And is it price / ml, or is it total price of product? Or does it start as price / ml and change to total price at some point? What about shipping costs?

 

A 2 ml ink sample at USA seller Y start at $1,25 and go to $2,5. I have not seen any one quoestion why they come in plastic sample vial. From the first prices I found, 5 ml plastic sample vials costs $0,095 / piece (lot of 1000 pieces). 4 ml glass sample vials costs ~$0,282$ / piece (lot of 144).

 

The plastic 30 ml Diamine bottles cost £2,35 at British seller X. For that price I still don't expect glass. Now, on USA seller Y they cost $7,5. $0,25 / ml in plastic bottle? That would start to rise my eye brow.

 

With the design (or lack of it) of the glass bottles Noodler's used, I wouldn't care about change to plastic.

[TSherbs]

 

The boxes do nothing for me, whether it is Noodler's inks or the more expensive brands with fancier boxes. They end up as waste once they arrive at my house.

 

The only possible use I see in my usage is as protection during shipping. Since I have received both a Noodler's and a Pilot Iroshizuku bottle which leaked during shipping, I don't know that the box is sufficient protection: the Noodler's bottle was improperly tightened, and the Iroshizuku bottle arrived with a cracked cap. So, maybe the cap is the real issue?

My recent Noodler's purchase came in a plastic bottle and the ink had leaked around an improperly tightened cap onto the inside of the box. None of the ink came outside the box, so the box perhaps contained a messier spill. Makes me wonder if the plastic bottle-to-cap seal is as effective (but I know that this one experience doesn't make a case). But I have never had ink leak from a bottle en route before. So this is one-for-one (first plastic bottle). We'll see.

[white_lotus]

I haven't seen them mentioned here, but SKS Bottle & Packaging also sells glass bottles. They have 2 oz and 4 oz square bottles with black phenolic caps with cone liner.

 

A case of 48 2oz bottles with caps is $44.64

A case of 24 4 oz bottles with caps is $27.12

 

In both cases without shipping added on.

 

I have no association with SKS Bottle & Packaging, but have been a customer of theirs in the past, and had prompt shipping, that was well packaged.

 

If it had ben my business I simply would have switched to 2 oz glass bottles, ordered new boxes, and printed new labels if necessary. An annoyance yes, but glass is truly inert, and I do not trust plastic bottles to fully meet that requirement. I already have at least one OS ink (Blue Merle) that has changed from its original color. While I cannot be certain that the ink itself was stable, it's the only brand I have that is in plastic bottles.

 

I'll probably be ordering a case of 2 oz bottles to transfer them over so I can remove one variable.

[mhosea]

That was more work than I thought it was going to be.

 

[TSherbs]

well, mhosea, that's a lot of bottles of ink!

[Ink Stained Wretch]

That was more work than I thought it was going to be.

 

 

Yeah, looks like a ton of work. Your inks are a lot more organized than mine are. I have most of mine arranged in the ink drawer approximately by color. The ink drawer is the bottom-most drawer in an old, oak roll top desk; it's a double deep drawer. And then there is a box or two with the overflow in no real order whatsoever, except maybe some are chronologically arranged by my sloth at actually arranging them. With my recent purchases I have filled the box I was using, the ink drawer was filled years ago, and now I have five bottles of ink, one a large bottle of Dragon's Napalm, that I need to put someplace. I am currently trying to figure out where to put that newly acquired ink.

 

Being on the wagon was so much easier.