Cost Analysis Of Fountain Pen Ink Vs. Ballpoint

[RKSMT]

My comments about collections of inks and pens being inefficient weren't a knock on either of those things; I consider fps to be comfortable, interesting, and fun, which justifies them in spite of any inefficiency they may (or may not) have.

 

I didn't consider you were knocking either of them. I was just making the point that you should not have to cover the cost of the pen with the saving of the ink to make the pen purchase worth it, nor should you only buy the amount of ink you will actually use. A more than adequate fountain pen could be got around the fifty-sixty dollar range, that really is your upfront cost of for never having to buy another pen, for a much more enjoyable writing experience, and one (which it looks like its heading in that direction) that will make your writing less expensive from then on. Now if you don't care about any of those things and just want the cheapest writing scenario, you really only have to cover around fifty dollars worth of cost even if you buy a Montblanc 149, because when you buy a Montblanc 149 you're really paying fifty dollars for a pen and nine hundred and fifty for a piece of jewelry. If you want what you use to write to be more than just a pen, you have to pay more and again that's not money your spending to be able to write with a fountain pen. Also with the ink, there is nothing wrong with having a lot of ink and being a collector in pens or ink, but when you're buying all that ink you know your paying extra to have variety, to play around with different colors, or simply be a collector, that's not a cost of writing. Same think with expensive ink, you're not paying to write, your paying so that your writing can shimmer or shade or sparkle, and its also a piece of jewelry when its a beautiful bottle you want to proudly display on your desk. All these things should not factor into a comparison or rather a discussion on which is better or a cheaper writing experience, fountain pens or disposable pens.

Edited November 24, 2015 by RKSMT

[amberleadavis]

Also, I've picked up some great little fountain pens - brand new - for $1 on ebay.

 

Since you are talking about a BIC and not an MB ballpoint, you don't need to include an expensive fountain pen in your equations, if you include the cost of the pen at all.

[fpenluver]

From experience more expensive than bic stic, but cheaper than rollerball. Gel pen is the worst offender. Some gel pens actually only last as long as single ink refill for fountain pen.

 

Other expensive one is fine liner. If you do a lot of notetaking it will probably only last for 1-2 days (of school). Again, the same as single refill for fountain pen. Good fine liner cost approximately $2-$3 each.

 

At one point in my school year, I used those fineliners. Terribly expensive. So, I swapped to mars matic technical pen. 1 bottle of ink last for about 6-12 months. Cost about $20 for a bottle, but much better than 3-4 fineliners a week.

[JuInd]

Fisher Spacepen has a special version which has enough ink to write for more than 10-20 years, I think; it costs around $150 - $180. At least one can use this special pen when the temperature drops down below 0 degree (it doesn't matter whether it's C or F).

[NORVIN]

Best of both worlds

 

http://noodlersink.com/konrad-roller-ball-series/

[Bo Bo Olson]

When I got back to fountain pens, I gathered up over 200 free ball points, and some were real nice. So ball points are much cheaper than fountain pens in they are free. The sticks in the cheap ones can be put in the better ones.

 

So for most, ball points are better than fountain pens.

 

I still have not bought a new Parker cartridge for a Jotter....they are still just as expensive as in the old days of the late '50's....beer money expensive.

 

How some ever, my hand writing disintegrated so much under ball points I had to print to read it my self. I can now if I write slow...read my own hand writing.

When I take a ball point in my hand, with in a word....my hand writing becomes hard for me to read....shaky like I'm 93....or have other mental problems.

Fountain pens beats taking odd pills to cure handwriting problems.

 

I was over looking at Boss on the Wall, and they have ball points or roller balls where one pays with in 10-15E, as much as a fountain pen....Why?...when there are so many free ones..................ah....forgot Status...will make one spend lots of money on a name ball point....instead of using free ones. Sigh, cubed.

And no fancy ball point ink colors, in we are living in the Golden Age of Fountain Pen Inks.

Of course ball points write well on Moleskine. Another status product.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[ian1964]

I found a happy comprimise I think. I put a Parker Gel refil into my Parker Facet BallPen. It has the convenience but writes so much better than a ball point pen. It is also asthetically pleasing. The refil has lasted months and was only about $7 (Australian).

[lovemypen]

Here in India writing with a fountain pen is cheaper. Here fountain pen inks are dirt cheap. Camlin and Bril sold ink bottles 60 ml for Rs.20 that means 2oz for $0.3(US). And Bril royal blue ink is comparable to any international brands. One US dollar is 67 Indian rupees. Even though it is dirt cheap using of fountain pen in India is very low. It is not the cost it is a question of convenience.

[Arkanabar]

Make no mistake, people do pay for the convenience of a disposable item, and they are rarely, if ever, as cheap in the long term.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The ballpoint pen line of ink is not solid, it's really a bunch of lines where some ink has come off that ball. The fountain pen line of ink is usually filled. The fountain pen line is more easily seen than the ballpoint line.

 

Right there we have a superior writing instrument in the fountain pen.

 

I have noticed that ballpoint writings from about half a century ago frequently have migrated a bit as the oil that the ink is carried by spreads out on the paper. Fountain pen ink is water based and the water is gone very soon after the ink has been put on the paper. Some fountain pen inks will fade over half a century, but there are plenty that will not.

 

We've all noticed that shoving a ballpoint across a page becomes painful in short order. It will also produce a bump on the middle finger of the hand that holds the ballpoint pen as the bone in that spot reacts to the added pressure over the years.

 

Fountain pens would have to be very expensive for me to want to use ballpoints for my writing. And I wouldn't write nearly as much then.

 

I view trying to get most people to go from their ballpoints, which they really hardly use anyway, to fountain pens to be on the same level with getting most people to pay attention to their grammar and spelling. They won't do it and it's not worth expending much effort in order to try and get them to.