Cheap Ink Cartridges

[bob_hayden]

Jinhao

 

As you might surmise from David's review, the default size for Jinhao cartridges is medium and the default colors are black and blue. I would rate the black as a perfectly OK black that is relatively cheap. The blue is more interesting, with a slight grey tinge not always evident, and not clear in my scans. When it shows it makes this a very interesting blue. I have not seen the violet tinge David mentioned.

 

I also have not found these inks to be as agreeable. They remind me a lot of the Thornton inks (link in the first post in this thread) in three ways. First, anything with blue in it seems to be rather unstable in color, though probably not as much so. Second, the colors are very similar, with the main difference that I have not seen any grey in the Thornton Blue. Lastly, I have had lots of problems with pens filled with these inks refusing to write after being unused for a few days. I did not keep careful records, and so it is hard for me to sort out how much of this was the frequency of the ink drying out, and how much of it was the fact that these episodes were made more memorable by the difficulty of getting the ink flowing again. The medium length cartridges are made out of stiff plastic and I can't squeeze them enough to get the ink to flow. I have to rely on shaking the pen, and this often does not do the trick, or makes a mess. The cartridges may be all the stiffer due to the plug in the closed end which is about a quarter of an inch long. That makes the cartridge more stiff, and may also be part of the reason why David did not find these to contain more ink than short international cartridges.

 

Given the problems I have had with these inks in the medium cartridges (little data yet on the long international) I find them more trouble than they are worth. The Thornton Blue and their Black in short international cartridges work better for me, are easier to get flowing if they do stop, and cost a lot less. The Manuscript cartridges are about the same price as Jinhao, and have been more trouble-free for me than either Thornton or Jinhao.

 

Other than that I am in agreement with David's review and found it and the scans/pictures helpful. I also agreed with the response that suggested the black tended to go to blue-black under some circumstances.

 

 

 

[bob_hayden]

Jinhao Colored Inks

 

Jinhao also offers colored inks in short international cartridges. The standard package is six; two each of red, green, and brown. Price is $1.60 postpaid from China per box which is just slightly higher than the blue or black cartridges. All three colors are just fine with my only complaint being a slight bluish tinge to the green. I wish someone would offer these in lots of, say, ten boxes, at a reduced price. The quantity-of-one price puts it at about the level of Manuscript inks, compared to which I would say the red and brown are a draw while the Manuscript green is even bluer. However, in both brands you can only get colors in assortments, so your choice may depend on whether you can use the other colors included.

 

The scan shows inks purchased recently except for the line of "old" blue ink which is nominally the same ink but purchased long ago.

[bob_hayden]

Gullor Inks

 

These come in seven colors: purple, red, green, blue, dark blue, black, and brown. They are packed in boxes of five of the same color. The cartridges look just like the medium length Jinhao cartridges, even down to the long plug in the end. Unlike the JInhao colored ink for which the entire cartridge is the color of the ink, with these the end plug is the color of the ink. One vendor says they fit Jinhao, Baoer, and Gullor pens. As Jinhao and Baoer are products of a single company, I suspect suspect that same company makes the Gullor inks. The color selection is similar except that Gullor offers brown and two shades of blue. I only have tested five of the colors and do not know if the blue I got is considered dark or light. On paper they look the same as the corresponding Jinhao inks (when there is one) except for the green which is much lighter and more yellow. Others have commented at FPN on how light the green is so it isn't just me;-)

 

Although the cartridges are boxed with just one color per box, on eBay they are usually sold as seven boxes, one of each color. The real deal breaker for these cartridges, though, is the price, which is more than Jinhao and even more than KaWeCo bought in quantity. The only color I found sold by itself was brown, which makes sense as there is no competition from Jinhao on that color. However, the price is even higher per cartridge than the seven box assortment. I would favor the KaWeCo brown if you want all brown cartridges. Or the bulk, loose brown cartridges from USA Outlet Store on eBay of which more later.

[bob_hayden]

Manuscript Ink Cartridges Follow-Up

 

It's been a month since I posted my review of these so I decided to do a very stringent test -- see if any of the pens still inked would write. The answer is that only the two A&W pens started right up without considerable coaxing. I would give the credit to the pens rather than the colors in them -- those pens always write. (Which should embarrass the big name pen makers as the A&Ws cost $5-7US.) Four weeks is a long time so I do not see this performance as especially bad.

 

What was discouraging was that in two pens the ink had dried out entirely, and in two pens the cartridge split out when I squeezed it to get the ink flowing. So my advice is to use these for short projects or heavy writing assignments.

 

There was no significant color change compared to the "Later" notes on my scan except for the purple that is now a grape color -- much more blue than initially. I wondered if this was due to some water or ink left in the test pen, so I tried a fresh cartridge in another pen. This gave the same magenta shade as the first cartridge gave at first. So it appears Manuscript purple is a moving target like Thornton Turquoise.

[tamiya]

haha was intrigued by your "A&W pens" first thought it was an abbreviated brandname then found your old thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/119251-aw-fountain-pens/

 

sadly no relation to The Root Beer bear huh? love A&W, tastes better than Dad's or Mug!

[bob_hayden]

Yeah, but the pens are not particularly tasty;-) They sure do work well, though! Somebody else must think so as they go for about three times their original price on eBay now.

[bob_hayden]

Sino-Soviet Red

 

I grew up during the Cold War. China and the Soviet Union were ruled by Communists whom Americans called "reds". That was the context some time ago when I saw some curious ink cartridges on eBay. They were from a Chinese vendor but everything on the boxes seemed to be written in Russian. And of course the color was red.

They were quite inexpensive so my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered some. Just recently I noticed similar cartridges of black ink. In conjunction with this thread I decided to see what else was out there. You can do the same by searching eBay for

 

60PCS Standard International Fountain Pen Ink Cartridges Refills

A few days ago, I found red and black plus blue ink marked up in French. (All language identifications are guesses and corrections are welcome.) Today red is missing. Price for all colors has been $9US for 60 cartridges which I think is cheaper than everything reviewed in this thread so far except for Thornton (which offers the same three colors at low prices). I tried only the red. It is slightly pale, slightly orange, and slightly dirty. I did a scan but on two different monitors the scan looks more pink and misses the oranges and the dirt so I don't think there is any point in posting it. I don't think it will be anyone's favorite shade of red, but for tasks like editing manuscripts or grading student work it will do the job at a very reasonable price. I have not used it much but have had no problems so far.

[bob_hayden]

PS on Bleed Through

 

Elsewhere

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/315748-loose-leaf-notebook-filler-paper-bleed-through-battle/?p=3739236

 

I did some paper tests and found to my surprise that Manuscript's bright pink showed very little bleed through -- second only to Noodler's Anti-Feather. Also quite good were the Manuscript Grey, KaWeCo Black, Thornton Blue, and Schneider Green.

[LizB]

I got a box of the Manuscript, 'Creative Collection' I think it was called, with an assortment of colours. Not had a chance to try many, but the yellow is attractive.

 

[bob_hayden]

The phrase "Creative Collection" sounds familiar but I do not see it on the packaging. In fact, the packaging is very uninformative! It does not list the colors in words, just with colored dots. My review did not mention a yellow, but one of the dots certainly looks yellow. To me the ink looked orange on the page so that is what I called it. On my monitor your scan appears to be between yellow and what I called "orange". It looks like you wrote with a fairly wide nib, which would help with legibility. I still have to strain with your grocery list, but then my eyesight is not so great. But if that color works for you, that's all that counts!-)

[LizB]

Bob, apologies, they are just called Creative cartridges. I imagined the 'collection' bit.

http://www.calligraphy.co.uk/shop/creative-cartridges-pack-of-30.html

[bob_hayden]

Bob, apologies, they are just called Creative cartridges. I imagined the 'collection' bit.

http://www.calligraphy.co.uk/shop/creative-cartridges-pack-of-30.html

 

I think you imagined very well!-) They should hire you for their marketing department!

[Arkanabar]

When I have trouble getting a pen to flow, even though it has ink in it, I do not shake the pen. I lift it about half the length of my pinkie finger, leaving the heel of my palm on the writing surface, drop it straight down on the paper, and repeat until little dots of ink appear where the nib point lands.

 

This is safer with a pad, safer still with a stitched composition book, and even safer yet with a 3-ring binder full of self-punched salvage paper, which tends not to stack as tightly as the stuff you buy. The nibs on most modern, inexpensive pens are nails, so this is quite safe for them (and also for any Esties equipped with Manifold nibs). I wouldn't do this for anything particularly flexy, and certainly not with a wet noodle, but I've probably done it to my Pelikan M200 without harm. The weight of the pen obviously will play a role in the potential for damage.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Arkanabar

[bob_hayden]

eBay sellers majus and USA Outlet Store

 

These eBay sellers have been on eBay for years and have been the main source of bulk fountain pen ink cartridges at low prices. Prices are as low as ten cents a cartridge in lots of 200 or about one tenth the cost of name brand. The cartridges are unbranded and usually arrive in ziplock bags. You can choose from about ten colors which are pretty much the same as the other cheap cartridge vendors except that USA Outlet Stores offers burgundy (or "burgandy" as they spell it) which is quite unusual for cheap ink suppliers. The two sellers look quite similar but are very different behind the scenes.

USA Outlet Store

This looks like a small business offering a very odd assortment of goods. It reminds me of some non-chain dollar stores I have been in, so finding fountain pen ink here in any form is a surprise. They have a 100% positive feedback rating from their customers which is unusual for any volume seller on eBay. They normally sell ink in lots of 40 or 70 cartridges of the same color though you can at times find lots of 12 or 100. They come only in short international size. Long ago I bought at least a few of every color except the Royal Blue they list in their ads (though I do not see it for sale at this time). Most colors were pretty generic -- I won't go into detail as the sample is from so long ago. I also purchased the "Burgandy" ink in larger quantities. It's not my favorite burgundy but it's OK and much cheaper than the competition. I have never had any problem of any kind with the vendor or the inks

"majus"

This seller has had accounts under a number of similar names -- majus74 in 2013 and majus7777 last month. The business is a one man show on the side by someone whose day job involves frequent travel between the US of A and Europe. Shipping time is highly variable depending on which side of the Atlantic the seller happens to be located in at the time you place your order. Typical quantity is 80 for short international cartridges or 30 for either Lamy/Parker or Waterman/long international though you may find lots of 200 for the shorter cartridges (which gives the best price per cartridge). This is the only vendor that lets you micromanage colors. I ordered 200 and specified 39 each of the colors I liked in 2013 and one each of the colors I did not. Not only was this odd request honored (and I paid the "per 200" price) but I even received a few extra cartridges to try. I have never had any problem of any kind with the vendor or the inks. I get prompt responses to any issues or questions I might have, always in clear English. I compared the 2013 Lamy and Waterman style cartridges to the short internationals and found no differences. The 2016 shorts were sometimes darker than 2013. The only change in hue was with the purple which used to be much bluer. Attached far below is a scan of the current inks with comments immediately below.

Black

Perfectly OK but a bit on the light side, though darker in 2016 than 2013 (not shown). The pen was left sitting for a week and stated immediately. The color was the same as when first inked.

Blue

Similar to Thornton and Jinhao Blue though it did not darken as much as Thornton just sitting in the pen.
After a week it was hard to start in one pen but not in another.

Purple

Purple is on the magenta side, less blue than most of the other purples covered in this thread.

Red

Rich and similar to Thornton and recent Parker reds.

Pink

Pale, this is marginal for writing letters. This and the orange (and the USA Outlet Store ink from long ago) may have been intended more for highlighting.

Orange

Pale to the point of illegibility on paper. In the scan it looks darker than the pick but the opposite is true on paper. (This is the only time I felt the scan was off.)

Brown

Dark chocolate with hints of black or grey but not of red or orange or yellow.

Turquoise

Pretty generic

Green

Darker and more saturated than most and without a blue cast. My favorite of the lot.

Summary

Except for the pale pink and orange, these inks all seemed fine. The blue was the only one to be really difficult to start after sitting for a week, but that was in a pen of unknown quantity That I did not order yet received anonymously from China. In another pen it started right up after a week.

Edited December 11, 2016 by bob_hayden

[bob_hayden]

Summary

 

The ink shipping season is over here in New Hampshire so posts may be few and far between until Spring. Here is a rough summary though it is hard to make generalizations as prices may depend on quantity or color, and some of the individual inks have particular drawbacks or advantages.

 

Price per cartridge in US of A cents

 

Thornton 6.5

majus 10

USA OUtlet Store 13.5

Jinhao 14

Sino Soviet 15

Manuscript 18

KaWeCo 29

Schneider 33

Gullor 35

 

Thornton is just ridiculously cheap but the black is very trouble prone and only the red and blue are available at this low price (or an assortment). These low prices also look like they may be clearance prices that could disappear at any moment. majus is a bit more but more flexible on colors and has been offering these ow prices for years and the quality seems more consistent than Thornton. Of the inks in the teens, the USA Outlet Store and Manuscript seem to offer better quality than the Chinese inks. Up around 30 cents the Gullor seems quite overpriced. The German inks may offer the best quality among these though I honestly cannot see any difference over majus at one-third the price. At least they are established brand names in the West.

[titrisol]

I found a 12 pack of Manuscript sepia for $1 a while back, and I love it!

One of the millenials in the office (I gave them all jinhao pens) bought some cheap chinese cartridges (Gullor), the dark blue is quite decent

Edited December 11, 2016 by titrisol

[bob_hayden]

Hero Ink from China

 

Back when I planned this project I intended to include Hero ink cartridges, but that proved easier said than done. First I ordered some of the 359 cartridges made to fit the Hero 359 pens. These cartridges are of an intermediate size between standard short and long international cartridges. Most Jinhao cartridges are of this size. However, unlike the Jinhaos, the 359s have a nipple sized like Lamy and Parker cartridges. I ordered these with black ink. Then, to cover all the bases I knew of, I ordered ordered similar Hero cartridges in blue and blue-black. These never arrived, and when I complained the seller resent them. Total time from ordering to delivery was over three months. None of these ink cartridges have the ink color marked on the package in English, and the second batch made me suspect that the "black" cartridges I had received earlier were in fact blue-black. Checking photos on eBay confirmed that, as did later writing tests.

 

Performing the writing tests proved to be a challenge. As with the Thornton Lamy-style cartridges, these proved very hard to puncture. In one case the attempt drove the feed out of the section with enough force to send it flying. In another case the punctured cartridge failed to stay on the feed. It took several trials to find a pen that it would adhere to.

 

Once I got ink on paper, the two colors behaved very differently. The blue-black was a pale bluish-grey, hard to get flowing, and felt very dry -- as though the ink had no lubricating ingredients at all. Writing with it felt unpleasant in all three pens. On eBay one can find bottled Hero blue-black ink under three or more model numbers, one of which is reputed to be an iron gall ink. I am not an expert on those but the odd behavior of this ink leaves me wondering if it belongs to that club.

 

The blue ink was a Crayola blue, not as dark as some gourmet inks, but darker than many classic blues and royal blues. This was initially quite wet, but unlike the blue-black, was hard to get flowing again three days later.

 

In quantities of 60, the 359 ink is about 11.6 US cents per cartridge, which is cheaper than all the other options except for majus and Thornton -- except those brands do not offer blue-black. So these are a bargain if you really need blue-black and don't mind their unfriendly manner. It seems odd that the inexpensive inks do not generally come in blue-black, since when I was young that was the standard color of ink in business -- ink the color of ink.

 

The blue is more appealing as an ink, with a nice color and good feel, but it costs more -- about 15 cents US per cartridge. But Thornton, Jinhao, majus, and USA Outlet Store all offer cheaper blue inks.

 

For me the Hero inks are not worthwhile for general use due to their cost/performance ratio but might fit the special needs of somebody somewhere.

 

[bob_hayden]

Yesterday I accidentally found another eBay seller bringing cheap bulk ink cartridges from Europe to the US of A. You can find them on eBay if you search for

 

BLUE INK CARTRIDGES TIGER BRAND

 

These are in poly bags with cardboard across the top with a hole to hang them up on a display in a 5 and 10 (if there are any left). Prices are below the tubs of 100 I mentioned earlier, but above what you would pay for blue ink from Thornton, majus, or USAoutletstore -- mainly due to the high cost of shipping from Europe. (Blue is the only color I saw for these. Keep in mind that blue inks targeted toward school use tend to be made to be easy to clean up if the kiddies make a mess, which in turn often means they are non-permanent and tend to fade.)

[tamiya]

You should test them with Ink Iradicator, Bob... most school blues get erased, but a few don't.

[bob_hayden]

The ink shipping season is over here in New Hampshire, and I already have more blue ink than I know what to do with, so I think I will leave that test to others.-) My only regret right now is that I did not get to test recent cartridges from USA Outlet Store. Maybe in the Spring! In the meantime I hope others will test any bargains they run across and add their results to this thread. Maybe someone from down under where it is Spring.