Anyone Tried 5280 Inks?

[chromantic]

Came across these on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5280-Fountain-Pen-Ink-Bottle-Set-Features-11-Different-Colors/273032430865?hash=item3f92004511:g:c5kAAOSwDVtaYhcg

 

Some of the colors look interesting, was wondering if anyone has tried them.

[KLscribbler]

No, I haven't. Much as I love trying out inks, I am a busy, productive working adult, and simply do not have the free time to try over five thousand inks.

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist! )

 

And back to serious matters - no, I haven't tried that brand of ink before. It's interesting that the seller notes the inks were made in Slovenia, in the same factory that produces modern Sheaffer Skrip. Wonder if that's actually true.

[bob_hayden]

I tried the blue-black. It was pretty pale. Not quite as much so as the last generation of USA Sheaffer Blue-Black, but paler than most modern blue-blacks. In particular, it is paler and bluer than the current Sheaffer Blue-Black which I think is made at the same plant in Slovenia. I was disappointed and so have not used it much but I have no complaints other than the color not being to my taste.

[chromantic]

​Thanks, Bob. Some of the colors look interesting - Fire Red, mainly, but Burgundy and Orange Crush, too - and the prices are certainly reasonable, but I just got KWZ Red so that should be ok for a dark-ish red (haven't had a chance to try it yet).

[amberleadavis]

Those match the Thornton bottles.

 

Bob, did you compare?

[Barkingpig]

5280 is the name of a pen sold by Colorado Pen & a google search yielded it had been the "house brand" for a line of pens for Paradise Pen. Colorado Pens doesn't show any inks with the "5280" designation but have a line of inks called, "Liquid Velvet" & appear to share similar names to the Monteverde inks.

 

It is always interesting to see inks, "new" to us, but even nicer to find the Ebay Seller ( from listing for this inK) also offers each bottle for sale in other listings.

[chromantic]

Here's an ebay link to a complete set that has a picture with small swabs of each of the colors.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5280-Fountain-Pen-Ink-Bottle-Set-Features-11-Different-Colors/273032430865?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D51377%26meid%3Ded97dc5b42974481a6b01b937ee7c884%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D263099601844%26itm%3D273032430865&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A1d03492a-4cbb-11e8-9703-74dbd180aa15%7Cparentrq%3A1865d2e01630a861f021e6f3ffffdc1e%7Ciid%3A1

You can see the sort of washed out look of the blue/black that Bob described but the others look more substantial.

Edited April 30, 2018 by chromantic

[bob_hayden]

Amberlea, I only got the blue-black from 5280. AFAIK Thornton did not make a BB so Sheaffer seemed the obvious one to compare. I think all three are made by the same company.

[sketchstack]

I came across these inks on Amazon. If you search "5280 pen" you'll see there is a whole range of label-less bottles. I have plenty of inks so I won't likely take the plunge but it seems interesting nonetheless.

 

http://a.co/9MyEiSP

[pitonyak]

I was just looking at their ink a few days ago... I decided to pass since I have so many other inks that I have not yet tried.

[ErrantSmudge]

I also have too many inks I have not yet tried.

 

Who will be the official FPN envoy to try these inks and review them? Please step forward!

Edited May 14, 2018 by ErrantSmudge

[bob_hayden]

Perhaps there are volunteers to try just one of the inks? I did my part with blue-black ;-)

 

On the whole, though, this ink may be meeting a demand that does not exist. Near as I can make out it's a house brand for a pen store that's gone out of business. So I would expect a bargain price for a house brand and an even lower price for a discontinued item. But in fact the price per ounce is above Sheaffer, Diamine, or Private Reserve, just to mention three reputable brand names that are likely to be around for a while. The Thornton inks were a similar house brand in similar bottles from the same plant in Slovenia and they ended up being cleared out at bargain prices -- around $2.50 a bottle in quantity. And they come in boxes and have labels!-)

[pitonyak]

And that Mr. Bob Hayden, is exactly why I chose to not take the plunge. I have been finding so many great inks (such as Private Reserve Tanzanite) that I could not bring myself to try a total unknown. Well stated, by the way <tip hat to Bob, well, if I wore a hat>.

[ErrantSmudge]

Agreed, I think Boy Hayden hit the nail on the head.

 

That said, I'm now getting an urge to buy the set the next time EBay runs one of their "15% off sitewide" flash sales.

[tropicalwitch]

Gotta admit, I'm now interested in trying Orange Crush.

[Bibliophage]

I bought a bottle of Orange Crush for my niece, along with a Jinhao 599, and she really liked the colour, and it apparently is a very smooth flowing, wet line with that pen. (She loves orange. So, I gave her an orange blank book, orange pen, and orange ink for the orange pen.)

 

I cracked open my Majestic Purple today, specifically because of this thread, and inked up a Wing Sung 3008. I had bought some medium nibs, so I decided to try it. VERY smooth. Not heavily saturated, no, but then I want a readable ink. I have no interest in a purple ink that tries to be black. This is just.. very purple. As a comparison (sort of), I have Camlin blue ink in another 3008 with a F nib - it's probably mostly because of the nib, but definitely a bit more scritchy on the paper I use. (Copy paper. They're time sheets)

 

Personally, I think it's worth the $7 for a 30ml bottle. Diamine Bilberry Purple is running $11 for a 30ml bottle, so it's not like the 5280 is that overpriced. Even the cheap Diamine I was looking for ran about $8 for a bottle.

 

 

[Bibliophage]

Additional information.

 

It appears that Thornton, 5280, and Manuscript (manuscript.co.uk) are all the same ink. Not just the bottles, but the Thornton cartridge packs I bought match the Manuscript cartridge packs.

[bob_hayden]

Thornton, 5280, Manuscript, current Sheaffer, and probably a variety of other inks are made at the same factory in Slovenia. They also package cartridges for Private Reserve. But I would need more evidence to declare them "the same". In particular the Sheaffer inks have earned a reputation for safety and reliability while the Thornton inks are at the opposite end of the spectrum both in my experience and in the many complaints found online.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/302389-thornton-ink/

 

My experience with 5280 is more limited: I tried the two colors not available from Thornton and was disappointed in the colors and so have used them very little. I have not had any issues with the inks in that limited use. The blue-black is discussed above and the burgundy here in posts 442 and 443.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/279353-inky-t-o-d-color-swatches-violet-purple-please-post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/page-23

 

I also tried the Manuscript cartridges which seemed very similar to Thornton but with much better quality control (Post 3).

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/314342-cheap-ink-cartridges/

 

My main issue with the 5280 inks is that many Diamine colors are available on eBay for about the same price. Sheaffer is about the same price per ounce but costs more per bottle because the bottles hold more. Diamine is cheaper per ounce in the 80 ml bottles and offers a wider range of colors. Personally I would go with the well known brands at the same or lower price.

[Bibliophage]

For me, I'd prefer to use the 30ml bottles, just because I don't go through ink _that_ fast. So I don't tend to look at the prices on the larger bottles.

 

The Thornton purple looks just like the 5280 Purple, if that helps. (From Thornton's disposable fountain pen line)

[Ted A]

As someone pointed out, 5280 was a house brand for Paradise pens. I bought a bottle of Paradise blue black shortly before they closed. The clerk said the Paradise inks were made by Private Reserve.