New carbon/pigment ink set to dethrone Platinum Carbon Black?

[Mayo]

11 hours ago, sketchstack said:

 

So far everything that I've come across indicates that a lower price is not on the horizon. Rather, the limited edition accessories are "early adopter" bonus goodies and the regular release will simply omit those items with no difference in price.

 

I'm not sure I've seen this declared outright but I'm looking into the nuances of information and statements made from retail partners. 

 

I should hope they ditch the packaging for the regular release. Felt ridiculous pulling a bottle of ink out of a relatively huge cardboard box. 

From what I've read on the store pages they haven't said anything about the normal edition price, but I very highly doubt it will stay at $60, as that sounds like a counter-productive market strategy... But if it does, I just won't be getting the ink.

[sketchstack]

On 7/1/2023 at 8:11 PM, Mayo said:

From what I've read on the store pages they haven't said anything about the normal edition price, but I very highly doubt it will stay at $60, as that sounds like a counter-productive market strategy... But if it does, I just won't be getting the ink.

 

There was a podcast where a representative of Goldspot said the subsequent release would simply omit the freebies. Furthermore, Goulet Pens has the "regular" bottle listed as arriving in September and the price is still $60.

 

Frankly I see their approach as making perfect sense as they'd want to incentivize early adopters with limited edition freebies --especially it being some of the most expensive ink on the market. Plus they need a pricing disparity vs. the Carbon Black. 

[ridiculopathy]

Based on the product code (INKC-5000), where the numbers have previously been an indication of the price in yen, I also think Chou Kuro regular edition will be $60. 

 

In case anyone hasn’t seen it yet, Platinum’s marketing material for Chou Kuro is now in English: https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/common/img/pdf/chokoku_web(english).pdf 

I do love how earnest they are to prove it is the “blackest black”, to the point of giving us a mini physics lesson  

 

[XYZZY]

7 hours ago, ridiculopathy said:

Based on the product code (INKC-5000), where the numbers have previously been an indication of the price in yen, I also think Chou Kuro regular edition will be $60. 

 

In case anyone hasn’t seen it yet, Platinum’s marketing material for Chou Kuro is now in English: https://www.platinum-pen.co.jp/common/img/pdf/chokoku_web(english).pdf 

I do love how earnest they are to prove it is the “blackest black”, to the point of giving us a mini physics lesson  

 

Thanks for that link.  One thing that stands out about Platinum is that their ad copy is so frequently full of measurements.

 

My primary concern about this ink, even more than the price, is cleaning.  The fact that they say not to use tap water and then underscore that point by including distilled water as one of the freebies...distilled water is easy to get where I live, but I don't want an ink that I have to remember to do something different with when cleaning the pen.  Especially if forgetting to do the special thing is going to create a cleaning headache.  I will be reading of people's experience with this ink for a while before trying it.  

[Mayo]

On 7/3/2023 at 12:20 AM, sketchstack said:

Frankly I see their approach as making perfect sense as they'd want to incentivize early adopters with limited edition freebies --especially it being some of the most expensive ink on the market. Plus they need a pricing disparity vs. the Carbon Black. 

 

I disagree, since the incentive of getting the ink earlier than anyone else and with the fancy bonuses should be enough incentive, and being more expensive than the final product is not a downside for those who want a 'limited edition'. They could have a good price disparity vs carbon black without effectively doubling the price.

 

Shame to hear that the bottle will indeed likely remain at that price tag.

[sketchstack]

Some of you may be interested in the "experiment" I just published regarding this ink: 

 

 

[subtone]

Since last week, Platinum Chou Kuro has been available in Japan in a 60 ml bottle that lists for 5000 yen plus tax. That's just for the ink, without the special box or the distilled water, etc., that made up the special preview set of a few months ago. For comparison, Platinum Carbon Black is 1500 yen for 60 ml.

 

Chou Kuro must be aimed at a specialty market - presumably illustrators - that Platinum believes will pay a premium price for the very blackest of black inks. I don't think Platinum expects to sell much of this ink at that price (and with the extra maintenance burden that they are advising for it) to mainstream fountain pen enthusiasts.

 

[sketchstack]

19 hours ago, subtone said:

 

Chou Kuro must be aimed at a specialty market - presumably illustrators - that Platinum believes will pay a premium price for the very blackest of black inks.

 

 

In my experience this new ink is no different than their Carbon ink which itself is not truly suitable for heavy washes of color. In fact it may be worse considering it has such a concentration of pigment. (I consider an ink suitable for illustration when it disallows any pigment to "lift" from the page when brushed over.)

 

On an aside, Ink Inc presents the clumping (or "scum", as Google translates) in her video. She's very thorough and in general makes excellent videos:

 

 

[ridiculopathy]

nibs.com is selling it for $48 (MSRP still $60). So the price did decrease…it’s now rather expensive instead of ridiculously expensive. (As a comparison, it’s the same price per mL as a Montblanc Special Edition ink.) 

 

People are willing to deal with a lot of maintenance hassle to use, say, Baystate Blue; we shall see how many FP users are just as passionate about their black ink!

[amberleadavis]

On 6/28/2023 at 11:43 AM, Frank C said:

I just ordered two bottles of each color from Stilo & Stile in Italy. The total with shipping by mail was €76.42. $83.45 at today's exchange rate. They said that it will arrive in 14-25 days to the USA. I'll keep you informed. I ordered two bottles of each because I have to share with my local ink aficionado, @amberleadavis. If she likes a bottle of ink that I show her, I never get it back. I do get something in return, so it is not a total loss. 

 

 

  Thank you for sharing your ink with me.

[arcfide]

Here's another review:

 

 

[ridiculopathy]

And another review! From Inky Rocks:

 

 

She does a stress test mixing it with mineral water that had interesting results. 

 

I think I will end up buying it, apropo, on Black Friday (hopefully there will be some sort of sale).

 

[liapuyat]

On 6/29/2023 at 1:12 AM, sketchstack said:

 

Twsuwairo is hard to find outside of Japan, in my experience, but even after shipping costs it may not be a terrible option to the new Platinum Ink. 

 

Tswuairo = ~$8 US for 30ml

Platinum Chou Kuro = $60 US for 60ml

 

I'm not suggesting it's 1:1 after shipping costs are factored in but the pricing is so disparate that the Pilot ink may still make sense in certain case (such as adding a bottle into an existing order). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsuwairo is available from Everything Calligraphy in the Philippines, for Php849 or roughly USD15 at today's exchange rate. 

[nibtip]

45 minutes ago, liapuyat said:

Tsuwairo is available from Everything Calligraphy in the Philippines, for Php849 or roughly USD15 at today's exchange rate. 

12$ at stiloestile.it

[Karmachanic]

Tsuwairo.  Be sure to read the don't list before using/purchasing.

[SpecTP]

I just got a bottle from Goulet.. looking forward to trying it

[RJS]

On 6/28/2023 at 7:12 PM, sketchstack said:

 

Twsuwairo is hard to find outside of Japan, in my experience, but even after shipping costs it may not be a terrible option to the new Platinum Ink. 

 

Tswuairo = ~$8 US for 30ml

Platinum Chou Kuro = $60 US for 60ml

 

I'm not suggesting it's 1:1 after shipping costs are factored in but the pricing is so disparate that the Pilot ink may still make sense in certain case (such as adding a bottle into an existing order). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you ever buy this ink? I got the Blue version and I'm very impressed. The most surprising thing happened when I accidentally left the lid off overnight... I came back to my desk expecting it to be horribly dried up, worse than a dye based ink, but to my surprise it wrote perfectly without even hard starting!!

[sketchstack]

Yes, I have a bottle of each color. The black is pretty good, the blue is great. The blue-black is perhaps my least favorite of the group. The color is a bit dull to me. My preference for a deep blue pigment ink would be one of Sailor's offerings or Kakimori.