Ink Vial Storage Solutions

[Alogusz]

Most people here have seen the small 5ml plastic vials, often used to ship ink samples.

 

Another user just posted a holder for the small plastic ink vials that are commonly used to ship ink samples.

 

If you have the scrap wood and drill press, this is a nice and simple project.

 

 

I mainly use these vials to transfer ink from the bottles and refill my pen from them.

 

I was ordering some stuff from US Plastics and saw that they carry some of the stuff that commonly used in the fountain pen hobby:

the small vials (by the case),

small vials individually,

and the pipettes to fill them.

 

The shipping was expensive (around $16) so I decided to make the most of my order.

 

The small ink vials that everyone uses are about 5 ml and around 15 cm in diameter.

 

I ordered a larger 180 ml vial.

 

It holds 3 vials with the cap on, so you can use it to store a few vials for travel, keep them from getting lost, etc. 

You could fill the leftover space with tissue or foam to keep the bottles from rattling around inside.

 

What I did with one of these large vials is to turn it into a vial holder to use while refilling to keep the vial from tipping over.

 

I used some foam that I had lying around.

I used the stiffer white foam for the top and bottom and the softer black foam wrapped around the vial.

 

 

Since these vials are actually laboratory equipment, there are commercially available "test tube" racks.

 

I ordered two different racks off of Amazon.

 

A larger two piece holder, and a smaller one piece holder.

 

The larger rack holds the vials with enough space to take the cap off and allow you to fill the pen.

The one piece holder hold the vials, but doesn't leave a lot of space when you take the cap off.

It will work fine as just a vial holder, but one workaround would be to put something inside the rack to push the vials above the opening if you want to use it to hold the vial while refilling.

 

Some other stuff that I have that hold vials are battery holders.

One is a silicone battery holder for 18650 rechargeable batteries, commonly used in weapon lights, flashlights and vapes.

The other is a plastic battery holder for CR123 batteries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Very interesting.  Thanks for posting the info.  

Unfortunately, a lot of what you found do NOT have the capacity for the number of sample vials a lot of us have....  (As an example I have about 8 of the type of racks you can generally get at Goulet Pens or Anderson Pens (which hold about 40-50 vials) -- and I STILL need more of them.... 

As for the larger vial holding three of the 5 ml ones, that's a really neat idea, although I generally use a small plastic ziplock bag (snack size or sandwich size, depending) for travel purposes.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[OCArt]

A long time ago a poster here suggested shotgun shell holders for these ink vials. I ordered one, a plastic case that holds 20 or so vials, from Amazon and am very pleased with it. Sadly I can’t remember if it was for 16 or 20 gauge shells. Perhaps a hunter can clarify. 

[TheRealOG]

4 hours ago, OCArt said:

A long time ago a poster here suggested shotgun shell holders for these ink vials. I ordered one, a plastic case that holds 20 or so vials, from Amazon and am very pleased with it. Sadly I can’t remember if it was for 16 or 20 gauge shells. Perhaps a hunter can clarify. 

 

 

I like MTM cases, which I used for many years for their original purpose, which is the storage and transportation of ammo. I was never a big fan of shooting shotguns, so I don't have any shotshell cases, but based on some quick measurements of an ink sample purchased from Goulet, I'd surmise that a typical 12ga box would be best. The body measures .615", which is spot on 20ga, but the cap measures .830" which is .100" larger than the bore of a 12ga. While a box designed for the smaller shells might work, they might be too tight for the caps to fit next to each other. 

 

This one is probably about right: https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Round-Shotshell-Clear-Smoke/dp/B000Q06A76

 

Alas, I only have about three or four ink sample vials and have no intention of buying more, so I won't be buying that box to determine fitment. 

 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

14 hours ago, OCArt said:

A long time ago a poster here suggested shotgun shell holders for these ink vials. I ordered one, a plastic case that holds 20 or so vials, from Amazon and am very pleased with it. Sadly I can’t remember if it was for 16 or 20 gauge shells. Perhaps a hunter can clarify. 

 

I used those for a while, then switched to acrylic lipstick cases.  They don't have lids, and though the shell holders stack better, I needed to see what I had out in the open.

[PJohnP]

13 hours ago, TheRealOG said:

I like MTM cases, which I used for many years for their original purpose, which is the storage and transportation of ammo....

 

This one is probably about right: https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Round-Shotshell-Clear-Smoke/dp/B000Q06A76

 

I have two of these boxes in an opaque hunting green (why expose ink to excessive light ?).  The boxes I have are a little different than the ones referenced, but here is an example on eBay :

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314797051978

 

They are excellent for plastic sample vials, but do not fit the (slightly) larger glass vials (2 and 4 dram) that I have used for many years.  Aside from a rectangular grid fitting, the individual shell spots have vertical guides to keep shells centred that make the individual spots just a little too restricted in diameter for the vials to fit.  Taller 4 dram glass vials are a few millimeters too tall for the top to close.

 

I can't comment for those folks who have vast numbers of plastic vials, but the shotshell boxes would be ideal for secure transportation or where the potential is high for individual vials to be knocked over or off a shelf.  With twenty-five spaces per box, two boxes would suffice for a pen show or meeting to trade samples.

 

 

 

John P.

[kestrel]

I have used these for years and find them quite useful. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/MTM-Multi-Gauge-Round-Shotshell/dp/B000LC7WTO/ref=sr_1_25?keywords=MTM+Case-Gard&qid=1697083499&sr=8-25

 

I write the name of the ink on the small 1/4 inch paper reinforcement labels sold here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Self-Adhesive-Reinforcement-Labels-Round/dp/B0716NKK18/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=avery%2B6734&qid=1697083848&sr=8-1&th=1

 

Yes, I can write very, very tiny letters, a skill I learned as a budding entomologist writing labels for specimens.  Stick the labels to the caps of the vials for easy reference.  Colored labels are available to help organize larger sample collections.

[SLinkster]

I ordered these for sample storage. The 16mm "aperture" will accommodate the ubiquitous standard 5ml plastic vials. Delivery on Saturday so I have a couple of days to reorganize my desk. Here's hoping the racks stack nicely, or can be macguyvered to do so.

 

50 Positions Plastic Test Tube Stand Bracket Rack, Detachable centrifuge Tube Rack Aperture 16mm, 2 Packs https://a.co/d/6B78Vwy

[inkstainedruth]

Those are very similar to the vial trays I've gotten at Goulet Pens and Anderson Pens.

Thanks for posting the link (Anderson has been out of them for a while now, even though in theory I signed up for "Notify me when they're back in stock").  I'd have to compare prices; and I'm also a bit wary about stuff that is NOT directly sold by Amazon (I've had issues with 3rd party vendors).  Heck, I even had problems a few years ago with stuff DIRECTLY sold by Amazon, because they hired some 3rd party delivery guy who apparently didn't have GPS in his car (!) and ended up at the OTHER END of the main road I live off of (and therefore couldn't find my street ) and I spent the better part of two hours on the phone with someone in Amazon Customer Support going "WHERE ARE MY CDS?  I could have DRIVEN to your Pittsburgh warehouse and back in less time than I've been on the phone with you!  I know where it is -- I've DRIVEN PAST IT, because it's JUST across the river and a bit south of me!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SLinkster]

On 10/13/2023 at 3:43 PM, inkstainedruth said:

I'm also a bit wary about stuff that is NOT directly sold by Amazon (I've had issues with 3rd party vendors)

I guess I've been lucky - the only problem I wasn't able to resolve with a 3rd-party Amazon vendor using Amazon's channels I fixed by disputing the charge with my card issuer. Amazing how quickly a vendor will reach out (too late) to fix an issue when one claws back one's payment 🤑

 

Quick update. My vial racks arrived today via USPS, well-wrapped and in good order. They are not designed to be stacked but could be with the addition of some non-skid material on the feet.