So all is good and well, but do we really need all that? Is there a demand for inks with those properties?
Before the bath.
Some water resistance might indeed be useful. Back in 2015, the Peaceable Writer wanted her inks to “have decent water resistance, so that my pages survive an inevitable coffee ring or spill” (::1::). Do we need much more than that? And my point now is that the old fashioned Pilot Blue and Blue-black inks do show an acceptable resistance to water at a much lower price.
The bath.
Something similar can be said about lightfast capabilities. The usual action is to close the notebook or to file the document after writing. Then, how much more resistance to light do we need?
And more importantly, how much are we willing to pay?
And back to the first question—is there really a demand for inks like these by Pilot—or by Platinum, Sailor, etc?
After the bath.
I confess my lack of understanding of the ink market. The inflation in colors, brands, and also in prices defies any rational analysis, but the inkunuma creature –the dweller in that colorful swamp of inks—seems driven mosre by the ink color than by the actual characteristics of the ink.
And that is why I do not understand these new inks by Pilot.
Parker 51 — Sailor Yama-dori
Bruno Taut
February 24th, 2023
etiquetas: Pilot, tinta, mercado
Bruno Taut
February 24th, 2023
etiquetas: Pilot, tinta, mercado
2 comments:
If you want your writing preserved for as long as possible, pigment inks are excellent. Consider an important journal stored in a basement that later floods. A simpler example: I've spilled liquid on an envelope addressed using Platinum Carbon ink and the writing was perfectly preserved.
Consider that medieval manuscripts are on display in museums and still perfectly legible. In some cases quite vibrant in fact. (To last generations one would also need to make sure their paper is archival, too.)
True, most writers today don't need these characteristics. I'm happy to have the option and see no harm in Pilot offering them to whoever would like them.
The point, Anonymous, is not whether there is harm or not in this initiative by Pilot. The point is whether is economically wise or not. My point is that Pilot already had inks to fill this niche. And these inks are more of a (minor) show off than a profitable operation.
Nothing we can do about those documents of the past, so these pigmented inks mean nothing to them. On the other hand, how many of those valuable documents are handwritten nowadays instead of typed or stored electronically?
Thanks for passing by and commenting, Anonymous. Please, consider commenting from an account.
BT
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