10 Years of Color Drops

Time flies.

By the end of this year of 2017, Pilot’s Iroshizuku inks will become 10 years old. The first “color drops”, such is the meaning of 色彩雫, “iroshizuku”, showed up in the market in December of 2007: Asa-gao, Aji-sai, Tsuyu-kusa, Kon-peki, and Tsuki-yo. All of them blue tonalities.

All in all, Pilot has released a total of 27 ink colors under the label Iroshizuku at an irregular pace:

December 2007 (5): Asa-gao, Aji-sai, Tsuyu-kusa, Kon-peki, and Tsuki-yo.

July 2008 (5): Ku-jaku, Sho-ro, Shin-ryoku, Kiri-same, Fuyu-shogun.

November 2008 (4): Yu-yake, Momiji, Yama-budo, Tsutsuji.

January 2009 (3): Shimbashi-iro, Edo-murasaki, Fukagawa-nezu.

May 2009 (3): Tsukushi, Fuyu-gaki, Yama-guri.

August 2011 (4): Ina-ho, Kosumosu, Murasaki-shikibu, Chiku-rin.

November 2011 2012 (3): Take-sumi, Shin-kai, Ama-iro.

Those released in January of 2009 formed the Tokyo Limited Edition, and are no longer available. In fact, their distribution was also very limited. The final result is that the actual gamut of ink comprises only 24 colors.

The price –in Japan, at least— has not changed in all this time, save for the increase in sale tax in 2014 from 5% to 8%. JPY 1500 (JPY 30/ml) is the catalog price (MSRP), although it is easy to find these inks for less.

In October of 2010, another presentation of the inks was marketed: three 20 ml-bottles for JPY 3000 (JPY 50/ml). These sets were fixed-there was no possibility of choosing the colors. That presentation was very short lived.

In January of 2015, a second version of smaller inkwells was launched—the Iroshizuku Mini. Now, it is composed of three 15 ml inkwells at a price of JPY 2100 (JPY 47/ml). On this occasion, the buyer can generally choose the colors included in the set. At some shops it is even possible to buy the inkwells individually for JPY 700 (minus some possible discounts).

And now, what? Platinum recently launched its new line of iron-gall inks. Sailor has rebranded the old line of inks as Shikiori, and not so long ago offered some smaller bottles of the nanopigmented Storia inks. Pilot is, in comparison, very relaxed on the ink front.

So, will Pilot take benefit of this opportunity to start a marketing campaign?

(NOTES: 1. Prices quoted in Japanese yen without taxes. 2. The names of the inks have been written following the more standard Hepburn Romanization, and the names of a couple of inks might look misspelled. This is completely intentional and only shows the problems Japanese people often have with the alphabetic transliteration of their own language).

Nakaya Portable Writer – Platinum Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, July 6th 2017
labels: Pilot, tinta

Even More Sailor Inks

Shikiori –meaning “four seasons” in Japanese--  started as a series of fountain pens, ball pens, and mechanical pencils. They came in different colors and were associated –creative marketing at work— to, of course, the four seasons. One of the fountain pens in that series, a slim Professional Gear in whitish color by the name of Meigetsu, became particularly popular among young users in Japan.

Now, Sailor has enlarged this collection with a tricky marketing operation that includes some new inks.

On one hand, Sailor has rebranded the old line of Jentle inks –all those 16 inks that started in 2010 as seasonal inks— as Shikiori inks, with the additional label of “Izayoi-no Yume” (“sixteen nights”). They come in a new presentation, 20 ml inkwells, and a (much) more expensive price per milliliter. As of now, the old (50 ml inkwells) and the new packaging coexist at the shops.

The new inkwell of 20 ml, and the four new colors.

A lot of news are included on this picture. From top to bottom: On the first row, Sailor converters in assorted colors. On the second and third rows, the newly marketed Shikiori inks in their 20 ml bottles. And on the last row, the well-known Jentle inks in colors black, blue and blue-black in their new presentation of 50 ml inkwells. The same inkwell is used for the pigmented "Kiwa-guro" and "Sei-boku" inks. Finally (bottom right), the "ink reservoir" just released by Sailor to use up the ink of any bottle.

On the other hand, there are four new colors have been added to the Sailor catalog. These are the Shikiori “Tsukuyo-no Minamo” inks (something like “water surface under the moonlight”). These inks only come in 20 ml inkwells. These colors are called Yonaga (blue black or purple black). Shimoyo (black or very dark grey), Yozakura (light purple), and Yodaki (a brownish red).

The four new colors of the Shikiori line of inks. But make no mistake--these are Jentle inks with their very characteristic smell.

The catalog of the Shikiori inks. On the left, the new inks under the name "Tsukuyo-no Minamo". On the center-right, the rebranded seasonal inks now called "Izayoi-no Yume".

These Shikiori inks –20 in total— have a price of JPY 1000 per 20 ml. This implies a steep increase in the price with respect to the old presentation: JPY 50/ml versus JPY 20/ml (tax excluded). For comparison, Pilot’s Iroshizuku inks come at JPY 30/ml in the 50 ml inkwells, and at JPY 47/ml in the set of three colors in 15 ml bottles.

More marketing? Of course this is. And the final result might simply be a dramatic increase in the cost of the not-so-new inks. It might be worth to remember that this was the case some years ago when Sailor marketed the at-the-time called Seasonal Inks.

But, how much ink can the market digest? It seems that a lot!

Pelikan M200 Cognac – Diamine Graphite

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, October 6th 2017
labels: Silor, tinta, mercado

Kobe in Tokyo (II)

Some months ago I wrote about how Nagasawa Kobe’s inks were available in Tokyo at Itoya's main shop in Ginza. And the prices of those inks were the same as in Kobe, which made those inks all the more appealing.

Now it is not only Itoya offering them but also its natural competitor in the fountain pen scene—Maruzen. At least at some branches. The pictures of this text were taken at the newly open shop in Ikebukuro (Toshima).

Maruzen in Ikebukuro.

And again, like at Itoya, the prices are the same as at Nagasawa in Kobe—JPY 1800, plus tax.

This is probably good news for the consumer—more competition should translate into higher qualiy and lower prices. But what does Sailor, the actual maker of those inks, think about these moves by Nagasawa?

The well known chart of the colors of the Kobe inks.

And, how big is the ink market? How much offer can the dwellers of the ink-swamp --インク沼—support?

Finally, is there a bubble in the market of fountain pen inks?

Gama “The Wand” – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku

Bruno Taut
Nakano, Sept 28 2017
etiquetas: tinta, Tokyo, Sailor, Nagasawa, Maruzen

Crisis of Growth?

Sailor has made a couple of shocking announcements in the last months. First was the suspension of the production of specialty nibs, including the basis for them all, the Naginata Togi nib. Then came the news of the discontinuation of the possibility of re-ordering original inks created with the invaluable help of Mr. Ishimaru, Sailor’s ink mixer. However, the creation of these personalized inks is still possible at the ink workshops regularly organized by Sailor throughout Japan.

My original ink, named Hiroko's Green.

Why would any company eliminate two of the elements that truly separated it from the rest? Why is Sailor giving up on his features of distinction in the market of fountain pens?

The issue with ink seems to be that many a user have been selling those original inks online at a premium cost, but I wonder if that should pose any problem for Sailor. More relevant could be that the ink production might have reached its limits with the popularization of some shop-original inks, particularly those by Nagasawa and by Bung-Box.

A Naginata Togi nib.

The Cross-Music nib.

That seems, in fact, to be the problem of the specialty nibs—the troubles of Mr. Nagahara to cope with the demand. Increasing the price of those nibs could ease the problem, but that is also an almost irreversible step.

Then, in summary, is Sailor suffering a growth crisis?


My thanks to Tinjapan.

Sailor Profit, Naginata Togi – Tomikei Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, April 18 2017
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, plumín, mercado

Kobe in USA

The Kobe-based stationery shop Nagasawa started selling its rage of inks—the Kobe inks—in Tokyo last February. The Tokyo partner for this operation is Itoya, and its headquarters in Ginza are the only place where these inks are sold in the big city.

Nagasawa in Kobe.

This marketing decision seems successful, and the pile of Kobe inks at Itoya does shrink down. The arrangement is stable, though, and the stock of inks should be replenished regularly.

Kobe inks at Itoya. They seem to go fast, but not being a limited offer, the shelves should be replenished regularly.

But the more interesting news are that Nagasawa intends to sell these Kobe inks in the US market in a near future. Not much more information is available now. In particular, not about what retail channel the Kobe shop will use for this move. However, it is only reasonable to think Itoya America could be in charge of the distributing these Kobe inks made, after all, by Sailor.

Pilot Prera – Gary's Red-Black (Wagner ink 2012)

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, March 29th 2017
etiquetas: tinta, Nagasawa, Tokyo, Estados Unidos, Sailor, mercado

Kobe in Tokyo

On the previous text I spoke about a new arrival in the Tokyo pen scene. Hamamatsu’s shop Bung-Box has recently opened a branch in Tokyo. An obvious effect of this move the availability of a wide range on original inks in the big city.

The other big name in original inks —that is, inks made by Sailor for specific retailers— is Nagasawa, in the city of Kobe. Kobe inks, as Nagasawa calls them, were the first gamut to receive a wide attention from stylophiles both in Japan and overseas.

Kobe ink in Kobe. Picture by Randall Stevens. Used by permission.

The new move of Nagasawa is to market these inks in Tokyo as well. But this time in partnership with one of the main shops in Tokyo—Itoya.

Kobe ink in Tokyo.

That’s it—now Itoya sells a wide variety of Kobe inks at, at least, its flagship shop in Ginza. The price of this inks is the same as in Nagasawa shop—JPY 1800, plus tax, for 50 ml. And this is indeed remarkable—Kobe inks are JPY 200 cheaper (for a 50 ml inkwell) than any other original ink, of course Sailor made. But there is an exception—Bung-Box inks are a lot more expensive at JPY 3000.

Kobe inks in Itoya Ginza.

Are these moves by Nagasawa and Bung-Box mere timely coincidences?

My thanks to Randall Stevens.

Sailor Profit, Naginata nib – Nagasawa Bokkô

Bruno Taut
Chuo, March 3rd, 2017
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, Tokyo, mercado, Nagasawa, Itoya

Gary's Classic Inks

By now the news are well-known—-Platinum has released a new family of inks by the name of “Classic Inks”. In Japanese, “classic ink” means iron-gall (IG) ink, and this is what these new inks are—iron-gall inks.

The initial announcement was made through the website of the stationery shop Nagasawa, in the city of Kobe. This shop had the privilege of an early release of these inks on January 27th. The general release will be on February 10th (2017).

Picture taken on February 10th 2017 at a well-known stationery shop in Tokyo. These is the new series of inks by Platinum. Six inks with iron-gall formulation. But, are they really new?

But are these inks really new? They are, in fact, new to the general market, but these inks are not new to the pen community in Japan. The mastermind behind them is a fellow stylophile by the name, in fora and blogs, of PGary (Gary).

It all started some years ago, around 2010, when Gary decided to create his own IG inks frustrated as he was with the limited selection of colors available in the market for IGs. At that time, the only non-blue-black IG ink was Rohrer & Klingner’s Scabiosa.

Gary never made a secret out of his developments. He published his recipes on YouTube and on his blog and even on the Japanese pen magazine Shumi-no Bungubaku (16, p. 66; 23, p. 106). The Wagner group of pen aficionados took good note of those inks and asked him to make some inks for the annual pen fair celebrated in Spring in Tokyo. That was in 2012, when the chosen colors were red-black and blue-black.

Some inks made by Gary.

Since then, Gary has received the same request on following years, and Wagner group members have stocked –and enjoyed—a number of his IG inks.

And now it was Platinum contacting him for the creation of this new “Classic Inks” composed by six new colors: Cassis black, Forest-black, Citrus-black, Khaki-black, Sepia-black and Lavender-black. Note the absence of a blue-black ink—Platinum already had an IG ink of this classical color.

Writing samples of the previous inks. The ink flow determines how dark the ink looks after the oxidation took place. All the writing on this test, save that of the 2012 Red-black ink, were made with a glass pen.

This Yellow-black ink shows a brighter hue when laid with a fountain pen with a more controlled flow. This ink was one of the 2013 Wagner inks.

As a matter of fact, Platinum is the only Japanese maker still making IG inks, and there is some kind of logic in this new move to expand its selection of inks.

Platinum now has three different types of inks—dye inks (red, black and the Mix Free line), pigmented inks (Carbon-black, Sepia, Blue, Pink), and iron gall (blue black and the Classic Inks line).

The problem of these new IG inks comes with their price. It is JPY 2000 (plus tax) for 60 ml, which is significantly more expensive than that of the pigmented inks (JPY 1500, plus tax). The old and well known blue black IG ink is a lot cheaper—JPY 1200, plus tax.

Strange pricing policy, I would say. But all in all this is, most of all, another sign of the increasing influence of the stylophile community in the market of fountain pens.

My thanks to Gary. And my congratulations!

Pilot Custom Heritage 92 – Gary’s Red-black (Wagner ink 2012)

Bruno Taut
Nakano, February 8th 2017
etiquetas: tinta, Platinum, Gary, mercado

Storia 20 ml.

Not much has happened recently in the ink department in Japan. In 2016 we saw the reissue of some old Sailor inks; and in 2015 Sailor released the last real new ink—the pigmented series Storia, composed by eight different colors. In parallel, of course, some shops have made their own “original” inks that, in actual terms, are nothing but Sailor dye-based inks (Jentle line of inks). And that is all, and it is not that much.

The new presentation--20 ml bottles is smaller boxes.

The brochure provides general information on the virtues of pigmented inks and includes the capacity and price of the new inkwells.

The new and smaller inkwell.

The December news is just a new presentation of the Storia inks. Now, Sailor offers them also in 20 ml bottles for a lower price—JPY 1000, plus tax. This price is the same per milliliter as the original presentation of 30 ml bottles: JPY 50/ml.

The old presentation of 30 ml bottles.

This new presentation was released on December 23rd --4000 units-- through the network of Sailor Friendly Shops. On January 20th, they will become available through regular retailers… At least in Japan.

Press release available here: http://www.sailor.co.jp/pdf/release/storia20ml_20161221.pdf (retrieved December 29th, 2016).

Clavijo Velasco Ro-iro – Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku

Bruno Taut
Nakano, December 29th 2016
etiquetas: tinta, Sailor, mercado

Colors of the Four Seasons—Again

“If it ain’t broke, do not fix it”, but this wise sentence does not seem to apply to the world of marketing. In fact, it might be right the opposite—making noise and calling for attention are often the names of the game in advertisement strategies.

Back in 2009-2010 (::1::, ::2::, ::3::), Sailor changed its line of inks. The old selection of colors, including some sorely missed ones, was discontinued in favor of four batches of limited editions—the seasonal inks. Much hype they generated, but being limited releases they were gone all too soon… to revive some years later. In 2014, as I reported on these Chronicles, Sailor reissued eight of the old sixteen seasonal inks.

The colors left behind in 2014 are now back.

And now, in June of 2016, it is the turn of the remaining eight inks:

Spring:
若鶯 - Waka-uguisu.
桜森 - Sakura-mori.

Summer:
藤娘 - Fuji-musume.
利休茶 - Rikyû-cha.

Autumn:
金木犀 - Kin-mokusei.
仲秋 - Chu-shu.

Winter:
囲炉裏 - Irori.
雪明 - Yuki-akari.

The not-so-new inks.

Some of these new inks, on display in a shop in Tokyo.

It seems that these not-so-new inks will coexist with those released in 2014. Therefore, the catalog of Jentle inks (by Sailor) will be composed, for a while, of sixteen fancy colors plus the well-known triad of black, blue-black and blue. Prices remain unaltered—JPY 1000, plus taxes.

The seasonal inks released in March of 2014.

At the time of writing this text (June 16, 2016), few shops have stocked these inks, but it is likely these inks might soon become widely available in the next few weeks. These inks hace also been announced on the last issue of the magazine Shumi-no Bungubako (趣味の文具箱, Vol 38, June 2016, page 82).

And the question previously asked remains adequate—does Sailor have any consistent policy regarding inks? It might just be a matter of making noise now and then.

Pilot Murex – Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown

Bruno Taut
Nakano, June 16th, 2016
etiquetas: Sailor, tinta, mercado

Vintage Inks

Two are the issues associated to the two words in the title: how old can an ink be before using it, and how often do companies change the formulation of the inks?

Last weekend, at a meeting of the Wagner group in Tokyo, we had the opportunity to check five different varieties of the Pilot Blue-black ink. The older of them was about 60 years old. All of them were in their original packages and were, apparently, in perfect working order.

Vintage Pilot Blue-black inks. The oldest inks were from around 1955.

The four iron-gall inks to be tested. From left to right, from 1955, 1965, 1975 and 1985. The price as well as some details in the inkwells allow for a detailed dating.

Inking the pens, Hero 616, for the writing tests anyone could take.

Pilot Blue-black is, even nowadays, a water resistant ink. Formerly, this property was achieved by the classical trick—iron-gall formulation. But at some point in the early 1990s, it was abandoned in favor of a solution that reacts with the cellulose of the paper. Therefore, all the sampled inks but the most recent were ferrogallic. Some minor differences in color among those iron-gall inks are visible, but it is not possible to say whether those variations were due to any ageing process or to any variation in the formulation. The major differences are, as expected, between those classic inks and the newer formulation.

Writing test of all five inks (left), and water resistance test (right). The sample was one full minute under running water. Some dyes were removed from the iron-gall inks. All of them are remarkably resistant to water--even the modern, non ferrogallic, formulation.

A surprising detail we could see was how usable those vintage inks were despite their age. All of them were in perfect condition without mold or deposits. However, once open, these iron gall inks face an issue—the Iron ions will react with atmospheric Oxygen. Then, what is the open-inkwell lifetime of these inks? The ink should be all right as long as there were no mold or deposits, and some users spoke of some time between one and two years as safe to keep on using them.

My thanks to Mr Niikura, Mr. Nyoi, and Mr Toda.

Pilot Myu 701 – Pilot Black

Bruno Taut
Nakano, May 16th, 2016
etiquetas: Pilot, evento, tinta

Sri Lanka

Just a short travel note today. Some months ago I traveled to Sri Lanka, where I did some stylographic scouting.

I went there thinking I was going to find Indian pens, mostly ebonite eyedroppers. After all, Sri Lanka and India are close neighbors with a history of commercial ties. And on top of that, Sri Lanka has never had any production of fountain pens.

What I found was very different: no Indian pens in sight, but Chinese ones made by Hero. Model 336 was often the only fountain pen available at specialized shops. Its price was LKR 150 in Colombo and between LKR 200 and LKR 250 in Jaffna. Hero ink was also available for a mere LKR 50 per 62 ml ink bottle.

Hero ink at a shop in Colombo. Their price was LKR 50 per bottle (62 ml).

My stylographic shopping.

The exception to this Hero rule was the occasional Pakistan-made Dollar pen model 707. This is a very light piston filler with a steel nib. This nib is not even tipped, and the writing point is made out of bending the nib itself. All in all, the Dollar 717 is a very basic pen and its price does indeed reflect this: LKR 70 (in Colombo).

The Dollar 717. Its price in Sri Lanka, LKR 70. Less than EUR 0.50.

These findings show something we all know—the rapid expansion of China all around the World. Chinese capital for Colombo Port City and Chinese pens for the Sri Lankan market obey to the same principle.

(At the time of publishing this text the equivalence between Sri Lanka Rupee and Euro is LKR 100 = EUR 0.60).

Pilot Vpen – Pilot Blue

Bruno Taut
Nakano, October 10th, 2015
etiquetas: Sri Lanka, China, India, Pakistan, Dollar, tinta, Hero