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Is Iroshizuku Ink Worth The Price?

Kuhataparunks

By Kuhataparunks
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tinysnail Extremely Rare

tinysnail

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This has been a really interesting thread to follow. I do want to pick up some Iroshizuku inks eventually (Kiri-Same, Ina-ho, Momiji, and Fuyu-Gaki most appeal to me) and their well-behaved nature is a huge plus.

 

I must say, at $30ish per bottle, I don't feel like they are really thaaaat expensive, especially considering how long they will last you and how much I already find myself spending on pens. When I first got into fountain pens (only about a month ago oh my GOD I've gotten very obsessed very quickly), I was honestly surprised at how most ink seemed to be priced at $12-14 per bottle! It seemed cheap, but of course I had no basis to go off of at all except maybe printer ink or whatever.

 

That being said, I don't want to rush to buy too many bottles of ink considering I have samples to go through, but I'm really looking forward to maybe getting some Iroshizuku samples and seeing what the fuss is all about (beyond the prettyyyy bottles!).

http://edmontonfountainpenclub.wordpress.com
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Anneleen Mint

Anneleen

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Here, it is 40 euros, or about 52 dollars per bottle. A FPN friend was very generous in sending me a sample of Kon-Peki, which I love, but there are so many nice inks out there that the price is hard to justify. Especially if you never keep a pen inked with one color for long, like me.

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Kuhataparunks Rare

Kuhataparunks

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Yay it was delivered today and I'm excited to get my hands on the beautiful bottle!

It's funny, though, that many people spend hundreds of dollars on single pens yet seemingly cringe at a bottle of ink that's not even close to $100. I suppose I'm speaking for Americans, as in the UK the markup is more extreme.

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Lyander0012 Vintage

Lyander0012

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Yay it was delivered today and I'm excited to get my hands on the beautiful bottle!

It's funny, though, that many people spend hundreds of dollars on single pens yet seemingly cringe at a bottle of ink that's not even close to $100. I suppose I'm speaking for Americans, as in the UK the markup is more extreme.

Congratulations on the ink! It's a great colour that's well behaved, and is currently my 2nd favourite blue ink.

 

Anyway, just to address people's opinions regarding the price: ink is a consumable item, while fountain pens generally last as long as you take proper care of them. Longevity is part of the reason people can pay top dollar for a fountain pen without batting an eyelash, but regardless of how well it performs, ink eventually runs out. It's up to each individual to justify the additional expense necessary for a better performing ink.

 

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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LamyOne Extremely Rare

LamyOne

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Hello Everyone,

 

I don't know... I guess it depends on how much your "married" to a particular color; I like their Tsuki-Yo; however, Diamine and others make colors quite similar that perform ALMOST as well for less than half the price. I like the Tsuki-Yo, (color and performance), but I don't think I'll buy another bottle when this one runs out. I guess that's my answer. :)

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

- He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me; and I in him. (JN 6:57)

- "A woman clothed in the sun," (REV 12.1); The Sun Danced at Fatima, Portugal; October 13, 1917.

- Thank you Blessed Mother and St. Jude for Graces and Blessings obtained from Our Lord.

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Baric Extremely Rare

Baric

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Yes, if you like the color. $28 USD for a bottle of wonderful ink that will last me a few years seems reasonable to me. Yep, it sure is more expensive than some other brands but they don't have that color. And the bottles are very cool.

 

Doesn't mean I'm going to give up my Diamine or Noodler's ink, though.

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napalm Vintage

napalm

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Anyway, just to address people's opinions regarding the price: ink is a consumable item, while fountain pens generally last as long as you take proper care of them. Longevity is part of the reason people can pay top dollar for a fountain pen without batting an eyelash, but regardless of how well it performs, ink eventually runs out.

 

Speaking of ancient scribes, I guess we don't have their reeds anymore, it was the writing that lasted....

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Baric Extremely Rare

Baric

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Here, it is 40 euros, or about 52 dollars per bottle. A FPN friend was very generous in sending me a sample of Kon-Peki, which I love, but there are so many nice inks out there that the price is hard to justify. Especially if you never keep a pen inked with one color for long, like me.

 

I wonder why it would be so much more expensive in Europe than here in the States? It has to be exported and distributed to both areas.

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LamyOne Extremely Rare

LamyOne

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I wonder why it would be so much more expensive in Europe than here in the States? It has to be exported and distributed to both areas.

 

Hello Baric,

 

Europe, (the EU), has the Value Added Tax, (VAT), the get out of bed tax, the go to bed tax, the start up your car tax, etc., etc. :D

 

We don't.... yet.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited by LamyOne

- He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me; and I in him. (JN 6:57)

- "A woman clothed in the sun," (REV 12.1); The Sun Danced at Fatima, Portugal; October 13, 1917.

- Thank you Blessed Mother and St. Jude for Graces and Blessings obtained from Our Lord.

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Baric Extremely Rare

Baric

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Europe, (the EU), has the Value Added Tax, (VAT), the get out of bed tax, the go to bed tax, the start up your car tax, etc., etc. :D

 

Wow, so $20 in taxes on a $30 bottle of ink. That seems a bit... excessive. A 66.66% tax rate is scary. Same increases on locally manufactured goods?

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Lyander0012 Vintage

Lyander0012

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Speaking of ancient scribes, I guess we don't have their reeds anymore, it was the writing that lasted....

 

Hahaha! Touche, compadre. But I suppose that warrants a proper rebuttal: I was speaking of contemporary fountain pens, which is what the vast majority of people use nowadays. Ink permanence is fairly important as well, come to think of it. Guess that's what bulletproofs are for :P

 

 

Kevin

"The price of an object should not only be what you had to pay for it, but also what you've had to sacrifice in order to obtain it." - <i>The Wisdom of The Internet</i><p class='bbc_center'><center><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/jr4g43.jpg"/></center>

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Anneleen Mint

Anneleen

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Wow, so $20 in taxes on a $30 bottle of ink. That seems a bit... excessive. A 66.66% tax rate is scary. Same increases on locally manufactured goods?

Actually, it's just 21% tax on goods. For some reason almost anything translates directly from dollar to euros here. Like something worth 200 dollar over there would be €200 here, usually.

Anyway, I like complaining about things being more expensive here, but all in all, I wouldn't want to trade our social security system for any cheaper bottle of ink in the world. But I feel that's the kind of discussion that doesn't belong here on FPN, so I will just go back to complaining about high prices here :)

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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Bob Welcome!

 

I quit for hours at a time.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Historian Near Mint

Historian

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Can anyone tell me the cheapest way to buy these inks for people in the UK please? I've seen the sellers on Amazon but am wary of getting hit by import tax/the Post Office's £8 "admin charge" for items that you have to pay the tax on.

 

I thought that if you buy from amazon.co.uk they don't hit you with the custom charge, even if it's posted from outside the EU.

Inks: Waterman Serenity Blue, Diamine Blue-black, Diamine Twilight, Lamy Red, Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, Noodler's 54th Massachusetts, Montblanc Irish Green, Lamy Turquoise, Pelikan 4001 Brown

 

Pens: Lamy Safari Black M nib, Lamy Vista M nib, Sheaffer Targa F nib, TWSBI Vac700 demonstrator 1.1 nib, Pelikan M200 Cognac M nib

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AllenG Rare

AllenG

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Hi Bob :)

Bob Welcome!

I quit for hours at a time.

Are there drinking games going on here? Edited by AllenG
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