Mailing Ink In Plastic Bottles?

[Miz Black Crow]

Hey all. I realize this has probably already been discussed but I'm on my phone at the moment and mobile-search isn't great. Apologies.

 

I'm splitting a bottle of ink with two lovely people and need to mail them 30-45mL of ink, preferably in a container they can keep and store the ink in. The point is to reduce costs so orderig empty vials from Goulet kills the price tg (shipping).

 

Can anyone think of a reason NOT to:

 

--Buy a set of 1oz to 3oz TSA-friendly plastic bottles

--OR, somehow the cheaper option, buy 1oz "trial" shampoos, wash out the offending shampoo MANY times, and mail the ink in those? Somehow full 30mL containers are cheaper than empty ones... *headdesk*

 

Thanks in advance! Open to other suggestions if they cost less than $2 each....

Edited December 17, 2014 by Miz Black Crow

[inkstainedruth]

Well, what about small nalgene bottles? I just looked at the REI website (there's a couple of local stores where I've gotten some) and the 2 oz. bottles are listed at $1.55 apiece. They may be cheaper elsewhere (the Container Store, for example, has a lot of different sizes for under $2, but there isn't a B&M store close to me (the closest being Columbus OH, about 3-3-1/2 hours away).

I wouldn't use trial sizes of bottles that had other things in them, myself. I don't know how clean you'd really be able to get them. I just got some inexpensive amber glass bottles with what are called "polyseal caps" (plus a couple with eyedropper caps) and even though they're new I've washed them with dish detergent, let them air dry, and then plan to sterilize them with a strong oxidizer solution -- after which they will be rinsed well let air dry again, and then stored, capped, in ziplock containers to keep them clean until I can use them (I got them to decant vintage ink into for easier usage and safer storage).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Davros]

I have used glass vials and eyedropper bottles from Premium Vials via Amazon. If I were shipping, I would probably not use the eyedropper top. The Boston round top is, however, way too small for a nib. It is the right price (a dollar or less per, depending on color and quantity).

 

I love their wide mouth vials, which fit 8-10 ml. That might work if you were willing to send a couple vials.

 

I have also successfully used 50 ml centrifugal tube (see example here http://www.amazon.com/Karter-Scientific-Centrifuge-30x115mm-Skirted/dp/B005Z4S2QU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418793777&sr=8-1&keywords=centrifuge+tubes+ml). These work best if you prop them in a holder to increase stability, but they're really air tight and good for shipping. Amazon has a few cheap holders, and styrofoam works great, too.

 

Sorry I don't have a perfect suggestion.

[Runnin_Ute]

A while back, someone here on the boards PIF'd me some Akkerman Shocking Blue and Voorhout Violet. They sent 2 nalgene bottles of each. I don't recall what the postage charges were, but it couldn't have been to bad.

 

Just checked - they are 15 ml bottles. The opening is just right to dip a nib in.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Plastic should work just fine, but it does not show the ink color as well if that's a concern. Xfountainpens.com sells their re-branded Diamine in nalgene bottles.

 

I like the Boston Rounds. They are too narrow for most pens, but can easily be filled with a syringe. They're quite robust and do not leak at all. Available in 1 oz or 2 oz for about $0.89 each.

Edited December 18, 2014 by TheRealScubaSteve

[Miz Black Crow]

For anyone who finds this in posterity: I found an art supply store near work (Dick Blick, dickblick.com) that has specific "mixing vials", 4 for <$4, 45mL apiece (PERFECT for splitting a 90mL Noodler's!). Not marked like maybe a Nalgene would be, but using a syringe and keeping score worked fine. They also had 2oz glass jars with lids for ~$2 each total (for some reason glasses and lids are sold separately).

[amberleadavis]

Shockingly, those little bottles that you have left over every time you swallow your energy drink??? PERFECT.

[inkstainedruth]

Shockingly, those little bottles that you have left over every time you swallow your energy drink??? PERFECT.

I would be really careful about cleaning -- and sterilizing -- those. Bottles and caps.... Plus, I don't ever use them.

It didn't occur to me that there would be an issue with the small neck openings on Boston Rounds. But the bottles I got (especially the 4 oz ones) would be more for long-term storage -- I would likely transfer ink into an empty vial, or one of the small nalgene bottles, to use as an inkwell.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Barnaby Bumble]

What are the small Nalgene bottles you guys are talking about?

[Chrissy]

Nalgene bottles are excellent for ink. I use the smallest ones as sample bottles, but you can easily get bigger ones that will hold 15 or 30ml

[Miz Black Crow]

I wound up with a solution.... Pebeo Vitrail Mixing Bottles . <$1.00 each, 45mL per (perfect size!). And they're designed for paints/inks. I'm sure other art stores have similar things if Dick Blick isn't nearby; shipping on these would be killer unless you buy other things with them....

[Arkanabar]

What are the small Nalgene bottles you guys are talking about?

Nalgene is a brand name, like Tupperware.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Nalgene is a brand name, like Tupperware.

 

Yes, but Nalgene makes a lot of bottles. What size/model is everyone referring to as "the small Nalgene bottle"? It seems like they have a very specific item in mind.

[amberleadavis]

I would be really careful about cleaning -- and sterilizing -- those. Bottles and caps.... Plus, I don't ever use them.

It didn't occur to me that there would be an issue with the small neck openings on Boston Rounds. But the bottles I got (especially the 4 oz ones) would be more for long-term storage -- I would likely transfer ink into an empty vial, or one of the small nalgene bottles, to use as an inkwell.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

The ones I got from Costco were perfec tand they hold my thickest pen, which is NOT to be confused with some other members really thick pens. I always sterilize any bottles after a mixing catastrope. The lids are the most important part.

[inkstainedruth]

 

Yes, but Nalgene makes a lot of bottles. What size/model is everyone referring to as "the small Nalgene bottle"? It seems like they have a very specific item in mind.

The ones I get are 1 oz. bottles, from REI in their camping section:

 

http://www.rei.com/search?query=nalgene%201%20oz

 

The last time I was at a B&M store (a couple of weeks ago) I also bought some similar ones that were 4 oz. I figure that if I don't use them for anything else, the 4 oz. ones will be good for carrying distilled water when I travel, rather than having to find a drugstore or grocery store to buy gallon jugs.

Yeah, it would be cheaper to get them from someplace like The Container Store, but there isn't one close to where I live. I originally went in one of the local REI locations awhile back because some people were touting these rugged waterproof storage cases to carry sample vials when traveling (there were a couple of brands -- one was Pelican, I think and I forget the name of the other brand). The cases seal very tightly (one brand even has sort of a vacuum seal) and are for storing stuff while camping or boating, like cellphones. I ended up not getting one at the time, but poked around the store while I was there and found the nalgene containers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

So, Mike (Lapis) was tell us about his B&M store. Silly me, I went looking for a pen store named B & M (like Barnes & Noble but for pens).

[Barnaby Bumble]

Thanks, Ruth!

[Barnaby Bumble]

So, Mike (Lapis) was tell us about his B&M store. Silly me, I went looking for a pen store named B & M (like Barnes & Noble but for pens).

 

Good thing he didn't say "S&M store," I guess.

[amberleadavis]

Well, I might not have been insistant about knowing the NAME and ADDRESS of HIS S&M store as I was the B&M.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Not that there's anything wrong with that.