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Am I The Only One Who Detests The Idea Of 'limited Edition' Inks?


Highbinder

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In my 11th year of really being interested in the variety of inks that exist in the wild, I have yet to become philosophical about them to any extent. I suppose I don't possess a fear of not finding an ink that would satisfy my tastes if the one I am using happens to disappear. If anything, it allows for the opportunity to explore a wider world of colors and their variations that perhaps would be limiting if I were to ever be set on one ink. I have a few of Diamine's special (not limited) editions, and though I find the ink to be satisfactory in every way, if they disappear tomorrow, I know that I could find something in their regular line that would be just as great.

My overall goal is to write, doing so with one color of ink versus another is simply an added luxury to the process!

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

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What's the point in loving a color that's here today and gone tommorow?

- Anthony

I like colours, the more variety the better, and I have fun using the occasional LEs I decide I might like, and so buy. Even if I know I'm only going to get the one bottle I get real pleasure from using it, try to match it - or not - with a standard ink, share it with pen pals and FP friends, write, draw and craft with it, test it & try it on different papers, basically have fun with it. And look forward to the next lovely ink that will be along to replace it very soon. There are many reasons to love an ink, even if it's "gone tomorrow" :-)

Verba volant, scripta manent

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I've come to the conclusion that the "Limited Edition" moniker is meaningless, because there are so many ways an ink that is not LE can become a "limited" edition unintentionally:

 

  • The manufacturer can cancel the product, without warning. I have a bottle of Caran d'Ache Turquoise Green that is no longer obtainable because they no longer make it. And a bottle of Penman Sapphire no longer made by Parker. And a bottle of King's Gold that's no longer made by Sheaffer. Sheaffer never sold Kings' Gold as a LE ink.
  • The manufacturer can reformulate the color. Basically the same as cancelling it. Noodler's did this with Black Swan in Australian Roses.
  • The manufacturer can go out of business. I have a bottle of OMAS Sepia that is now a limited edition.
  • Variation in dye lots. Some manufacturers have significant variation between dye lots, basically making every bottle you buy a limited edition. Again, Noodler's is one brand where you run into this. Some people see this as a feature.

All those situations can make the bottle of the ink my drawer as "limited" as the ink that actually says "Limited Edition" on the label. Either way, it means once the bottle is empty I'll never see that ink again.

 

I'm learning to make peace with that.

Edited by ErrantSmudge
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Dislike it as a consumer, so much so I've stopped paying attention to some brands; but I can understand the commercial appeal for the brand: stock up or else.

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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I do not set out to buy LE inks. It is purely a matter of whether I like an ink and it meets my conservative requirements for good inky behaviour.

 

While I anticipate unhappiness should certain colours in my small collection cease to be available, realistically I know that what was said by ErrantSmudge and others before, is sound. In any event, I am more than likely to fall off my twig before I run out of all the inks I like.

 

So, I continue to use my Dark Lilac as well as the less limited inks.

X

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I can't say I detest the idea of it.

 

I like the idea of exclusivity (one reason for me making my own ink mixes) but, like everyone else, wish I could afford more things. I don't mind people taking advantage of the market since people will buy it and the ones who most want it end up getting it, and I've come to accept high costs in getting stuff over to my side of the world; it does hurt a lot of people who just want to try it out/see what the fuss is about.

 

That said, I tend to like regular discontinued inks much more than something that started of as an LE (I haven't seen a Pelikan or Lamy ink of the year I like yet).

Hero #232 Blue-Black is my Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Your Kilometrage May Vary (#ykmv), a Philippine blawg about ink and fountain pens.

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I like the LE inks because it allows the manufacture to try new things. No worries about sourcing materials for the forseable future. Just need enough for this production run. If they find they have a hit.. well, they might just work on bringing that back someday as a regular ink. Maybe.

 

I'll enjoy the ink now though and when it runs out.. well, I think Goulet has close to 600 different bottles of ink available to purchase. Even if that means only 100 bottles are ink I'd use, that's still a new bottle of ink every month for the next 8 years. I don't think I need to worry about not being able to find ink I'll like.

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I like colours, the more variety the better, and I have fun using the occasional LEs I decide I might like, and so buy. Even if I know I'm only going to get the one bottle I get real pleasure from using it, try to match it - or not - with a standard ink, share it with pen pals and FP friends, write, draw and craft with it, test it & try it on different papers, basically have fun with it. And look forward to the next lovely ink that will be along to replace it very soon. There are many reasons to love an ink, even if it's "gone tomorrow" :-)

Hi Migo,

 

I guess what you're saying is it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. :D

 

- Anthony

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I agree with other posters who claim we may be living in the Golden Age of Fountain Pen Ink. Small shops run by individuals can take on the big names. We're even seeing this from a worldwide perspective as entrepeneurs can reach a global market.

 

Limited Edition inks may be a ploy to create scarcity. But if the buyer wants the ink for color or some other property, then the price will be worth the cost.

 

My only limited edition inks are the DC SuperShow Blue from 2012 and 2013. I like the "true" blue of these colors, by the dry time on fountain-pen friendly paper may be measured in months (I've had it smear in my hand after a week of sitting).

 

To each buyer, their own.

 

Buzz

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I bought Edelstein Garnet when I started using my fountain pens again. I used only that ink for almost a year. I really liked it. Then it was gone. I found another bottle on Amazon & also purchased a bunch of cartridges. Now I used a different ink every week. But when I find another ink that I really like, especially a LE, I buy back up bottles. I have several bottles of MB Shakespeare Velvet Red & DeA Sherlock Holmes. I like LEs adding more variety of colors to my ink stash.

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I really don't mind that there are limited editions. There are just so many inks out there that when one goes away, I just get another one that is similar (and some are almost identical) in color from another company.

 

BTW, I still have an almost-full Montblanc Racing Green bottle that you have now inspired me to use next time I switch pens... :)

 

Erick

Using right now:

Visconti Voyager 30 "M" nib running Birmingham Streetcar

Jinhao 9019 "EF" nib running Birmingham Railroad Spike

Stipula Adagio "F" nib running Birmingham Violet Sea Snail

Sailor Profit "B" nib running Van Dieman's Night - Shooting Star

 

 

 

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I think it's natural when you love a product to want that product to be always available. Unfortunately the more high-quality and exotic something is, the lower the profit margin and the harder it is for the manufacturer to find the ingredients, so sometimes products just go poof... I've had it happen often for foods: iced teas that I loved that changed the recipe and became undrinkable, iced coffee that I'm never sure where they'll be available and in what quantity, the list is long.

 

I'd prefer my favorite inks to be non-LE (many of them are, thankfully!) but I think it's at least nice to know it's limited, as opposed to the product vanishing without explanation or not even making it to production.

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All inks - really, all commercial products - are limited editions. There is not, and will never be, an infinite supply of anything. If one finds it bothersome that some manufacturers declare in advance an intention to limit production to a certain finite number, and then charge a higher price, then one is free to refrain from purchasing the product. For products not labeled as "limited edition," one should purchase them with the understanding that production will almost certainly one day cease, or be significantly altered.

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Part of the reason for enumerating the Six Essential Inks was to simplify. I don't want to be cluttered with scores of inks. I don't want to have to choose between scores of inks. I don't want to shop among thousands of inks. I wanted to make my purchase decisions, and be done with them. Limited editions and discontinued inks will certainly require me to start over for the Six Essentials, so they don't qualify.

 

At some point, I'm sure I'll simplify my pen collection, too, most likely with the PIF forum or by sending the discards to Papamud.

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