50Ml Inktube System For Saving, Mixing And Measuring Ink As Well As Filling Bigger Pens

[JonB55198]

Hello FPN,

Recently I took a look at the Ink Miser Ink-Shot. I really liked the idea of this product but it lacked some features that I wanted that could make it better. So I started to look where I always look when I think of handling ink: lap equipment and supplies. I came up with a system of products that may work better than this product. I'm posting here to:

• Get your feedback so I can make this even better.
• See if anyone would actually be interested in this so I can buy in wholesale quantities so my friends at FPN can enjoy this product.

So here is what I've come up with. Feedback is welcome:

1. Tube: The heart of the system is a 50mL conical bottom borosilicate glass tube. The inner diameter of this tube is going to be about 34mm. So, even the biggest pens can be filled from this tube. I wanted to use glass because it is more inert and less likely to absorb ink than polymer. This would prevent cross contamination of inks. I thought about using a conical bottom reaction vial instead. But the largest I could find was 10mL with a 24mm outer diameter. I didn't think this was substantial enough. Also, the taper on the vial wasn't as long as with the tube I selected.

1. Graduations: I wanted to be able to approximate ink volume to determine how much ink was left in a bottle or if I was mixing inks to make my own color. I chose a tube that had white graduations in order to show up better against darker inks and also so that it would not hinder my perception of the color of the ink.
2. Heavy Duty vs Normal: I chose to go with normal duty borosilicate glass. The reason was that with the thicker glass, Corning reduced the volume of the tube from 50mL to 40mL. So, it could not hold a standard bottle of ink if needed. Furthermore, with the heavy duty version, the taper in the conical bottle was shorter than with the normal version. This hindered filling and extraction of small amounts of ink from almost empty bottles. The normal duty is more than strong enough for our purposes. The heavy duty is intended for very high RPM centrifuges where forces that we will not be subjecting the tubes to are present.
3. Rolled Lip vs Pour Spout: I wanted to have a pour spout so badly so that ink was easy to pour back into the bottle or to dispense into smaller sample vials. But, the pour spout only came on the heavy duty version which was not desirable for reasons mentioned above. Pouring from a rolled lip can sometimes cause a bit of a spill so I decided to include a glass funnel to compensate for this.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Pyrex%208080%2050mL%2002_zpshj90mo4k.jpg

 

 

2. Stand: I looked at a bunch of 1-Well stands. I thought about just using a white plastic, friction fit base. But these seemed less stable and also block vision to what is going on in the bottom. I wanted users to be able to see the graduations at the very bottom and also see the nib of the pen inside the vial. This is the version I rejected, but in blue (shown with plastic tube instead of glass):

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Heathrow%20Scientific%20HD23053A%20Polystyrene%201-Well%20Friction-Fit%20Rack%20for%2050mL%20Tubes%2001_zps3siltimo.jpg

 

Instead I decided to go with an epoxy coated steel rack because it was:

• Heavier so it would be more stable.
• Had a wider base, again, more stable
• Allowed the user to see the very bottom of the tube were the nib would be or so they could more easily work with smaller quantities of ink.

Here is what it looks like in yellow. I would think about either asking the manufacturer to get white if possible or I would paint them with white enamel myself so that the color didn't hinder color perception of the ink. Again, this is shown with a plastic tube. We would use glass with a longer taper instead as mentioned above:

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Heathrow%20Scientific%20HD23051%20Steel%20Epoxy-Coated%201-Well%20Wire%20Rack%20for%2050mL%20Tubes%20Yellow%2002_zpsqlwqctv5.jpg

 

 

3. Closure: There are variants of this tube with glass stoppers, screw caps and other closures. These closures reduce the inner diameter of the tube and thus, the pens that are compatible with it. So, I'm trying to find a polymer based closure that seals both the inside and outside diameter of the tube so that no ink spills. I figured since this device was meant for someone to work with ink temporarily before decanting it into another vessel, a polycone cap to prevent evaporation was not necessary. The closure is only meant to cover the vessel temporarily while one steps away from the work area so that the ink doesn't become contaminated. I'd like to go with either white or clear depending on what is available. I'm still researching what is available and will update later with a post in this thread. Let me know what you guys think on this and what would be preferable in your mind.

 

4. Funnel: Because the tube has a rolled lip instead of a pour spout for reasons mentioned above, I wanted to ensure minimal mess and chance of spill. So, I figured a glass funnel would be perfect for this. Glass is a great material choice because it is less likely to absorb ink and then cross contaminate. The 60mm opening is large enough to fit the mouth of even the widest bottles of ink into (like Private Reserve) without spilling.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Diameter-60mm-font-b-Glass-b-font-Triangular-Conical-font-b-Funnel-b-font-Chemical-Biological_zpsi8i6qrbf.jpg

 

5. Other Accessories: I might include a glass eyedropper. I might include a glass stir rod. There are many other ideas I have for additions. Let me know what other accessories might be useful to you guys.

 

 

 

Let me know what you think and if you would be interested. It's a neat project. If we get enough people interested, we can make it happen. I'm going to make one for me regardless. :-)

[OCArt]

I appreciate that you are pondering ways to make a better filling device--- especially since I can't fill my Pelikan M1000 pen from a Sailor ink bottle. You mention that "the inner diameter of this tube is going to be about 34mm" That's huge and it would take a lot of ink to fill above the nib line. You might want to think about this specification.

[JonB55198]

38mm may be a bit large. What should be the maximum diameter the tube should accommodate? A Ranga Model 4 is huge and is only 16mm. The model 5, their biggest pen, is 18mm. These are eyedrop fillers. But you could still use this tube to soak the nib for cleaning. So maybe 20mm is the max it should need to accommodate? Thoughts?

 

I'll look for an alternative and see what I can come up with. Thanks for your feedback. :-)

[ac12]

I prefer initial ink mixing/experimenting in a SMALL vial of about 5ml. That way if I mix up something I just do NOT like (it happens), I don't loose a lot of ink down the drain. I use a 1 and 5ml syringe to fill ink in the 5ml vial. The 1ml syringe gives me the small volume measuring precision. The only issue is that a FP will stop drawing ink at about 2ml, because the intake on the pen is then above the ink level. Then you switch to syringe filling the converter.

 

The other challenge is to find a suitable pen and paper to use for ink testing. The problem is that that pen (or pens) has to represent all your pens, which is not easy to do. The obvious choice, a dip pen tends to write wetter than most fountain pens, so it may not be a good choice. The glass dip pens that I've seen are even worse, very WET when just dipped.

[JonB55198]

What would be more precise than Abby syringe is a 5-25μL adjustable micropipette

[JonB55198]

Just found out corning makes a 50ml conical tube with screw cap. Outer diameter is 28mm and the cap threading diameter it's 24mm. This is pretty close to ideal I think.

[Larry Barrieau]

I don't think the color of the stand will make much difference. It's not what the ink looks like in the container that matters, it's the sample writing that indicates if it's the color you want.

 

I use a silicone funnel to transfer inks and a very quick rinse gets all the ink off.

 

For sample writing I use a dipless pen like an Esterbrook or a Sengbusch. It takes about a minute to rinse a few times, shake it out, and papertowel it dry. Yes, glass pens are way to wet at first. I think to write with them properly would take a lot of practice.

[JonB55198]

Since it seems the 50mL Centrifuge tube is both too tall and too wide, I've come up with another solution. The geometry of this vial seems to be more suited to fountain pens. With an inner diameter of 17mm, it can accommodate almost any pen. It is also self-standing so no stand will be necessary:

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Wheaton%2010ml%20Conical%20Vial_zpsbukanpfd.png

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/099451-10ml-Kimble-Mini-Reaction-Vial-with-Cap-and-Liner_zpsfkrruxl5.jpg

I ended up buying a hand full of 50mL centrifuge tubes in polypropylene instead of glass so that I could use them for soaking and cleaning pens. The polypropylene ones come in a self-standing variety that makes them convenient so that I can soak a few pens without having to buy a stand to hold the tubes. Of course, a stand would add stability and I might look into buying that in the future.

[Oranges and Apples]

How much would the one pictured above this post cost?

[JonB55198]

How much would the one pictured above this post cost?

It would depend on how many I could buy. But in low quantities around $15.

[Oranges and Apples]

That would be $15 each?

[JonB55198]

That would be $15 each?

Correct. I think they're expensive due to the grade and thickness of borosillicate glass. I'm still trying to find alternative vendors.

[JonB55198]

I've procured some samples of the flat bottom 10mL conical vial in message #8 above. I will post photos soon. Unfortunately, due to the type of glass and tolerances, this is going to be expensive. I've been quoted $230 for 12 of them in low quantities. I'm not sure there's enough demand to get higher quantities.

 

An alternative, would be to use a 25mL conical centrifuge tube. This is an odd size for the lab but prefect for our uses! The inner diameter of the opening is 19mm and will accommodate even a Ranga #2 (that huge beast of a pen made in India out of ebonite) Unfortunately minimum order quantity is 1200. But the cost is much lower and I could provide them for $3 each. This type of tube would not stand on it's own and would require a stand. I could either provide it with the single place wire stand shown in message #1 orv try to 3D model my own and have them 3D printed on demand. Below is a photo of the 25mL centrifuge tube. It is shown on the extreme right.

[rafapa]

Maybe a glass graduated cylinder is another option?

[JonB55198]

Maybe a glass graduated cylinder is another option?

That could work but may be too deep.

[rafapa]

That could work but may be too deep.

There are conical ones.

[JonB55198]

There are conical ones.

I will have to check this out. That might actually be perfect! :-)