The Sheaffer Ink Move To Slovenia

[Kabe]

So, does anyone know why did Sheaffer changed the ink production to Slovenia? When?

 

How are inks different?

 

What was the reaction among FPholics?

 

How can I distinguish old ink from new?

 

I think I have an old bottle of US made Sheaffer red. How can I be sure?

 

Thanks

[rx170]

I live in NE part of Slovenia but actually never heard of it.

 

But it is true.

 

 

 

Skrip

Skrip is a series of inks made by the Sheaffer brand. In 2002 Sheaffer stopped manufacturing ink in the USA and moved ink production to Slovenia. The ink bottle, the formulae and color characteristics of the inks, and the names and availability of certain colors were changed along with that move.

According to fountain pen enthusiasts, Sheaffer Skrip, whether in the former USA formulae or in the current Slovenia formulae, is generally considered to be a "safe fountain pen ink"; it should neither stain nor clog fountain pens very easily.

As of 2008 Sheaffer Skrip is available in a 50 ml bottle with a conic side and the country name "SLOVENIA" molded into the bottom, and in proprietary Sheaffer cartridges with "SLOVENIA" molded into the side next to the brand name. Color selection is slightly wider in cartridges than in bottles. Some cartridges have clear sides with color-coded end caps (opposite the insertion end), while other cartridges are opaque and color-coded.

 

You should not worry about the quality, Slovenian chemical industry is one of the best in the world.

 

Review.

Edited September 19, 2009 by rx170

[kernando]

All the answers are probably on the Pendemonium page, or Glenn Marcus's site, or somewhere back on FPN but you'd still have to use Google to find it all.

 

Some names are different, and colors are different, and some colors are gone. People say black is better, which probably wasn't hard to do. Now there's no burgundy, grey, King's Gold, and maybe something else I can't recall.

 

People miss the old bottles. Old ink comes in old bottles, and new ink comes in new bottles, unless somebody has played around with things. Is your bottle old?

[Ernst Bitterman]

The colour range may have contracted, but the colours still extant are quite nice. The only one I have any brief against is red, and that's mainly because red ink as a tribe is given to clogging and staining; it's actually a very nice colour, while it runs.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Ernst Bitterman

[lapis]

The new inks from Slovenia have labels that, vertically on the right-hand edge, list the word "Ink" followed by that word in 9 other languages.

One is Russian, and one presumably Slovenian.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that was the case during iron-curtain days.

 

Mike

[rx170]

The new inks from Slovenia have labels that, vertically on the right-hand edge, list the word "Ink" followed by that word in 9 other languages.

One is Russian, and one presumably Slovenian.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that was the case during iron-curtain days.

 

Mike

 

If it says črnilo (pronounced as chrnilo and written with letter c with a cap) then it is Slovenian.

[SusanLowe]

I'm a newbie here and didn't know Sheaffer had changed its production. I've just bought a bottle of Sheaffer blue from The Writing Desk and its obviously the new stuff because it has Slovenia on the bottom of the bottle. I'll let you know how I get on with it. The best red I've ever found is Diamine Scarlet, also available from The Writing Desk.

 

Susan

[lapis]

[if it says črnilo (pronounced as chrnilo and written with letter c with a cap) then it is Slovenian.

Okay, I'll fess up. That word is not on the lable. Funny, 'eh?

 

Mike

PS: Chinese and Japanese are also missing

[Jules]

I just found out that one of my school bookstores has Sheaffer Skrip in jet black, blue, and blue-black for about eight bucks per bottle, so I picked up a bottle of black ink. It says "Slovenia" on the bottom.

 

I'm still waiting for my first fountain pen to arrive (!), but meanwhile, how do I get this bottle open? Is it sealed again inside the cap, or is the cap so tight because it is the only thing keeping the ink from spilling out? I've been trying to twist it open, but all I've gotten so far is a bunch of sore fingers. Never mind, I got it! Without spilling it, too. Whew!

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/direharbinger/DSCN1235.jpg

 

Wish I knew what languages these were...

Edited September 19, 2009 by Jaylin

[bwnewton]

Pendemonium.com has a couple of great articles about the Sheaffer manufacturing switch. One article is called "Casey's Nightmare" and the other is "Sheaffer Pen Company FAQ." Click "Inks & Refills" on the left side-bar. Then, in the ink menu, click on "Sheaffer". Scroll down a bit and you'll come to the links for the articles.

Edited September 19, 2009 by bwnewton

[rx170]

I just found out that one of my school bookstores has Sheaffer Skrip in jet black, blue, and blue-black for about eight bucks per bottle, so I picked up a bottle of black ink. It says "Slovenia" on the bottom.

 

I'm still waiting for my first fountain pen to arrive (!), but meanwhile, how do I get this bottle open? Is it sealed again inside the cap, or is the cap so tight because it is the only thing keeping the ink from spilling out? I've been trying to twist it open, but all I've gotten so far is a bunch of sore fingers. Never mind, I got it! Without spilling it, too. Whew!

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/direharbinger/DSCN1235.jpg

 

Wish I knew what languages these were...

 

Well, there is no Slovenia sign here, the closest to Slovenian is Rusian written in cirilic alphabet (chornilo / črnilo). In fact I do not think that this ink is being marketed in Slovenia (or perhaps the export version doesn't have the Slovenian sign).

[lapis]

I'd put it this way: even if it is produced in Slovenia, they wouldn't have to be able to read the Slovenian word on the label. Either they already know what ink "is", or they speak enough English. Their "second language" was Russian, anyway. (That's the last word in the list -- no pun intended.)

 

Mike

Edited September 19, 2009 by lapis

[ZeissIkon]

Wish I knew what languages these were...

 

Well, I can make a good guess at most of them...

 

English

French

Spanish

Italian

Portugese

Danish/Swedish

German

Dutch

Greek

Russian

 

I agree, odd that neither Chinese nor Japanese is present -- nor Hindi, Turkish, Hebrew, or Arabic, come to that.

[rx170]

In fact чернила (černila) is the correct Russian word. The last чорнило (čornilo) pronounced as chornilo (I mistakenly assumed this was Russian) is Ukranian. The Slovenian word is "črnilo", however the SLovenian does not use Russian cirilic letters.

 

I am just mentioning this to demonstrate how similar the Slavic languages are. The Slovenian is however famous for its (for foreigners) very difficult dual case. You can read about it here.

 

But lets talk about the ink.

Edited September 19, 2009 by rx170

[lapis]

Number 9 is definitely not Greek.

 

Meek

[rx170]

Number 9 is definitely not Greek.

 

Meek

 

No, its Ukranian.

[picautomaton]

The 'Slovenia' is on the base of the bottle like part of the glass.

 

I have the old red and had a cartridge of the new Slovenia red and the latter had a much deeper red color.

 

The new brown is very nice too similar to Pelikan 4001 brown.

 

 

GC

[RLTodd]

This has been covered before.

 

1) Sheaffer no longer exists, it is a brand name owned by BIC.

 

2) For business reasons they shut down the Ft. Madison, IA, manufacture of ink and moved or contracted it to another concern in Slovenia.

 

3) Obviously the ink is different. Originally it was made with Ft. Madison water and American chemicals. It is now made with Slovenian water and European chemicals.

 

4) It is apparent that when they moved the production BIC attempted to match the hue and behavior of the inks. With the change in chemicals (the dyes) the hues have become more saturated.

 

5) IMHO, Skrip Slovenian is still the most pen and paper friendly, and safest, ink I know of.

 

5a) IMHO, If they offered it in quarts, or liters, they could probably still sell the Blue and Jet Black profitably.

[GHigley]

Does anyone know if there are other FP ink plants in Slovenia other than the one producing Sheaffer Skrip? I ask because I recently received some unbranded carts from xfountainpens.com that are marked Slovenia. I'm curious if they may be from the facility producing Sheaffer's inks. How many FP ink manufacturers might there be in Slovenia?

[BobR]

There are either several manufacturers, or more likely one, which produces ink and carts for many companies. I believe that Private Reserve cartridges are labelled Slovenia, although in that case it may just be the packaging of the US ink in the carts. I recall doing a search on the internet and finding a website for an ink maker in Slovenia, but never discovered if it produced Sheaffer inks.