Twsbi ink bottle design

[speedy]

To extend the Twsbi fountain line series, people suggest me to develop twsbi ink. At the moment I think ink is difficult, but we can develop some beautiful ink bottlehttp://www.bbs.twsbi.com/images/smilies/default/smile.gif So I will need your valuable experiences to suggest the design from aesthetic, function to material to give me a direction.

I found manufacturer who can make glass bottle similar to this.

http://www.bbs.twsbi.com/viewthread.php?tid=467&extra=page%3D1

Edited April 23, 2010 by speedy

[gillyohan]

I like the clear bottle better.

 

What I like about it:

1. solid base, so it won't easily tip over when filling.

2. wide mouth for larger-nibbed pens.

 

Concern:

1. not deep, so difficult to fill when ink get low. This might be remedied with an inner well that would enable one to fill a pen even where there is not a lot of ink left.

 

You might want to take a look at Lamy and Montblanc ink bottles to see how they approached this problem. I think Sailor ink bottles also have some kind of inner well now.

Edited April 23, 2010 by gillyohan

[speedy]

yes, bottle with inner wall to keep ink in smaller area, easy for feeding is a necessary feature, will include.

[djpyle]

Clear is also nice because it lets you see the color of the ink. In my opinion, the clearer the better. I wouldn't even mind a clear lid and a mostly clear label.

 

If you do end up making your own inks and put as much work into them as you have your pens, I'm sure they'll be a hit.

[Astroix]

A clear bottle with an inner wall and (possibly) a mostly clear label. Practical and matches the "look" of your demonstrator fountain pen.

[gross]

yes, bottle with inner wall to keep ink in smaller area, easy for feeding is a necessary feature, will include.

This is a good design plan, in my opinion. I also like the clear bottle to see how much ink is left in the bottle. Now I want your fountain pen and your ink bottle!

[speedy]

it seemed many people like the clear bottle, clear label, good suggestion.

Let's keep collecting more idea.

[Gub]

classical schapes, such as organical roundings of more symetrical. don't know the link but some where on this forum is a topic about inkbottles, like the levenger schape.

[speedy]

classical schapes, such as organical roundings of more symetrical. don't know the link but some where on this forum is a topic about inkbottles, like the levenger schape.

 

google found the link in here

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/28435-ink-bottle-shapes/page__mode__show

thanks

[holgalee]

Since you're so daring, I'll like to see an ink bottle that really matches you pen's aesthetics, so I'll ask for the same faceted look. But frankly, I'll be quite happy if you just concentrate on producing nice pens, and let the ink manufacturers continue to sell their inks. There are so many of them out there that we're spoilt for choice already!

 

However, the pen market can definitely do with more affordable and well-designed pens from a maker who actually listens to pen users. If you do it well, you'll definitely make other pen manufacturers sit up and realise that they had better start offering better value for money pens! And best of all, if you have several models and they're excellent and affordable, more people are going to be using fountain pens, and your name will be carved in the history of fountain pens!

[speedy]

Since you're so daring, I'll like to see an ink bottle that really matches you pen's aesthetics, so I'll ask for the same faceted look. But frankly, I'll be quite happy if you just concentrate on producing nice pens, and let the ink manufacturers continue to sell their inks. There are so many of them out there that we're spoilt for choice already!

 

However, the pen market can definitely do with more affordable and well-designed pens from a maker who actually listens to pen users. If you do it well, you'll definitely make other pen manufacturers sit up and realise that they had better start offering better value for money pens! And best of all, if you have several models and they're excellent and affordable, more people are going to be using fountain pens, and your name will be carved in the history of fountain pens!

Thank you for your good comments. I will not make inks, but just the bottle. This is part of the project to expand the twsbi fountain pen lines. A well designed bottle according user's need, with the brand they (will) trust.

 

Yes, the "Best Value" is what we, TWSBI, will focus on, to create nice and affordable product for most of the people.

 

 

 

 

[xuan87]

to be honest, the only ink bottles that i'm looking to buy are small ink bottles, the reason being that i can store my inks in them for easy filling. for instance, due to the long and deep design of the noodler's bottle, i'm finding it harder and harder to fill my converter. in the near future, i may have to pour out the ink into a vial, and then fill from there. it will be nice if i have a ink bottle that is shallow, yet can contain more than a vial worth of ink, so i can easily fill from my converter and yet do not have to pour out my ink from the original bottle every time i want to do so. something for you to consider!

 

of course, a bigger ink bottle with an ink well like the one you have in mind can be a solution to my problem, but smaller bottles take up less space

[Lloyd]

How about a smaller travelling inkpot to be used with your other pens? It will need an internal well that can accomodate your pens' nibs and hold adequate ink to fill your piston/vac fillers, be lightweight but stable, and leakproof/crushproof.

[xuan87]

How about a smaller travelling inkpot to be used with your other pens? It will need an internal well that can accomodate your pens' nibs and hold adequate ink to fill your piston/vac fillers, be lightweight but stable, and leakproof/crushproof.

 

I LOVE IT!! haha, yea that will totally fit my requirements.

[jleeper]

A few thoughts:

 

1) Forget glass, go for plastic. Visconti uses it, Diamine uses it for their 30ml, FPN uses it for the exchange vials, and a lot of us like the Nalgene (HDPE) bottles for carrying ink around. Why? You are looking at a internet-ebay based sales model; you're going to be mailing the bottles all over the world. Plastic is lighter and less easy to break. It looks like from the recycling markings on the Visconti bottle that they are using PET. The Visconti bottles seem very rigid and unlikely to succumb to external pressure and break or spew ink out the cap. HDPE is probably not quite transparent enough for most people. I do dislike the shape of the regular Visconti bottle, too top heavy, is scares me every time I open it.

 

2) The absolutely best designed bottle is the Montblanc 'Shoe' bottle. I don't know about the new version, but the old version is great. But I understand a similar bottle might be harder to manufacture and might be cost prohibitive. I also like the Montblanc cap. It almost looks like it might be so large and thick primarily for looks, but it is very functional. The height makes it easy to get finger around, the heft makes me feel more secure when I open and close it, and the ridges on the side of the cap help with gripping.

 

3) The second best bottle I own are the Levenger bottles. I like the plastic insert to help with filling when ink gets low. I really do not like the smooth cap that looks like it was designed more for show that functionality. That smooth cap is hard to grip.

 

4) Aurora bottles are pretty, but too heavy. Do you really want to be mailing that much glass back and forth internationally?

 

5) The hands down worst bottles I own are Noodler's bottles. Too tall; they make me worry that they may tip over when I'm filling. And the caps short and not as substantial as most other ink bottle caps. I haven't broken one yet trying to tighten one, but I feel like I will someday. And don't fill to the brim like Noodler's, I'd rather have less ink than the chance to spill when you first open a Noodler's bottle.

[jleeper]

And if you are going to sell ink, don't bother if you plan on only a small selection of colors like Black, Blue, Blue-Black, Green, Red. Give us a broad line of colors like the Pilot Iroshizuku line or the Sailor limited editions. Of course you don't have to start out with a large number of colors, let the line grow, but I'd offer some interesting colors right from the start.

[penspouse]

it seemed many people like the clear bottle, clear label, good suggestion.

Let's keep collecting more idea.

+1

 

Since you're so daring, I'll like to see an ink bottle that really matches you pen's aesthetics, so I'll ask for the same faceted look. <snip>

+1

[DanDeM]

Square bottles use space more efficiently. Indent the bottom so that they can be stacked with the lower bottle's cap nesting into the indent of the upper bottle.

+1 for Levenger type, plastic well.

+1 for traveling inkpot

+1 for clear glass

Edited April 23, 2010 by Blotto

[bgray]

If you are going to all the effort to design the perfect bottle, do it right.

 

In my opinion, this means a bottle that will allow you to get the majority of the contents into a pen without having to tip the bottle.

 

This means a design like the MB "shoe" bottle, as mentioned above, or something like the new Sailor bottle design, which has a small cup inside the bottle. You turn the bottle up-side down, and a portion of ink stays inside this cup for easier filling.

 

Good luck. If you can design a great ink bottle, there's a market for it.

Edited April 23, 2010 by bgray

[Deirdre]

This bottle doesn't do it for me.

 

The most successful seem to have a secondary reservoir for when the bottle's mostly empty. Montblanc, for example. Visconti's bottle makes filling large pens easy, but isn't quite as good for low levels of ink.

 

I'd love a great bottle, and I wouldn't care if it contained ink.