What's The World's Best Selling Fountain Pen Ink ?

[Bibliophage]

I have two bottles of Hero ink.

[DrDebG]

Worldwide? In Europe? In the US? In Australia? In Asia?

 

You suggestion that Noodler's might be the best selling is likely erroneous. Noodler's is a small operations compared to Pilot, Parker, even Waterman. He may create many colors and formulations, but I seriously doubt that he can compete on the same level as even a Sailor/Bungubox or DeAtramentis. But then again, I am just speculating. I have no facts to back any of this up with. As my father would call it "pie in the sky" conjectures.

[Bibliophage]

Heck, there's whatever company is in Slovenia that Sheaffer, Thornton's, and the Detroit pen store used. Who knows what other third party inks they're making.

[Olya]

Oh yes, Hero ink is used outside China & Asia for sure, but the use outside is still rather limited, especially compared to all other inks available.

The rise of Chinese e-commerce sites is changing that and making stuff like Hero inks more available and more used.

 

Worldwide? In Europe? In the US? In Australia? In Asia?

 

You suggestion that Noodler's might be the best selling is likely erroneous. Noodler's is a small operations compared to Pilot, Parker, even Waterman. He may create many colors and formulations, but I seriously doubt that he can compete on the same level as even a Sailor/Bungubox or DeAtramentis. But then again, I am just speculating. I have no facts to back any of this up with. As my father would call it "pie in the sky" conjectures.

I agree with what you say, Noodler's is certainly small fish compared to the big companies, same goes for the by me mentioned KWZI, Robert Oster etc, but my impression is they are selling well (especially for such small companies!) and Noodler's looks to me like it is a staple brand amongst many Americans, just the regular Black or HoD and amny others are mentioned a lot and seem to me like big sellers.

 

And Noodler's is offered by some e-commerce sites which don't offer Parker Quink or Waterman...

 

The best way to find that out would be a retailer opening up; and sorting the search bar by "bestselling" and even that doesn't tell the full story...

 

A bit of idle speculation is the best we can do!

 

I am intrigued by remarks that some brands do stuff for others, esp when it's kind of a trade secret.... Those outside an industry will however never find out unfortunately!

 

 

Heck, there's whatever company is in Slovenia that Sheaffer, Thornton's, and the Detroit pen store used. Who knows what other third party inks they're making.

Then Sellner in Austria and Diamine fall also into this category!

[Arkanabar]

I'mma stir it up even more.

Are we talking about a brand, or a specific ink? And over what time period? Last year? The last five years? Of All Time? (That would give quite the edge to J. Herbin and Diamine, btw.)

Hero ink is widely available in both China and India, the two most populous nations in the entire world (each outstripping the 3d place US by a billion or more), and with much higher rates of FP usage than here in the West. I'd be willing to give it current reigning world champion status.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Arkanabar

[sirgilbert357]

I'll get my wife to take a photo of our office shelves...

 

 

[RJS]

Considering practically all Chinese children still have to use fountain pens at various stages of their education, I'd say whatever China buys the most of is the best selling ink. I'd imagine consumption in the East blows consumption in the West out of the water. Pilot black ink seemed to be everywhere when I worked there, and could be had for under $3USD, but lots of local brands and unbranded ink were also incredibly common. 

[maclink]

From a Western ink sales POV, I would think it's one of those inks you can easily purchase in a stationery shop.  Here in my hometown, I see Parker and Waterman inks.  If I go to an above average stationery store, I see Waterman, Diamine and Lamy in addition to Parker.  These average sales outlets would not sell the inks they do unless there was some demand for it from their customers.  I suspect the bestselling inks are 'boring' for hobbyists like us.  By 'boring', I'm not at all snobbing any of these inks.  They're very good inks and likely why they are so widely available.  

 

I wouldn't base an answer for the OPs question on Brian Goulet's own sales.  He runs a boutique FP business largely for hobbyists.  

 

I agree though that based on raw population figures and fountain pen use within populations, China and India ink usage would likely shift the balance with which ink sells most.

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 6/2/2019 at 4:58 AM, DrDebG said:

DeAtramentis

Is a man,Dr. Jansen?Janson,  his wife and the son is now taking over....so Noodler's might have more employees.

[TSherbs]

1 hour ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Is a man,Dr. Jansen?Janson,  his wife and the son is now taking over....so Noodler's might have more employees.

Huh?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Seen it on German TV.

Elderly man and wife, with son taking over.

Call it a 2 1/2 man shop.

Scoop of this, half a scoop of that, no where as near to precise as I expected.

[RJS]

16 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Seen it on German TV.

Elderly man and wife, with son taking over.

Call it a 2 1/2 man shop.

Scoop of this, half a scoop of that, no where as near to precise as I expected.

Sounds like a video I saw a few years ago about making pencils, where the paint was seemingly slapped together with a rough guesstimate of ingredients. Ill defined giant shovel load of this, giant shovel load of that...

 

The effort required to perfect a recipe and measure ingredients precisely is hardly difficult or time consuming to do.