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TWSBI: Vac Mini vs "Regular" Mini: What's the difference?

lectraplayer

By lectraplayer
in Fountain & Dip Pens - First Stop

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lectraplayer Extremely Rare

lectraplayer

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I noticed on Goulet that the Vac Mini is now on stock and there is now a non-Vac version of the Mini, or at least the name Vac is not in the title. From what I can tell by looking at the photos and specs, it looks like the same thing. Is the "Regular" Mini the new name for the Vac Mini or is there an actual difference? Are both still the smaller sibling of the 700R?

If it isn't too bright for you, it isn't bright enough for me.

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Runnin_Ute Museum Piece

Runnin_Ute

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They are different filling systems. The "regular" mini is a piston filled pens, while the "vac mini" is vacuum filled.  A piston fill pen has a piston attached to a rod that you twist the knob on the end to draw ink into the pen. A vac filled pen is a push-pull system that creates a pressure difference in order to fill the pen. My only vac filler is a vintage (1940's) Parker Vacumatic but I have multiple piston fill pens from Pelikan,  TWSBI among others. 

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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lectraplayer Extremely Rare

lectraplayer

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So basically Eco with a different look?

 

If it isn't too bright for you, it isn't bright enough for me.

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jccebollero New

jccebollero

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The regular mini is the sibling of the diamond 580. It has the piston filling mechanism that is also compatible with the Twsbi inkwell. The only vacuum filler I have is the Pilot Custom 823. Twsbi has some interesting portable inkwells for their vacuum line. I wish they made something similar for the 580s. I know those pens hold a lot of ink, but if you’re traveling on an art expedition, you’re going to need extra ink.
 

Anyway, regular mini is piston filling and the vac, well it’s a vacuum filler…

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WalterC Rare

WalterC

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The TWSBI classic mini is slightly smaller than the vac mini in most dimensions (Goulet has detailed dimensions).  The  vac mini has a large ink capacity for a small pen (vac mini 1.98ml, classic mini 1.17ml). The classic mini is also called the Diamond mini.

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lectraplayer Extremely Rare

lectraplayer

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I guess related, have they discontinued the Vac Mini or something? I'm not finding it now except on the Bay of E.

If it isn't too bright for you, it isn't bright enough for me.

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Misfit Museum Piece

Misfit

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The Vac Mini is still on the TWSBI website. I was looking at it before I saw this post. Both the Vac Mini and Diamond Mini have metal parts, so not like the Eco. They are at least $20 more than an Eco. 
 

Both the Vac Mini and Diamond Mini have caps that screw on to post. I’ve found the Vac Mini is harder to get a full fill unless you have the Vac 20A ink bottle. It really helps getting the pen full, and works with the Vac as well. 
 

There are more color choices with the Diamond Mini. 

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lectraplayer Extremely Rare

lectraplayer

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10 hours ago, Misfit said:

The Vac Mini is still on the TWSBI website. I was looking at it before I saw this post. Both the Vac Mini and Diamond Mini have metal parts, so not like the Eco. They are at least $20 more than an Eco. 
 

Both the Vac Mini and Diamond Mini have caps that screw on to post. I’ve found the Vac Mini is harder to get a full fill unless you have the Vac 20A ink bottle. It really helps getting the pen full, and works with the Vac as well. 
 

There are more color choices with the Diamond Mini. 

I'm not sure why, but the normal stomping grounds I go to for finding pens don't have the Vac Mini for some reason. They might have one listing but it's showing sold out. ...though I'll plus 1 the inkwell. I have a couple and find them quite handy. There's also a couple of my other pens those fit as well. ...though I also like the Diamond inkwell as well, and intend to get a couple more before long.

If it isn't too bright for you, it isn't bright enough for me.

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lectraplayer Extremely Rare

lectraplayer

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Hmm... Hopefully that means the outage is temporary. 

If it isn't too bright for you, it isn't bright enough for me.

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TSherbs Donor Pen

TSherbs

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On 2/27/2026 at 3:22 PM, WalterC said:

The TWSBI classic mini is slightly smaller than the vac mini in most dimensions (Goulet has detailed dimensions).  The  vac mini has a large ink capacity for a small pen (vac mini 1.98ml, classic mini 1.17ml). The classic mini is also called the Diamond mini.

 

My memory also claims that the sections were slightly different in size and shape. But I have not seen the vac-Mini in some time, and my memory, well....

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Misfit Museum Piece

Misfit

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Here are the TWSBI Diamond Mini on the left, and Vac Mini on the right. Both are the clear versions. 
 

large.IMG_2261.jpeg.589400d88d1921440354ee7218f5064d.jpeg

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