# Ink cartridge question?



## Mack C. (Nov 5, 2010)

What would I tell a customer who buys an FP with respect to replacing the ink cartridge? i.e. Are all cartridges made to a standard length?, other than I notice in the thread below, Waterman's are somewhat longer.


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## ldb2000 (Nov 5, 2010)

The standard size cartridges are the "International short " cartridges .


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## monophoto (Nov 5, 2010)

Mack - 

Some ink cartridges are standard, while others are not.

The so-called 'international standard' cartridges actually come in two lengths.  By far the most popular is the short (1.5") cartridge - and many of the commercially-made pens that use short cartridges have enough space in the barrel to store a spare cartridge.  Most of the pen kits that I've seen use short international cartridges.  Whether pens made from these kits can accommodate the long international standard cartridge depends mainly on whether the maker allowed room for the longer pen when fabricating the barrel.

It is possible to refill exhausted cartridges.  All that is required is a syringe to transfer ink from a bottle to the empty cartridge.  

An alternative to the cartridge is a converter.  A converter (aka, a 'pump') is a insert that fits into the pen like a cartridge and that is refillable from a bottle, either by turning a small knob at the end of the converter, or pushing a slider on the side.  Converters hold more ink that cartridges, and using a converter is less expensive than using cartridges (because on a cost/volume basis, bottled ink is far less expensive than ink in a tiny one-shot container).  

There are a few commercially-made pens that use proprietary cartridges - which means that the user is forced to either purchase cartridges from the pen manufacturer (and they tend to be costly), or else use a converter that is loaded from a bottle.  The list of these includes Cross, Lamy, Pilot/Namiki, Platinum, Sailor, and most Sheaffers.  None of these are compatible with the international standard cartridge - ie, a proprietary cartridge from one of these manufacturers won't fit a kit pen made for an international standard cartridge.


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## Mack C. (Nov 5, 2010)

Butch & Louie; thank you muchly.

Just so I understand you clearly, I should tell my customers to look for the short 1.5" cartridge which will be available at most office supply retailers.


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## ldb2000 (Nov 5, 2010)

Yes but make sure that you add the word "International" to that as these are the only ones that fit our kit pens . Add Parker to the above list of pen manufacturers that use special ink cartridges that are NOT international standard .


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## Mack C. (Nov 6, 2010)

ldb2000 said:


> Yes but make sure that you add the word "International" to that as these are the only ones that fit our kit pens.


Gotcha! Thanks, Butch.


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## alphageek (Nov 6, 2010)

Mack C. in Brooklin (Whitby) ON said:


> Butch & Louie; thank you muchly.
> 
> Just so I understand you clearly, I should tell my customers to look for the short 1.5" cartridge which will be available at most office supply retailers.



Actually, you may want to check that out in your area.. the ONLY ones I can find at my local office supply is the waterman long ones.

That being said, I keep a small selection of PR cartridges handy, and make sure they take my card.   I let them know that I can get them more ink easily and its a plus... FP buyers tend to be repeat buyers


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## DurocShark (Nov 6, 2010)

Office Depot (or is it Office Max?) sells Monteverde cartridges.


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## alphageek (Nov 6, 2010)

DurocShark said:


> Office Depot (or is it Office Max?) sells Monteverde cartridges.



Really??   I wonder if thats regional.. Last I checked neither did in my area and I can't find them on their website.

I will have to check again though, because I would like to be able to redirect customers to another option if necessary.


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## Chthulhu (Nov 6, 2010)

My local Office Depot had Waterman, Monteverde, and Foray-branded short carts the last time I looked. The Monteverde carts were several carts each of two odd colors per card; Waterman were blue or black; Foray were black only.

They also had some non-standard Cross carts; be sure you tell your customers NOT to buy those.


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## ed4copies (Nov 6, 2010)

*Of COURSE they do!!!!!!       did.*



alphageek said:


> DurocShark said:
> 
> 
> > Office Depot (or is it Office Max?) sells Monteverde cartridges.
> ...



I used to tell all my pen customers that they could find the cartridges everywhere, you know, Office Max, Office Depot, Staples......anywhere.

About 4 years ago a good customer saw me at a show and (teasingly) read me the riot act about not being able to find the refills.   So, I went to the local Staples (Chicago show)--nope,  OfficeMax...nope,   when I got back to home, I went to MY LOCAL outlets--I KNEW they had them---NOPE!!!

That's when I started getting Private Reserve and taking them to shows with me.  (I realized the "big box" stores did not move them fast enough to justify the space---THAT is what determines what they offer for sale---what actually SELLS---Damned computer tells them!!)

So, careful what generalities you use!!!


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## DurocShark (Nov 6, 2010)

Well, I'll say that the Office whatever I bought them from last time is up the street from me. And the last time I bought them was 2 weeks ago. 

They also had some bottle inks, but nothing I'd bother with.

I've bought the ones that don't fit and made them work by cutting them open and pouring them out into a little medicine dosing cup. A piston converter removed from the feed can suck the ink out then.


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## Mack C. (Nov 6, 2010)

DurocShark said:


> I've bought the ones that don't fit and made them work by cutting them open and pouring them out into a little medicine dosing cup. A piston converter removed from the feed can suck the ink out then.


Hi Don; I can just see me telling my customer how his new FP will work!:biggrin:


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## ed4copies (Nov 6, 2010)

Mack,
You can always try telling him that's why you carry converters around with you.   (RARELY worked for me, but  maybe you are more persuasive---my customers nearly always said they didn't want to get THAT close to their ink)   Converters allow the use of bottled ink, in case anyone does not know that.


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