2010-09-27

Best and worst ink bottle designs

Today, I've looked at the design of ink bottles to see which ones leaves the least ink remaining after you fill pens directly from the bottle. I've tested by using a Pelikan M200 and filling it fully, after the first time it doesn't suck up ink without slurping I measure the remaining ink (so some is slurped up).


Caran d'Ache is rather extreme: 17 ml (about half the capacity), 12 ml if you lean it. Which the heavy bottle doesn't seem designed to be.


Parker Penman's design seems well thought out.  There's a plastic insert which you can get ink into by turning the bottle upside down and then righting it again. But since there're holes all way round the upper edge of the insert, there's no way to right the bottle without some ink returning to the bottom of the bottle. This means there will be 11.5 ml unusable ink left, out of a 50 ml bottle.
That said, it's easy to use the Penman bottle, as it is wide and flat without being unnecessarily heavy and the plastic insert means you don't have to be as careful putting in the pen too deep. That it's symmetrically placed also helps. (I'll keep a couple of bottles just because they're easy to use and put other inks in.)

Out of a Pelikan bottle, there will be 6 ml left, out of 30 ml.
Syll: 5 ml. Looks like it's got a narrow wedge but it's hard to use as the pen doesn't angle that far.
Waterman: 4 ml with the bottle flat, 3 ml if you put in on its side as intended.
Mont Blanc (previous design): 4 ml, 3 ml if you lean the bottle.
Noodler: 14 ml, 5 ml if you lean the bottle.

Sheaffer Skrip (previous bottle design): 3.2 ml, 2.5 ml if you lean the bottle.
So I'd say this design, with a lip near the upper edge of the bottle is the best design and it would work well regardless of the total size of the bottle, because it also regulates how far you can insert the pen. I'll keep a few of these bottles too.

Waterman's and Mont Blanc's designs both work as intended, but you don't have to be as careful filling the pen the MB's as the bottle stands flat. Noodler's bottles are large (internally!), so 5 ml is a small proportion which makes me think that design also works.

I think the thick bottom in some modern bottles is sort of wasted, as it should be possible to put sort of a thimble shaped depression in it.

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