Let's Talk Ink Windows. Do They Even Matter?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- Shop at our store! www.gouletpens.com/
Listen to The Goulet Pencast here: gouletpencast.fireside.fm/
SUBSCRIBE to our TH-cam channel: bit.ly/GP-YTsubscribe
LINKS TO PRODUCTS FEATURED:
LAMY 2000: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
Sailor Realo: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
Aurora 88: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
Visconti Demo Stones: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
Pelikan Pens: www.gouletpens.com/collection...
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 The question
00:25 Brian's fondness
01:00 The LAMY 2000's Ink window
03:24 Do some pens NEED ink windows?
05:55 Pelikan ink windows
07:50 Aurora and Sailor ink windows
08:55 Cleaning ink windows (or not)
10:35 LAMY safari ink windows
12:35 Visconti ink windows
14:19 Brian's final thoughts
ABOUT GOULET PENS:
Brian & Rachel Goulet started The Goulet Pen Company in 2009 and you can see the evolution of our mom and pop into a full-blown company through this channel. We run a dedicated online store with fountain pens, ink, paper, and other fine writing accessories. Our goal with this channel is to provide fountain pen fans at all levels of experience with comprehensive product reviews, round ups, and how-to videos to answer all the fountain pen questions you may have. Shop at www.gouletpens.com.
FOLLOW US:
Instagram: / gouletpens
Facebook: / thegouletpencompany
Twitter: / gouletpens
Pinterest: / gouletpens
Sign up for Emails: shop.gouletpens.com/newsletter
Blog: blog.gouletpens.com/
From a purely functional perspective, I love totally clear demonstrator pens. Let the ink inside be the art!
i don't really notice one way or the other. I don't care about ink levels. When my pen stops writing I re-fill it or get another pen. I just don't pay attention to such things.
"I love the 2000, but that ink window is weak." Favorite quote!
With small ink windows, you can get a sense of when the ink is getting low by rotating it sideways.
Hi Brian. Regarding the Lamy 2000, the process that was likely used to create the ink windows is called double shot molding. The mold for the barrel has retractable inserts that are extended into the mold cavity. The primary color plastic is first injected into the mold, in this case black, and allow to cool slightly. Then the inserts are retracted and the secondary color plastic, clear, is injected into the cavities vacated by the retracted inserts. This is a common practice and can be used to shoot different durometers (hardness) of plastics, not only color. One example is a rubber overmolded grip on a power drill or screwdriver handle.
Thought I’d add that double shot molding more often used multiple molds to reduce tooling complexity. Therefore this pen barrel could have been shuttled from one mold to another nearly identical mold (less inserts) for the second shot of translucent plastic.
Thanks, Robert! - Drew
I love a good ink window. It gives me peace of mind to see the ink. Especially if I have a shimmering ink in it so I can see if it’s settled and I have to move it around
I rarely pay attention to the ink window. I grew up using cheap "school" pens that didn't have ink windows. If I wanted to know how much ink I had left, I unscrewed the section and held the cartridge or converter up to the light. Write with it until it doesn't write, check the cartridge. If it's empty, replace it (always carry extras in an Altoids tin). If it's just surface tension keeping the ink from getting to the feed, give it a flick, and you're back in business.
I'm right there with you, J.S.. I'm pretty apathetic about them.
same here. but i find it interesting that some people might consider them non-negotiables when it comes to choosing their pens.
I think ink windows are primarily found in piston fillers, where checking the cartridge (or carrying extra) isn’t possible. In that case, it’s definitely nice to have the window.
If you hold the pen horizontal, then the height of the ink line up the window shows you the exact level
^This.
Yep
Good call, Matt! - Drew
The only pen I have with an ink window is the Lamy Al-Star. Early on when I first got it, I did try to use the window; but, I could not tell if the cartridge was empty; so, I would end up unscrewing it to get a better look at the cartridge. Some of the ink that I use is really staining and the window does not help at all when checking ink level through that window.
My Lamy Studio doesn't have an ink window and it's fine just like that. If it stops writing, I will replace the cartridge or take the cartridge out and clean it really well.
when it is dry, I will refill it with ink from one of my samples.
I appreciate the green ink windows on vintage Pelikan fountain pens because of the contrast it provides vs. the ink. It’s has like a visor effect.
I love all my Visconti HS pens… many many. But once they instituted an ink window into in my Bronze Age… total adoration of an already fabulous pen.
I think Pelikan's decision to stop having bodies of their pens without the transparent stripes is disastrous. Having a pen where you can't check the ink levels is, for me, a real negative. For this reason, I will not buy the Black Tortoiseshell having regretted buying the Red Tortoiseshell which is completely opaque. It may be a cost-cutting decision but the result is to make a pen that is irritating and impractical. An ink window can be perfectly aesthetic, like the Sailor Realos or the Auroras. For me, not being able to check the remaining ink reserve is definitely a negative!
I don’t like the decision either, that they removed the transparent stripes. I won’t be buying them, without the transparent stripes or an inkwindow.
I’m glad that I already got my share of Pelikan pens with transparent stripes + ones with inkwindows.
One I still would have wanted is the M805 Blue Striped, I really like that finish. However I already have a M805 Blue Dunes (it is somewhat translucent, and if not enough, a flashlight will be all I need to check the ink level) and a M815 Metal Striped …meaning I don’t need another M800 (probably).
Jesus, how could you See through them? I am against no windows at all, but those 'transparent' stripes were not helpful especially when your ink is not black and you do not have a lot of light
@@AlexAlex-qr6cw You’ll need a light background. Even if the room is not that bright, a white wall is usually enough; unless you have ink that likes to stick to the sides of the barrel probably. And you slowly need to rotate it sometimes, so that you can peek through the barrel and the gaps on one side aren’t covered up by solid stripes of the other side. Sometimes you need to adjust the angle right. Works for me on the M300 Green Striped, M605 Stresemann, M1000 Green Striped and M1005 Stresemann.
It's why I haven't bought the m1000. The lack of an ink window in a piston filler is a deal breaker for me
The Lamy Vista is fun cause it still has the usual Lamy Safari Ink Window, yet it is completely transparent x) Also the Pelican M200 Ink Windows are great and functional.
Lamy Safari “ink window that’s a hole”, is an open window. It’s a window that never needs cleaning. That should appeal to Drew - no gunk on it. 👍
I love my Lamy Safari, and Vista's ability to show ink levels.
Sort of like the equivalent of car oil dipsticks for pens.
Ink windows tend to be more effective with less saturated, less dense inks which have a lower surface tension.
Love it on piston filling pens. Pelikan and Aurora the one I love the most. Ciao!!
I’ve always liked and enjoyed ink windows. The ink window on the Aurora 88 and Optima instantly springs to mind as one of the nicest and most functional ink windows on any pen, of any era. The pens are actually not that of a hassle to clean out. The complaints strike me as exaggerated. The 88 and Optima also have the sweetest, smoothest piston filling mechanisms I’ve used so far.
The window on the vintage Aurora 88 (and the 98) is another that I really like. In fact, a lot of piston filling vintage pens have some very appealing ink windows.
Sailor Pro Gear Realo is a must mention. Montblanc 146/149 have very nice ink windows.
I can live without one, but I do like them. Preference for them in general. Love the ones hidden by the cap, so it has that special feature reveal as you uncap.
Usefulness of ink window also depends on ink and pen material. I have a TWSBI 580 with Lamy Crystal Obsidian in it and I have to keep it vertical for 10-15 minutes before I start seeing the ink level.
I am fond of my Lamy 2000, but would love an all clear demonstrator version.
Personally, I find them to be very useful. It would feel weird to be unable to see your ink level.
I like how Brian always has a slight look of annoyance with Drew at the beginning of every show😁
Drew, if you want to take out visconti nibs easily, they have to be wet...with water, for lubrication. Sometimes, you have to put water in your mouth and blow through the plastic side.
The LAMY 2000 is a good window as it helps determine if the ink is running low. To me that’s all I need to know. I can then decide to either take a chance of running out or fully or partially fill the pen depending on my needs.
Yeah, the complaints about “I can’t see the ink level” need to be replied with, talk to someone about your OCD.
I like it. I like seeing the ink move about inside the pen
I guess I'm one of those rare birds who doesn't care about windows. Don't hate them, don't love them. Just don't need them.
You're not alone, Stephen! - Drew
I love my Lamy 2k ink window. It works well when you hold the pen horizontal and hold it up to the light. I'm rarely writing in a spot without enough light to see that.
My biggest issue with the 2k is that I sometimes have trouble seeing the color of the ink since i use dark inks and the tip size is not obvious when you first grab it.
I would much rather have an ink window or demonstrator than have to regularly check my ink level by pulling off the body.
My newest pen is a retractable (Moonman knockoff of the Vanishing point). In order to check the ink level or just see if it's the surface tension of the ink that's causing the problem with flow, I have to disassemble the pen entirely.
I love the window on my Visconti Crystal Dream. I use a nice turquoise ink and will just use the same color. It really makes the pen look sharp. I just wish you still carried the Visconti inks...I had to have some good advice from Jessica to match up my new ink with the old. I rely on the ink window quite a bit.
Funny you should mention demonstrator pens as a segue from the Lamy 2000. The Lamy has a rather minimal ink window; by the time I can actually see I'm low on ink it's almost dry (so no help pre-trip). While you were talking about the Y2k, I took a glance at my various demonstrator pens which are in effect 100% ink window! Now you're talking! As for ink windows proper, I find the Leonardo Magico and Aurora Optima about...well, otpima(l)! A cartridge/converter is the next best thing.
The most weird thing is the ink window on the lamy vista. Transpart body does not need those cut outs. I guess they use the same machinery used to produce the safari. However, they should offer some vista with the rollerball barrels.
i think it’s obvious that they use the same machinery for the safari lmao since it’s the exact same pen but clear
Plus I've heard Brian mention it used to be the Lamy Safari Vista. (I'm a serial pencast listener, but can't remember which of the 50+ episodes he mentioned it).
The LAMY 2000 ink window,and others are more useful than you make out. Hold the pend horizontally. If it looks 2/3 full it's about 3/4 full since you're looking through a cylinder, looks 1/2 full it's 1/2 full, 1/3 full it's about 1/4 full. I find it really useful in the AURORA Optima too. The biggest cleaning problem with the Optima is that it has that hollowed out part in the piston to save you if you run low and that tends to retain some ink. Of course you can easily remove the nib/feed assembly and do more thorough job of cleaning.
When using a fountain pen for the function it was designed for (writing) it is helpful to know when you need to refill before you run out of ink. So, for pens that have no other practicablly simple way for the user know their ink situation, then they should have an ink window. I hope I am making sense!
In the mid to late 50s I had a 'Big Red', no ink window but I wish I had it now.
Only have two pens with ink windows: a Lamy 2000 (and I agree it is pretty weak), and my Sailor 1911 Realo. And I love the ink window on the Sailor. It just has this beautiful aesthetic to it, plus very functional as well. And haven't really had any trouble cleaning it either.
I recently got a Sailor 1911 Realo. The ink window is different to any other pens with ink windows that I have; various Pelikans, Lamy 2000s and Al-Stars, and a number of demonstrator types of varying transparency. I'm becoming fond of Sailor's take: no need to remove the cap to see the window.
@@steveh1792 I really like it. Easy to see your ink level without being distracting. Being basically right in the middle of the pen when capped is also a really good aesthetic too. (Of course I love pretty everything about this pen. It was pretty much my grail pen and had to get it when I saw it for $180. 😄)
The one I absolutely love is the Narwhal Nautilus. It's a functional window for those who want the function, but if not, just from an aesthetic point of view they are lovely accents.
No one would believe me when I say I was literally researching my next purchase in the future of an ink window pen and this video popped up ....
Thanks you guys!.... now im soooooo indecisive ....XD
The Lamy 2000 ink window is not useless. If you can see the window while writing with the pen fill your pen. You do not need to refill your otherwise.
This is part of why I like demonstrator so I can look at it without having to touch the pen. I like my Kakunos for that!
The weirdest I've encountered is on my Pelikan P1. It has tiny portholes near the rear of the ink chamber, so the only thing one can tell from them is if it's been filled up to the brim.
It’s not that useful on the Lamy 2000 but I love having it on the Al-Star and other pens. When my pen is suddenly skipping I can take a quick peek and see that it’s not a problem with the pen, I just need to refill.
I have pens with ink windows and ones that don't. For me, they're just a thing. Handy, yes, but not always necessary.
I've heard one complaint of vintage sac fillers is a lack of an ink window. However, they were quite common from the later 1930s on, and only seem to disappear again during WWII. I have Parkers, Sheaffer's, and even a first years Wahl-Eversharp Skyline with ink windows. Frankly, surprised that the early Parker 51 didn't have one (would have made sense, with the Vacumatic type, as the Duofold Vacumatic has the bands of clear from the same basic time.)
For me, it's just remembering the amount of ink that pen holds, after using it, so I really don't pay attention to the ink window, except to play with seeing the ink slosh past it. 😁
I really have always thought they were pointless and disdained demonstrators. Until I got my Crystal Dream. Then I realized how useful they really are. Now I have TWSBI demonstrators, and just got a Narwhal with the three lovely portals.
I think that the Twsbi swipe ink window is excellent - better than those in similar and above price range without looking cheap.
Tiny windows are not pointless. They indicate whether or not you have ink. I only refill when the pen is empty, I like the subtle windows better. The Lamy Safari's window is garish in an industrial kind of way imo.
I'm all for an ink window on pens with an integrated filling mechanism. I have a Scribo piston filler without one and it's super frustrating not knowing how full or otherwise it might be, especially as it last such a long time between fills. It always seems to run out at just the wrong moment as well. By contrast, the (old style) Pelikan ones on things like the M1000 or 800 are perfect. Totally unobtrusive, no visual cues at all, but hold it up to the light and you can see exactly where you stand. The Lamy 2000 and the MB149 also sit in this area. Not obvious, but a quick glance tells you when you're down to the last 5-10 pages or so and you can choose to refill at a convenient moment before heading to the office or out on a trip. Really overt ones like the Visconti Crystal dream are fine and easier to use for sure, but not my preference aesthetically. At that point, go full demonstrator, or tone it down. Cartridge converter pens, meh, no biggie. Just unscrew the barrel every now and again to get a feel of where you're at. I really don't care either way in that scenario.
Only if the sky light's window was close to the band section.... I would buy it.
the ink window cutouts on the clear Lamy Vista demonstrator is kinda stupid. What's the point? Prevent buyers from using it as an eyedropper fill, forcing them to buy the expensive proprietary ink cartridges and/or converter? (that no one but Lamy makes and markets)
I got and get by just fine using lever fill and pens with an Aerometric filler without an ink window. Same for cartridge - converter pens with a solid color non-translucent barrel.
If you do a lot of writing, just fill the pen each day when you get home from work, if it isn't a cartridge - converter or high capacity piston/vacuum/eyedropper fill pen. Cartridge - Converter pens, just carry an extra cartridge in your pocket. Change the cartridge/converter when the pen starts to write dry or starts to skip. If you have a desk job, keep a bottle of ink or some cartridges at your desk. If you use the same pen every day, unless you're really dense, you learn how often it needs filled, and how it tells you it is getting hungry, inside a few days.
How many decades have people used pens without an ink window? 12? More? Over 12 decades if the fountain pen was king of the hill in 1900.
I have eleven or twelve pens with ink windows. One, a Hero 616, is inked. Hero snuck a small ink window into the trim ring.
My others are post 1999 Sheaffer No Nonsense, and Lamy Safari style pens. I don't see them getting inked in the foreseeable future.
1st off, I have 24 or 25 other pens without ink windows that I like better, inked up. (yeah ... yeah ... I know ... "that's too many...." 🙄)
2nd, I dislike the huge ink windows they have. Some put the window on the thumb web when you're writing. That gets uncomfortable during a long writing session.
Having a clear stripe along the body of the pen like a uniball visionary elite roller ball would look great on a fountain pen and be super useful.
Clear colors helps.
Or refill pens daily, weekly. Cartridges and converters can be inspected.
I like ink windows and have admired from afar Pineider’s Queen Mary which has ink windows shaped like portholes
Not knowing how much or if at all ink is in the pen is almost as bad as not knowing whether the bulb in the fridge is really off. It drives me nuts. Every pen needs a mechanical level gauge at the top of the barrel final with a needle gas gauge in an old fashioned car! But seriously, I’ll just take the next pen when my writing pen runs dry.
I can tell if my Lamy 2000 is half full or almost empty. Just hold it against any light horizontally and gently incline it up and down, slowly. ;)
I wish the jinhao x450 and x750 had ink windows
However despite the nice thought of the ink window on the safaris and Al stars the converters and cartridges always have a cloudy look from the ink residue and I'm always having to shine a light through.
The wetting of the material by the ink is an issue for ink windows although there maybe technological solutions out there. But if the ink de wets nicely a good ink window is invaluable.
I generally only use display/clear pens hahah.
I wish Sailor made a KOP Realo
I have an issue with most Homosapiens having no ink window at all. On a vac filler I’d really like to know what I’ve got left
Of all your videos I can't believe I missed this one. This is one topic that I have a visceral reaction to. I'm old-school. I've never used anything else but a fountain pen in over fifty years. To me an ink window is the equivalent of velcro on footwear; people too lazy to tie their own shoes! To me the aesthetics of pen design is equally important. Ink windows compromise that integrity. I've been a graphic designer all my life and I hold a unique fondness for fountain pens and their design. Ink windows are a blight to pen design!
Question to both of you:
If you are developing a new fountain pen, what be your design ? (In-terms of design, nib choice, ink barrel type etc)
If the pen is transparent or translucent, why bother with an ink window? It would be like why put a crystal clear ink window on a Pilot Custom 823?
However I would like ink windows on other pens. I do not feel they detract from the aesthetic of the pen.
Does the pen have to show the window when capped? No. What's the sense of that? If your ink is low, you have to uncap the pen anyway.
What I would like to know is if I can write as fast with a fountain pen as with a Uni-Ball EYE 0.7.
Don't get me wrong, I learned to write with a fountain pen, as it was mandatory in elementary school where I lived, somewhere in Europe (no, not Germany), but I am an extremely fast writer, and I have to be when I have five ideas in my head at the same time, and have to take notes really fast, so that one of them doesn't slip away. I would like to return to fountain pens but speed is the deal maker or breaker. Is there a super fast fountain pen?
Question for the team, but if fountain pens are possible I would recommend a broad steel nib for starters. Broads gush ink so less issue with it not keeping up, and steels bend less than gold.
When you start writing and there’s no result. Is it a hard start or is the pen empty? A Visconti Homo Sapien Skyline has a good ink window- you know. Conklin All American Word Guage.
Plenty of gel and ballpoint refills are opaque and somehow people cope.
I have no pens with ink Windows as my collection is rather small maybe 15 pens. Brian do you think it would be cost-effective but I sent them to you to be refitted with Windows I'd like a nice window not quite a picture window something small with tiny pains. By now you're thinking I'm a tiny pain anyway love your shows
Ink windows are sort of an add on. Read Nero Wolfe. What did Archie do every morning--refill Wolfe's fountain pens. Secretaries were taught to refill their fountain pen each morning. When I was in college, I would go between classes and refill my fountain pen at least once a day.
Nevertheless ink windows can be nice. Yes you can tell level. Just hold the pen up to the light sideways. Also if your pen starts skipping, you can check to see if you still have ink. Otherwise you might start pushing the nib, shaking the pen etc because you think the nib is dry. Also before you start writing you can check to make sure you have enough ink to finish, since you might have to change to a pen with different ink color.
You missed talking about MB ink windows.
I use Carbon Black, Document Black, and Document Brown. The ink windows in Lamy Al Star and Safari are completely useless.
ink windows always ruined the looks of a pen for me. pretty useless in my opinion, as well. I think my one exception are the vintage sheaffer balance’s
Why don't ink windows run along the shaft (instead of around it) so I can see how much ink I have left. I love my Lamy 2000 but it's like having a fuel gauge on my car that only shows me how much gas I have left only when I have 1/2 gallon left.
Good point! - Drew
Ink windows show me the ink color inside the pen, as I don't always match the pen color to ink color. If only there were a way to distinguish among the 15 blue inks, aside from a sticker label.
Useful or not, they look cool, and that's all that matters in the end! So yes, they do matter, at least for me :)
They do look cool! - Drew
Ink windows, eh ? What about drapes/curtains for ink windows ( aesthetically speaking, natch ) ?
Most of the time, Ink Windows make a pen look cheap. There are exceptions like the Montblanc 149 and the Lamy 2000 where they are subtle and almost enhance the design. The Sailor Realo gets it right but no one touches the Narwhal Nautilus. This is the one case where the ink window makes the pen.
My school pen in the 60s had an ink window
My first adult pen is the Pelican M 200 has an ink window
Yes I like ink windows
Go demonstrator - the whole thing is your window!
Well said! - Drew
I actually don’t like ink windows, I don’t find them overly useful. You can’t see enough of the ink to determine how full the pen is. It’s just yes ink or no ink. I’m a demonstrator or don’t bother sort of person. I’m genuinely way less likely to buy a pen with one.
Generally helpful but unfortunately many imk wimdows are poorly designed. Then depending on the materials and the ink, the window or ink vessel may become stained and practically useless.
I find ink windows rather useless. When the window is available I can't make out the ink level anyway. One has to lay the pen on its side motionless for several minutes for the ink to settle to the point one can see daylight for a comparison. If the pen is in use then the window is too dark to make out what is actually going on in there, but, what the heck, if the pen runs dry then I swap it for another.
I thought some of the visconti bands were acting like ink windows.. Hmm
hmmmmm this is something i want to think about. i don’t really mind ink windows, but i don’t really care for them either. 🤔
Yeah I think a lot of people are in that camp! - Drew
I don't like them. It makes the Leonardo Magico look cheap, and there are very few pens that look good with a window.
Ink window isn't a game changer for me.
Don't really care for this feature.
Trust the tactile feedback between the paper, nib and your fingertips.
As the juice is running out, the feedback changes and you just know it.
Windows in Homo Sapiens is one of the ugliest design decisions in the pen history. Even if they just left the band window, it would be a bit ugly, but Skylight and Crystal go much further. I would better have classic version without any window.
Pelikan stripes-window is sensless. Never could say anything without a lot of light. Lamy 2000, Montblancs and Auroras are the best examples.
Yeah, I think the band window is a perfect balance. - Drew
I hate demos, sorry, to me they look cheap sloppy but windows, not all clear, are great
Useless debate. Those who want ink window can buy the pen with ink window, those don't like may not buy.
mandatory to have a ink window! except demonstrators, obviously (@Drew: Lamy2000 window is just good enough :)
Haha - ok, ok - JUST good enough! I love the 2000. - Drew
The Lamy 2000 ink window is not useless. If you can see the window while writing with the pen fill your pen. You do not need to refill your otherwise.