I've been teasing it for a while and it is finally time to set it free. The Pen Addict Shop is now open!
Right now I have stickers, buttons, patches, and coasters available, with t-shirts about a month out and a pen design in the works. Plus, if you are a Pen Addict Member, you get 25% off anything in the shop.
Have fun!
What is the first thought that comes into your head when you hear the phrase “promotional pens?” Yeah, me too. But what if I said you could get quality pens from Pilot like the Acroball, FriXion, and even the Metropolitan? What about the Uni-ball Signo 207? The promotional pen game has changed, and Cheap Pens is at the forefront of putting great pens in the hands of your customers and fans.
I’m working with Lynne at Cheap Pens right now on custom orange Sharpies for the soon to launch Pen Addict Shop. Lynne also wants to get some Pilot G-2 pens into your hands, 125 custom imprinted ones as a matter of fact! Just click over to the Pilot page and leave a comment here with your favorite G-2 gel ink color, and I’ll randomly pick a winner this Saturday. This giveaway is limited to US residents only.
My thanks to Cheap Pens for sponsoring The Pen Addict this week.
Fountain pen ink cartridges are an economic and environmentally bad choice. Compared to bottled ink, the price per milliliter is far greater, and you are tossing empty plastic tubes into the trash can on a regular basis. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, let me tell you why I love these Caran d'Ache Chromatics ink cartridges.
Color name imprinted on the cartridge. Thank you!
I’m a huge fan of Kaweco pens, especially the pocket varieties like the AL Sport and Liliput. There have been attempts at making converters for these pens (I’ll be testing the newest one soon) but so far nothing beats a standard short international ink cartridge. The issue for addicts like me is that color choices are limited, unless you want to syringe fill empty cartridges. I’ve done that plenty, but let’s face it: Cartridges are far easier to use, and more portable.
Kaweco offers 8 colors to satiate people like me, but getting a high end ink like Caran d’Ache in this format is great news. Granted, only Cosmic Black and Idyllic Blue are available right now, but I would be over the moon if they continued down the Chromatics color lineup. (Edit: I'm happy to note I am wrong. All colors ARE available.)
Idyllic Blue is one of the best standard blues I recall using. I’m not usually a blue user, I go for blue black or turquoise shades before reaching for stock blues, but this one is fantastic.
The color has a depth and richness than normal blues can’t achieve. Many are light and watery looking, but not Idyllic Blue. There is minimal shading, with slight variation from light to dark in the lines, but the lubrication is off the charts. I used a crisp fine cursive italic for this review, and the nib was noticeably smoother than with other, less lubricated inks. The dry time was impressive as well, even at the five second mark.
In barrel double stack approved.
This is a premium ink, and it comes at a premium price. $5.50 for for six ink cartridges doesn’t sound expensive in a vacuum, but that is nearly a 100% increase over the aforementioned Kaweco cartridges. There are also only two color choices for now, unlike the 25 Diamine currently has available in the short international size.
Still, I’ll be enjoying these Idyllic Blue ink cartridges for a while and crossing my fingers for more colors to join the lineup soon.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
