Sheaffer new inks, new bottles, new prices but no blue-black

I was browsing the Fahrney's website and found they are now selling the new 30ml bottles of Sheaffer inks:

Attachment 60620

There are new colors like "Retro Sunset" (orange) and "Bling" (grey) but it seems that their venerable blue-black has been eliminated. Their new "Amethyst" seems to be a red-leaning purple, quite different from their blue-leaning current production, while their "Coastal Blue" seems a little greener than their current Turquoise.

These 30ml bottles will sell for $12.00 while the current 50ml bottles still sell for $10.00.

So if you like Sheaffer inks, and particularly their Blue-Black, you should stock up now before it's too late.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by carlos.q

and "Bling" (grey)...

---

Lawdy. Is this Sheaffers' idea of a dad joke?

They've taken their cue from Sailor. Shrink the bottle and increase the price.

Gosh, calling your purple ink amethyst. That's novel. :facepalm:

As to the size fall/price rise, all that "gotta have the latest Sailor ink regardless of the cost" mania was bound to have a knock-on effect. How much mania there'll be for Sheaffer though, is a bit doubtful.

I understand the decision...people no longer really need fountain pens, so you we just hoard inks for a collection. I mean very few people use up bottles and bottles of ink. 50 ml is realistically a lot of ink. I use about 50 ml of ink per year, and that's probably already quite a lot. Selling less ink for more money in a nicer packaging is probably what drives the sales these days.

The colours look nice, but nothing we haven't seen a thousand times before. And honestly, can we even expect any innovation on inks side by this point?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by adhoc

The colours look nice, but nothing we haven't seen a thousand times before. And honestly, can we even expect any innovation on inks side by this point?

---

It's a conservative business with no apparent interest in changes. Perhaps we can't "expect" any innovation, but there is certainly a lot that could be done. There is a dearth of archival inks which are fountain pen friendly. How about striped or polka dot, or ink that changes color every few hours? But seriously, there is a lot that one could expect if innovation was in the cards.