Sailor

Sailor re-released their old Jentle inks (Grenade, Apricot etc.) I feel this was strange not only because it was so soon (too soon in my opinion) after retiring the inks but also because it was US only. I get that Sailor inks aren’t as popular in Europe (and Australia doesn’t really count) but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t supply to Asia as well. Sailor does seem to be getting more cosy with their US distribution with plenty of US retailers (and not just Vanness as it has been in recent times) now stocking Bungubox and Kobe inks. Bungubox have also re-opened international shipping direct from Bungubox (but shipping isn’t pretty) which had been closed for a while. I think this is a great sign of Sailor taking the international market more seriously and putting more attention to it. That doesn’t mean I expect (or want!) all the Japanese store exclusives to be open to everyone.

A focus of my ink collection this year has been the Japanese store exclusives. They are pricy but they are also fun to track down and find out how to order. It’s a game to hunt them down (and even discover them). This is obviously not something everyone wants to do but I find it fun. There’s also something rewarding about collecting an difficult to acquire ink (and especially a difficult to acquire limited edition ink!).

What Sailor are doing moving forward seems a little up in the air. In Japan they have released some new inks in 20ml bottles (the 20ml Storia bottles) and have also moved all their Jentle inks (apart from Blue, Blue Black, Black, Sei Boku and Kiwa Guro which are in new 50ml square bottles) to these tiny 20ml bottles… and didn’t drop the price. This is a very large increase in price and 20ml, to me, is just way too small. I don’t think a proper bottle of ink should drop bellow 30ml. 20ml is just a sample bottle (think Iroshizuku or J.Herbin) rather than the proper bottle. I am worried about how Sailor will be producing inks moving forward. I hear that the US will continue getting 50ml but what about Japanese store exclusives? If they don’t change, the store exclusives will actually be noticeably cheaper than the standard line. I expect these exclusives to jump up in price and I’m hoping they don’t move them to smaller bottles and get rid of the beautiful vase bottles. Bungubox released a set of inks based on the Tokyo subway that were in the new 20ml bottles but as this is a set of inks I don't think much can be read into it.

I don’t think Sailor’s 2018 is going to be cheap. Especially if you are buying from Japan. Bit of a worry for me about what is my favourite ink brand.

Pilot

Two Tokyo exclusive limited edition additions to the Iroshizuku lineup is all that changed. Pilot initially release the Iroshizuku inks in a series (and not in one go). I’d like them to add an ink to the lineup every now and then to revitalise the set. Maybe even some international limited editions. It’s difficult to get Japanese makers to expand their attention internationally but I can hope (especially as Sailor has started to do so).

Platinum

With the release 6 Iron Gall inks, Platinum made a bit of a splash mid year. I can’t remember Platinum doing much interesting before this (happy to be wrong) so it’s great to see them expanding. Interestingly some or all of the inks weren’t new and they approached “pgary” to use some of the inks he created. I’m not sure how much the inks are modified from the originals that Gary made but this is an interesting approach. I’d love for them to expand this Iron Gall lineup next year.

Kyo iro and Kyo no oto

These inks have been around a little while but really picked up in popularity more recently when they expanded their distribution channels. This is great to see as there are some unique colours in these inks. They are slow to release the new inks to the non-Japanese market and their limited editions don’t make it at all but that’s fine as well, in my opinion. I’m honestly happy with how this brand is moving along. New inks are steadily coming but nothing too fast that it’s difficult to keep up.

Miscellaneous Inks

Krishna seem to be rotating through their inks somewhat frequently. Retiring older inks and introducing new ones and even some limited edition ones. Some of the inks are pretty - damn - impressive but their problem is distribution. The inks are themselves are very cheap at around US$3-4 but the problem is shipping. I believe India Post won’t ship liquids so Krishna inks have to be sent via a courier service like Fedex. The cheapest shipping method they could offer me was US$60 for up to 15 inks. This worked out to be US$6.62 per bottle and .33¢ per ml. This isn’t terrible at all but it is a commitment to buy 15 inks at US$6.62 each and it is disappointing for most of that money to go to Fedex rather than the ink maker! iZods in the UK are selling the inks (at a higher price) so it’s good to see the inks make their way out of India. I do hope they find a way to reduce distribution costs (which I believe they are working on!).

It’s good to see some inks coming from South Korea with Egoistar and Colorverse. The latter looks very interesting (though expensive) and the idea of getting two bottles of the same ink (one big and one small) is certainly unique. Some interesting colours as well. Definitely eager to try these.

2018

I’m somewhat expecting sheen to be the “thing” for next year. The success of sheening inks this year will encourage more to be made. I’m not sure how long ink brands will continue to pursue shimmering inks but I can’t imagine they’d continued to expand exponentially like they have. I’d like for more Iron Gall inks come out from different brands.