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When the San Francisco Pen Posse asks if you are interested in contributing ink samples to the San Francisco Pen Show, you say yes.
Wait, how many different samples???
If you have been to a pen show in the past several years, you may have seen ink sampling stations like you will find at the upcoming San Francisco Pen Show. They vary in sizes, with the ones at San Francisco checking in at 49 slots per station. Yes, I volunteered to provide 49 different inks in sample vials, to be used for filling the pens attached to the station.
An Ink Testing Station from the 2021 San Francisco Pen Show.
On top of that, I decided that if I was pulling 49 inks off the shelf and drawing an ink sample, why not make three samples for each ink? One for San Francisco, two for me to give away or share with the community.
So yes, I made 147 ink samples. I question my sanity sometimes.
How was I going to do this? First off, I needed vials, and I knew exactly who I needed to get in touch with: Kimberly, ink slinger extraordinaire.
She wrote a sample vial mini FAQ for the blog, and while her original vial choice was not available, I grabbed these Kimberly-approved Eowpower 5ml vials at just under $10 per 50 vials. They will look familiar if you have any ink samples, with their clear vial and blue cap. They are the right size for the samples I wanted to make.
Each vial needed a label, and I happened to be given some by my friend Brenda from The Dormouse’s Desk. These labels are awesome, featuring a super sticky backing while also being removable. They are waterproof as well, and the Uni-ball Jetstream Edge ballpoint I used to write on them wouldn’t smear if I tried. Highly recommended.
Squeeze pipettes.
For ink transfer from bottle to vial, the plan was to use standard pipettes to draw approximately 4ml samples for each vial. I’d made a few random samples like this previously, and I thought they would be fine for this project …
… if I wanted it to take two years.
Pipettes are very functional in small doses, but the ones I have were only 3ml, so it took two squeezes for each 4ml vial. That’s a lot of back and forth for each sample, not to mention the frequent cleaning needed between bottles. A few of them stained, as well, which I had to throw away.
During a Twitch stream a few months back, viewers mentioned a magical tool that could help me make these samples faster, and safer: a pipettor.
A popular tool in laboratory environments, a pipettor allows for drawing and moving of liquids in exact measurements. It also happens to be fun to use, and simple to clean.
I received a few recommendations, and ended up with the ONiLAB 1000-5000μl Pipettor, plus 100 ONiLAB Pipette Tips to fit the device. I did buy the wrong size pipettor (too small) on my first purchase, so make sure to science math appropriately for your needs. I did barely pass high school chemistry, so I have my excuse.
Once I got the correct pipettor and tips in hand, the process was as simple as using a retractable pen. Attach the tip to the device, set the fill number to 4.0 ml, push the pipettor button to fill from the bottle, release the ink with a click into the vial. Repeat two more times, eject the reusable tip into a cup for cleaning and reuse. I could create three ink samples in seconds, and have fun doing it.
The only thing I was missing at the time was a rack to hold the vials for filling, and storage. The MUHWA Plastic Test Tube Rack, on the recommendation of another ink slinger, Mike Matteson, proved to be perfect. Each rack holds 50 vials, so the 3-pack worked out perfectly. I even shipped one full rack in its entirety to San Francisco for the show, safely wrapped and boxed, of course.
All in all, this was a fun project that I’m glad to have taken on. I got to pick out 49 different inks for a testing station, learned new things about the ink sampling process, and had fun doing it. If you are attending the San Francisco Pen Show this week, make sure to hunt down The Pen Addict Ink Testing Station and tell me your favorite ink!
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