Importing Pen Inks from China: Unboxing and Ink Swabs

[@Luco.26]

this is the most underrated YT chanel about inks and fountain pens!!! Nice Job

[@llchapman1234]

As a fellow fan of blues, greens and blue-green inks, this was fun! 💙💚💙💚

[@lamarrharding4776]

Swabs are an indication of the color, but I would also appreciate a glass pen and a flexible pen writing sample. because that would show me how my use of the ink might look.

[@thewetpen]

If you watch my more recent videos you'll find that many of them do have writing samples, but I'm of the opinion that different pens on different papers can confuse how a color is perceived just as much as anything. For me, learning to "read" an ink swab is an important skill in evaluating an ink, just as reading a negative on film is important for a photographer.

[@KimberlyCrick]

I was not prepared for the hilarity of those Hope and Legacy auto translated reviews lol! Thank you for the wonderful attention to detail, great video editing and close up swatching you do in your videos. I really appreciate the quality of your channel and look forward to seeing more from you :D

[@thewetpen]

Some of the comments and a lot of the English product descriptions are true gems of surrealist poetry :-) I get way too much joy out of them.

[@KaiPetro]

This alone seems enough ink to last a decade for even a verocious writer. Its nice to see swatches but would love to see comparisons of similar inks with other popular ones, comparing their properties and behavior.

[@SatieSatie]

I think it must be similarly hilarious to Chinese people to see Chinese letters and traditional symbols incorrectly used for tattoos, T-shirt prints, etc. everywhere in the West. 😋😉 I love your calm and informative ink reviews. Since inks from Chinese manufacturers aren't covered as widely as those from English or Japanese makers, and I myself haven't had any experience with them, it was a very interesting episode! Also, that lush, deep dark green teal of that Mountain Under Moonlight ink (or whatever its name was) - stunning!!

[@thewetpen]

I agree :-) I tried to make it clear that the problem here was the auto-translation process (not sure if it was Chrome or TaoBao) that caused the zany results, not the people doing the writing. Every few months I think to myself: I should order another batch of PenBBS inks from China! And then I remember how much work it was, and I haven't done it again. They're wonderful inks, though.

[@amandiomoraes525]

I really like the calm way the video goes... congratulations

[@RHKumagai]

This is my favorite fountain pen / ink video :) Thank you for sharing these interesting and complicated to get inks

[@tbayless8324]

Matthew, I am late to the party. Those PenBBS inks are very nice. I need to see if I can track some of those down. Thanks for this. I like seeing your videos and the rare inks we can't get in the US. again.

[@thewetpen]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the videos. I'm really tempted to do this again :-)

[@tbayless8324]

@@thewetpen I wish you would. I wish I could piggyback with you!

[@Victoria_H]

What a lovely selection of inks you purchased. I especially loved the range of blues and turquoise inks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who seems to gravitate towards those colours. The grapefruit forever comment made me smile, thanks for sharing, got to love strange translations.

[@boshkodjordjevich7424]

Sensation video. Would love a deep dive on your shipping process so I can do this as well. I live in Toronto, Canada. Thanks Matt.

[@thewetpen]

I wrote a little bit more about the shipping process on the website, but some of it has changed in the past few years I'm sure. Good luck! www.thewetpen.com/videos/importing-fountain-pen-inks-from-china/

[@Inazarab]

You have serious perseverance. I wanted to do this a while back but gave up pretty quick lol

[@thuntz29]

I’ve been tempted by those penbbs inks on alie, but the shipping 🥲 love their bottles!

[@thewetpen]

Yes! Their bottles are beautiful... especially the smaller ones with triangular facets and the big square ones. And their inks are great, too. I wish that I could figure out a more direct and reasonable way to get them shipped here. The shipping isn't really all that expensive, it's the shipping agents and all of their fees that add up. Oh well. I don't have any shortage of inks 🙂

[@aag24]

What marvellous inks. I really wish they were easier to get hold of here on this island. I just haven’t found any reasonable priced ways to get them delivered to the U.K.

[@thewetpen]

I've been really happy with them. Oddly enough, I can't seem to access TaoBao anymore... so I haven't been able to improve on this.

[@aag24]

@@thewetpen years ago I bought a clear Lamy 2000 knock-off from Taobao, though I can’t remember how I did it! It was with some complicated way using agents and the like. (The pen is going strong still).

[@thewetpen]

@@aag24 Today I managed to log back in to Taobao, and I spent half an hour looking at all of those bottles of ink that cost less than $3... pretty tempting :-) Maybe it's time for me to make another video like this.

[@tiffanybluetarot]

@@thewetpen I say we all pitch in & make a group order! haha…if only… In all seriousness, would love to see another video… a whole series would not even be bad!

[@thewetpen]

@@tiffanybluetarot Today I'm in Tokyo (have been for the past couple of weeks) buying Japanese inks like a madman. Much more expensive than these Chinese inks, I'm afraid, but lots of fun to find the store exclusives :-) So, it might be a little while before I start importing Chinese inks again, but a series is definitely in order.

[@zenandink3531]

Wow-that is quite a collection. So many exquisite colors! Really liked “cedar”…Tolstoy too…moon or mountain or something after cedar…I can’t remember them all but I hope you are enjoying them😮

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! There are some really wonderful inks in here... I'm a huge fan of PenBBS inks now. It's just a matter of time before I break down and order another box of them. :-)

[@mike.antkowiak]

The advantage of Ali is that they are a one stop shop and the price you pay includes shipping., most times. For me, that’s worth it. However their search tool could use some work. I feel it’s reasonable compared to other ink brands. With TBFocus, you see the shipping separately so it’s a bit of a shock, but the math works out roughly the same. The game is, you have to know how much to order on TBF. Too big or too small the shipping changes astronomically. My guess is your order was too large. I started down this rabbit hole around late 2019 and I’ve yet to find inks that performed less than normal, fwiw. I personally have a large majority of the Penbbs inks named for cities in China. They’ve all been very good inks. I have Twain and mine is jet black. You used to be able to get penbbs inks from Vanness Pen shop. And I’ve found one of my personal favorites (Beijing) from desk bandit in Australia. Happy hunting! You sometimes get really great repurposed boxes. One time I get an old toy box that was used for shipping. Or the piece meal partial boxes all wrapped together in a million layers of smelly tape.😂

[@MorganScorpion]

Well, you've inspired me to buy PenBBS No.435 Cedar. I have a few of their inks already.

[@thewetpen]

It's a good one :-) I've been really happy with all of the PenBBS inks that I've tried, so far.

[@deygun137]

your video this one deserved like subscribed and comment....

[@thewetpen]

Thank you :-)

[@rastislavstanik]

Excellent video, keep them coming :)

[@larsdragl670]

Thank you for this nice review! These are really nice colours. If i just would write more xD...

[@thewetpen]

I'm with you there. I'm definitely collecting inks at a faster rate than necessitated by my writing :-)

[@larsdragl670]

@@thewetpen the problem is, i sometimes buy a new ink and only write one max. two converter/cartrige full and buy a new ink because it sometimes takes 1-2 months for the one fill to write empty-.- Do you have any experience with chinese iron gall inks?

[@thewetpen]

@@larsdragl670 No, I don't have any experience with iron gall inks, period. I've generally been hesitant to try any inks that could potentially be bad for my pens if I am careless, because I know myself. I'll probably get around to them one of these days :-)

[@larsdragl670]

@@thewetpen yeah understandable! I have had the R&K Salix for quite some time in a Lamy CP1 cartrige and it was hard to clean out. Still have some residue on the inside. But the ink is beautifull nevertheless. The colourchange during drying is really nice. You should try it!

[@natmickan]

I actually would love to know the process you went through to get them imported through China (or would you not do it the same way again if you had the chance, given the leaking issues?). Thanks for your thoughtfully curated content; I have indeed subscribed :)

[@thewetpen]

I can tell you how I did it, but how I did it was not a very good way. I ordered through Taobaofocus (now called ParcelUP). They had originally given me a reasonable quote to ship to the USA, but it changed dramatically when they got my stuff from Taobao, saying that the liquid was a problem. So, instead of having them ship to the USA, I had them ship to another agent in China. In that case, I went to the Alibaba website (not AliExpress) and searched for agents that ship liquids to the USA... there are TONS of them, though they usually deal in large orders. I messaged several of them and asked if they'd forward my package to me, telling them that it was non-flammable liquid. They gave me quotes, and I chose the one that I liked best, which was Shenzhen Yucheng International Transport. So, I paid Taobaofocus for the original order and then again to ship to Shenzhen (probably just across the street), and if I were to do this again, I'd cut out TBfocus completely and order directly from Taobao / TMall to the final shipper, assuming that I have cleared that with them first.

[@LisePlansandJournals]

Uhh… why not just order it on AliExpress? Like you would on Amazon? What’s the fear of AliExpress? Most of the stores on the AE marketplace ship to me in florida with two weeks.

[@natmickan]

@@LisePlansandJournals are you asking me, or The Wet Pen?

[@tiffanybluetarot]

@@thewetpen thank you so much for sharing your process! I have been wanting to purchase several items from places in both Japan & China. You may very well have just provided me a solution. You’ve got my gratitude, for sure.

[@thewetpen]

@@LisePlansandJournals As I mentioned in the video: prices on AliExpress are in the range of $20 per bottle, where they're more like $3 on Taobao. And it was partly just for the fun of figuring out if I could do it for cheaper than AliExpress.

[@cotomili1]

Did you test with your pen? I’ me looking for ink for pen and i Wonder if ever you test the Karkos’s. In case tell me if this one is made for pen or as ”chine ink”. It shal be dangereusement for my pen if i use the ”Chine ink” . Thank you

[@thewetpen]

Yes, I've used all of these in my fountain pens. These inks are all fountain pen safe. Karkos ink has never grabbed me, but there are plenty of people on the fountain pen forums who use them in their pens, and they are also safe. Good luck!

[@thewetpen]

Incidentally, traditional Chinese ink which is sold as solid bars and is then wetted with a brush is NOT fountain pen safe, because the particles will block your pen feed. This traditional Chinese ink is made with carbon (like Japanese Sumi E ink), so when you're buying Chinese fountain pen inks, they'll usually say "non-carbon".

[@jinseinogakuseiesq2724]

Hope and legacy Great!!!!!!!

[@jinseinogakuseiesq2724]

what kind of swabs where those??? Looks medical grade.

[@yokobery2828]

I love sheeting inks.

[@thewetpen]

Me too! But I have to say that I'm not crazy about the red one, here... with that gold-green sheen. The rest are great :-)

[@av_oid]

I’m actually interested in which agent you actually used for the shipping from China?

[@thewetpen]

I ended up writing more of the details in a post to go along with the video... you can find it here: www.thewetpen.com/videos/importing-fountain-pen-inks-from-china/ Good luck!

[@av_oid]

@@thewetpen thanks!

[@LisePlansandJournals]

AliExpress, just like you would order on Amazon?

[@MujahidJazz]

Thank you. Great video. I fell in love with the green Tolstoy and the musical piece that begins in the test of the Penbbs 286. What is it?

[@thewetpen]

I'm a fan of the Tolstoy myself... I've used it as much as any of these since I made this video. That piece of music is "Virtues Instrumenti" by Kevin Macleod. It's freely available, here: freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Classical_Sampler/Virtutes_Instrumenti

[@elizabethlevi6966]

LOVE the jazzy music. And love the MemoryFISH ink. I found it on a site that only charges $20 for shipping. NOT bad though the ink is $6 not $3. The Beethoven bottle is gorgeous! (confession - sometimes I buy ink for the bottle)

[@thewetpen]

I frequently buy ink for the bottle :-) I see absolutely no problem with that.

[@Seefood73]

@@thewetpen come on you two, ink-acquiring minds want to know! How do I get ink from the far east at reasonable prices? Name the site or secret shipping method I need to look for, please!

[@thewetpen]

@@Seefood73 :-) I ended up pretty much paying for shipping three times on this order... once to my initial shipping agent, once to the second shipping agent, and once from the final shipping agent to the USA, so I'm hardly in a position to tell you anything about the best way to do this. If I were to try it again, I'd skip the first shipping agent and order from Taobao directly and have them mail the order to the final shipping agent, which I found on Alibaba (not express). There are tons of shippers listed there, and many of them promise that they can ship liquids. I contacted a few (all very fast responses, good English), asked for quotes, and decided on one. The one I chose was Shenzhen Yucheng International Transport. Good luck!

[@Seefood73]

@@thewetpen ahh, from the vid I thought you managed to avoid paying the $250, but I see it was just a tiny bit less :-\ Well, I'll have a look at ali baba if I ever decided to try this, thanks!

[@thewetpen]

@@Seefood73 I did avoid the $250 charge (which would have been for TBFocus to ship to the USA on top of their initial fee), but I did have to pay them the $30 (or so) to accept the order in the first place, and then to ship that order to the other agent (minimal, within China, luckily). But it was a matter of principle at that point. The final leg of shipping to the USA was around $100.

[@oekakiaddict]

Do you have a list of the companies that will ship liquids? Or a link to the list? It seems hard to find it trawling the web.

[@thewetpen]

No, but the trick is to go onto Alibaba.com (not aliexpress) and search there. There are hundreds, and you can ask them individually for quotes. For a bit more info... www.thewetpen.com/videos/importing-fountain-pen-inks-from-china/

[@ameliabuns4058]

what are you using for the swatches? And damn I wanna know how you managed to get the shipping so little :P I liked the purple penbbs

[@thewetpen]

That would almost certainly have been full sheets of Tomoe River 52gsm, but it's possible that they were Clairefontaine Triomphe. I'd have to watch the video again... I haven't seen it in months :-)

[@thewetpen]

Oh, and for the shipping... www.thewetpen.com/videos/importing-fountain-pen-inks-from-china/

[@ameliabuns4058]

@@thewetpen oh I mean the swabs, the pads :D you mentioned they're the original 52 tomoe that I really wanna try to see the hype. I wish tomoe river was easier to get, specially the 68gsm

[@thewetpen]

@@ameliabuns4058 Oh :-) The swabs are just foam cleaning swabs... this sort of thing, that I have in a variety of sizes: amzn.to/3Gmys3a

[@tiffanybluetarot]

@@ameliabuns4058 if you’re still looking for Tomoe River, you might want to try Etsy…last I knew, Stationery Manor & Good INKpressions both had some at reasonable prices. Best of luck to you!

[@davidbyers7246]

Why do you review so many inks from countries like India and China?! I would love to hear your thoughts on European, Japanese, American and Australian ink🙂

[@thewetpen]

I've always thought that European and Japanese inks (etc) were pretty well covered by all of the other youtubers out there. Just trying to cover some stuff that people don't see every day... and that is new to me, too.

[@davidbyers7246]

@@thewetpen okay, that’s a good point 🙂

[@billduncan4644]

Great Presentation! I really like the swabs you use. Where can I find them?

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! I like those swabs too... and they're actually re-usable if you want to take the time to rinse them out. I buy them on Amazon : amzn.to/36hN9C4

[@RHKumagai]

Hey! Could you tell me how what you did to import those inks? My country does not have a good variety of inks available, so I resort to buying chinese inks from aliexpress. If I could buy cheaper from other sites like you did I would save a lot of money! Exchange tarrifs are not kind to my currency :(

[@thewetpen]

I can tell you how I did it, but how I did it was not a very good way. I ordered through Taobaofocus (now called ParcelUP). They had originally given me a reasonable quote to ship to the USA, but it changed dramatically when they got my stuff, saying that the liquid was a problem. So, instead of having them ship to the USA, I had them ship to another agent in China. There, I went to the Alibaba website and searched for agents that ship liquids to the USA... there are TONS of them, though they usually deal in large orders. I messaged several of them and asked if they'd forward my package to me, telling them that it was non-flammable liquid. They gave me quotes, and I chose the one that I liked best, which was Shenzhen Yucheng International Transport. So, I paid Taobaofocus for the original order and then again to ship to Shenzhen (probably just across the street), and if I were to do this again, I'd cut out TBfocus completely and order directly from Taobao / TMall to the final shipper, assuming that I have cleared that with them first.

[@davidrose5chicago]

I can’t find the Pen BBS NO. 286 anywhere 😭 my life is ruined

[@thewetpen]

Sorry :-) Yes, that's a tricky one to find these days, and it's a gorgeous color. Good luck tracking it down!

[@TheDormousesDesk]

Wow. I so loved this video. Very interesting. Thank you for going through the headache of shipping from China to share this with us. Also, those swabs you’re using are interesting. Are they reusable?

[@thewetpen]

Thanks :-) Yes, they are re-usable, usually. With most inks, you can just run the swabs under the faucet for a few seconds and they're good as new. Some inks are more troublesome... especially a lot of Noodler's permanent and semi-permanent inks, and of course, anything with glitter. I buy the swabs on Amazon... about $13 for 100, so they're more expensive than Q tips, but there's a lot more life in them, too. amzn.to/3GxEhbc

[@TheDormousesDesk]

@@thewetpen Oh wow! Thank you.

[@LisePlansandJournals]

What headache? I get orders from AliExpress stores in China within two weeks. Occasionally, less.

[@Detman101]

And of course...the one I love is the final sample. Adding #507 to my wishlist. #509 was a disappointment.

[@thewetpen]

I've been pretty happy with this selection of colors, but I do wish that I'd managed to branch out into a wider range. The problem is that I know what I'll actually use... and I prefer not to buy inks that will just sit on the shelf after I open them up and enjoy swatching them. Like Sailor Manyo Haha. Very cool ink, but I've never even loaded it into a pen.

[@DARTHMASE27]

are they waterproof?

[@thewetpen]

No, none of these are waterproof.

[@jinseinogakuseiesq2724]

Im actually jealous .........

[@cate7777]

The shipping sounds way too complicated. I am trying to understand the terms ink folk use... The "shading" seems to be like "blooms" in watercolors and the sheen is some sort of metallic effect when certain inks dry. I have seen that before but didn't know it was called nor that it even had a name. And yes... I have a thing for water-based mediums.

[@thewetpen]

Yes, the shipping was a mess. Enough of a mess that, even though there are a ton of inks that I still want, I haven't done it again. "Shading" isn't exactly like blooming in watercolors, as I understand it, but it's related: some inks are so saturated that whether the ink goes down light or heavy, it dries to about the same color (does not shade). An ink that "shades" well is often less saturated, so the heavier strokes of ink will dry darker than the light strokes. Since ink usually pools a bit on the strokes at the end of words (cursive) or the final stroke of letters (printing), it creates a "shading" effect throughout the writing.

[@jinseinogakuseiesq2724]

Sad to say, this looks like a lost package auction success (because of the spills)

[@krishnadasnair8765]

Ah mozart and fountain pens!

[@James-en1ob]

These inks should last you a while

[@thewetpen]

I think I have enough ink to last me a lifetime... but that probably won't stop me from getting more :-)

[@James-en1ob]

@@thewetpen you do you mr

[@miheervaidya]

You are being too critical ;). I think "write your story and mine" is cute/romantic.

[@ashzhu3085]

Nice vid. The PenBBS four season inks are named after the 24 solar terms. You can learn more about what each of them means in the wiki page en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_term

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! I had seen the phrase "Solar Terms" used, but didn't really know how they related to the calendar; that's very helpful!