Are You In Love With A Fickle Partner?
03/01/2013Not that partner! It’s your inky partner who’s in question. Life long or limited run makes a difference when you find an ink you love.
It may be rare that a line total ends but the boutique brand Everflo has been discontinued. I never used these inks and so won’t miss them. However, the line’s demise reminded me of a remark in yesterday’s post about Diamine. Companies that are loyal to the consumer deserve our loyalty in return.
I’m as enamored with ink as the next inkophile and have been fortunate to receive more than a few to review. But when I purchase ink with my own dollars, I buy what I like and that’s usually from companies that have been trustworthy purveyors of my favorite consumable. Call me “loyal” – I’ve been called worse.
Sure, change is inevitable and some of it is to the good though some changes are surely gratuitous. Same ink, new name? That does not “wow” me. New packaging? My fountain pen couldn’t care less. Improved performance or characteristics? Now that’s worth the investment of both my time and my money.
When a loved ink gets discontinued, I may load up on it but not the replacement unless the purveyor gives me an awfully good reason for the change, like the dye is no longer available and no suitable substitute could be found. That says the manufacturer didn’t really want to end production and attempted to keep the ink alive. Good on you for trying!
Then there are companies that unceremoniously discontinue colors (Montblanc Racing Green) or even an entire line (Caran d’Ache Colors of the Earth) and expect either no one will notice or no one will care. Harrumph. You dumped me so let me return the favor. I refuse to fall in love with a fickle partner when there are loyal mates to be had.
What say you fellow inkophiles?
An Inkophile's Blog 
Everflow is discontinued? Damn it!! Their true blue is awesome. Must try to get more bottles ASAP
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I don’t mind that companies renew their lines. If they don’t, I think either they will keep the same line of inks and inevitably be boring, or they Will continue to release new inks and end up with too many inks with too little variation. Also it allows me to find new favourites. 🙂
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I am disappointed to hear that Everflo has been discontinued. I agree with the previous poster, their True Blue is lovely.
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Your post really echoes my feelings exactly. I´m really annoyed by the new line by Caran D’Ache (and the fact that they´ve all of a sudden decided to stop the current line of inks). This is not the first time they´ve done so. One of my friends is still weeping over a red ink CDA used to make. I do try to keep an open mind though, as I´ve been happy with their inks so far… I´m also with you on name changes – take Waterman´s name change as an example. That to me was really strange. Why change a winning team?
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Why change a winning team? Why it justifies the salaries of the people who get paid to make the changes, of course!
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