Basic Fountain Pen Converters | Good Tips For Beginners

A fountain pen converter is a type of fountain pen that is widely used worldwide, an indispensable accessory for those who love using fountain pens. Fountain pen converter allows you to use ink from bottles instead of pre-filled ink cartridges, providing flexibility and savings. In this article, WiixStore will help you better understand the converter, how to install it and use it effectively.

For most fountain pens, converters are the easiest way to experience the hundreds of different ink colors available in a bottle. The fountain pen converter is a tool inside the pen and allows the pen to write using the ink in the bottle through the nib. There are 2 most common types of converters: piston and squeeze and we’re going to find out what are they, what do they do and what is the difference between them.

Piston Fountain Pen Converter

Piston fountain pen converter is a type of ink converter that uses a piston mechanism to draw and store ink in a tube. When the piston is rotated, an internal shaft moves up and down, creating suction to flow ink into the tube. Piston fountain pen converters are usually made of high-quality materials such as plastic or metal, ensuring durability and aesthetics.

Using a piston converter can save you lots of money on ink compared to buying disposable cartridges. A bottle of ink can last for a long time, saving you money. The piston fountain pen converter is a great accessory to help you save costs, diversify ink colors and protect the environment.

To ensure the pen works well, you should clean the converter piston and the pen nib periodically, to avoid ink residue clogging the nib. Also, avoid leaving the fountain pen in a place with high humidity since this can damage the pen nib and cause ink clogging.

Squeeze Fountain Pen Converter

Squeeze converter is a type of fountain pen converter. Unlike piston converters, squeeze converters use a soft rubber or plastic bag to draw ink into the tube by squeezing the bag. This is a convenient and easy-to-use method, suitable for even beginners to use fountain pens.

A squeeze converter is a tool that helps to pump ink from a bottle into a fountain pen using a soft bag inside. When you squeeze this bag, the air inside will be pushed out. When released, the negative pressure will pull the ink from the bottle into the tube. This type of fountain pen converter is usually made of durable plastic or rubber material, ensuring durability and efficiency while using.

Squeeze converters are easy to use, even for beginners. Simply squeeze and release the rubber pouch to draw ink into the pen, no complicated operations are required. Similar to piston converters, squeeze converters save ink costs compared to buying disposable ink cartridges. A bottle of ink can be used for a long time, saving you money.

Push-Button Fountain Pen Converter

Unlike piston or squeeze converters, push-button converters use a push-button mechanism to draw ink into the tube. This is a flexible solution, allowing users to easily refill ink without much difficulty. When the button is pushed, air is pushed out of the tube and when the button is released, negative pressure draws ink into the tube. This type of converter is usually made of durable plastic or metal, ensuring durability and efficiency while using. 

However, this mechanism will make it more difficult to clean the fountain pen than the two types above, so you will have to clean it regularly. To ensure maximum efficiency, you should clean the push-button converter and the pen tip periodically, avoiding ink residue clogging the tip.

Unlike fountain pens, ballpoint pens refills can be replaced easily and cleanly without worrying about ink getting all over clothes, books and desks. However, the experience of refilling ink in a fountain pen is a very interesting and satisfying experience that a ballpoint pen can hardly bring. If many people like ballpoint pens because of their convenience, fountain pens are favored for their nostalgic feeling, as well as for bringing seriousness and formality while writing.

Common Problems With Fountain Pens

Ink Flow Problems: the ink flow can be too wet, too dry or inconsistent, causing the fountain pen to either flood the paper with ink or skip and dry out. This may be caused by clogged feed or nib, use improper ink or incorrect nibs. You can try using warm water to flush the nib, continue until the clog disappears. 

Converter Issues: this can be caused by using the wrong converter so that it doesn’t draw ink efficiently because converters are designed to fit tightly. Please ensure that you are using the correct converter for your pen model. Also, tap the converter gently to dislodge any air bubbles that might be preventing ink flow. 

If you still have problem, you can contact WiixStore via our email storewiix@gmail.com, we’re happy to help you solve it!

Fountain pen converter is a great accessory that helps you save money, diversify ink colors and protect the environment. Installing and using the converter is not too complicated, just follow the detailed instructions. If you’re finding how to install ink cartridges properly, you can refer to this article. WiixStore hopes that this article has provided you with useful information and helped you have a great writing experience with your fountain pen.