For new fountain pen users and/or people looking to refill a pen on the go, cartridges are often what they reach for as a quick and easy fill option. With so many cartridge options on the market that vary by shape, size, and make, it can be hard to know which one is right for your pen. Goldspot stocks over 200 different cartridge SKUs so let's discuss which ones might be right for you. To narrow down the options, we will just look at the 8 most popular sizes or styles currently on the market. We may look at some of the more obscure ones in a future part 2 because there are definitely some very interesting cartridges that have existed over the years.
Are Fountain Pen Cartridges Universal? The Truth Revealed
Standard International (SI) - Short
90% of pens will use this cartridge and most brands that mainly make ink (J. Herbin, Diamine, etc.) make their cartridges in this size due to its popularity. When you purchase a pen that comes with cartridges most of the time it will come with a Standard International Short cartridge so there is a good chance you already have a few of these tucked away in your ink stash somewhere. While it doesn't hold a lot of ink the SI-Short is always useful to have in a purse or wallet in case your pen runs out of ink while on the go. A big benefit of this cartridge is the sheer number of ink colors and types that you can get it in meaning that you can totally avoid bottles if that is your preference.
Some of the fountain pens that take the SHORT standard international ink cartridge:
- Kaweco (Everything, except for the piston-fillers)
- Monteverde (Everything that isn’t eyedropper)
- BENU (Everything)
- Esterbrook (Everything modern, save for button fillers)
- Edison
- Laban
- Montegrappa
- Conklin (except for the Crescent filler)
- Visconti (except for any power fillers)
- Tom's Studio
- David Oscarson
Standard International (SI)- Long
Like the SI- Short, this cartridge will fit into most pens but because of its length, the pen body must be at least 70mm to accommodate it. This cartridge won’t fit in most pocket pens but is useful if you use a pen like the Pelikan Twist, a BENU Euphoria, or an Esterbrook Estie and want the convenience of a cartridge. This cartridge tends to come in the basic blue and black but, on occasion, Pelikan or J. Herbin will release some of their more fun colours in this size as well.
Some of the fountain pens that take the LONG standard international ink cartridge:
- BENU (Larger models; Euphoria, Talisman, etc.)
- Esterbrook (Estie, Camden)
- Waterman (modern)
- Pelikan (Twist, Jazz)
Not sure whether your pen takes the international or a proprietary ink cartridge?
Check out our Cartridge Converter Compatability Guide to double check the brand of your pen and quickly find the compatible ink cartridges or converter you need.
Lamy T10
The LT10 ink cartridge refill is proprietary to Lamy and if you’ve read my previous Black Pen article for Goldspot you will know that I don’t love proprietary refills. I like it when pens, both ballpoint and fountain pens, take a refill that is easy to find anywhere and while most large bookstores will carry SI-Short cartridges, they don’t often carry something proprietary to one brand. This means you always have to have a spare cartridge on you or know where your nearest pen store is. Lamy does offer a fairly good colour selection in these cartridges but unfortunately, none of them are waterproof or water-resistant.
Fountain pens that use this ink cartridge: Lamy Safari, AL-Star, Vista, Studio, Dialog
Sailor
This is another proprietary cartridge but I do appreciate that you can buy their waterproof ink in them. I do wish that they offered more colors in cartridges, no Manyo or Ink Studio, only Shikiori if you want colors other than blue or black. The fact that in the small collection, they do offer three waterproof options is a big bonus.
Some of the pens that take this refill:
Pilot
This is one of those proprietary cartridges that I actually find myself reaching for frequently. Like many people in the pen world, the CON-40 converter and I are frequently at odds but luckily because of how these cartridges are designed, they are easy to clean out and refill with a new ink meaning you never have to use a converter. The other bonus of these is that ALL the Pilot colors come in cartridges meaning that you have access to all the fun Iroshizuku colors your heart desires without ever having to reach for an ink bottle. Pilot doesn’t actually have a waterproof or water-resistant ink in their line so I can’t be mad at them for not offering one in cartridges.
Fountain pens that use this ink cartridge: Pilot Kakuno, Vanishing Point, Custom 74, E95S, Decimo, and Prera
Platinum
Available in both 2 and 10-packs, Platinum offers a small but shockingly complete line of inks in their proprietary cartridges for anyone who isn’t up to the challenge of eye-droppering a Preppy or refilling a 3776 with a bottle. The downside for me is no waterproof inks*, if someone is going to be locked into a system at least offer them a single waterproof ink option in the lineup. Seeing as Platinum has such a fantastic lineup of waterproof & water resistant inks I am actually quite disappointed by this.
Fountain pens that use this ink cartridge: Platinum Preppy, #3776 Century, Procyon, and Curidas.
Parker - Mini & Standard
While technically available in 2 sizes, I am about 90% sure the mini version of the Parker Quink cartridge has been discontinued as they seem hard to find anywhere these days and while they are still used as the profile picture for “cartridges” on the Parker website, there is no actual mention of them on product pages.
The standard Parker Quink cartridge on the other hand is only available in three colours these days but is still very much a go-to for anyone who has a Parker pen, either vintage or modern, in their collection. I always appreciate when a legacy brand keeps its refills the same over time and Parker has done that meaning that if you have a 1950’s 45, a contemporary Quink cartridge will still work in it.
Some of the fountain pens that take the Parker Quink ink cartridge:
Overall, this isn’t a comprehensive list because there are a few other odd-sized cartridges on the market like the Rotring Rapidograph, Sheaffer Skrip Classic, Cross Slim, Cross Standard, and Montegrappa Long. For the most part, this blog should give you a good jumping-off point for figuring out which refill is right for your pen. As always though, if you have any questions about which refill fits your pen, feel free to reach out to the Goldspot team. They will be happy to help you figure out which fits in your pen.
*Note: Technically Platinum Carbon Black is available in cartridges but it seems like it may have been discontinued as the places that still have it available are few and far between.