I’m a fan of underappreciated brands, especially those that have been around for a long time, and so along those lines, for the past few months we’ve been working to bring in Private Reserve Inks. As of this weekend, they are available for purchase in both bottle and cartridge form! The 60ml Private Reserve bottle is something of an icon, because it holds a ton of ink and has a wide “jam jar” mouth that makes it easier to fill pens with larger nibs. Private Reserve cartridges use the short international format, which means that they will work with any brand that does not have its own proprietary cartridge (Pilot, Lamy, Sailor, etc.). The best thing about Private Reserve cartridges is that they are available in nearly every color, and we’ve instantly been able to nearly double the range of ink cartridges we carry.

Private Reserve was originally a family-owned brand based in Indiana, and has passed through the hands of multiple owners during its 25 years in existence. The current owner is Yafa Brands, which also distributes Diplomat, Monteverde, and more, and the current version of the ink is very good. Private Reserve tends to be more saturated than other brands, and is known for it’s bold colors such as D.C. Supershow Blue - an attempted clone of the long-discontinued Parker Penman Sapphire that is so coveted by ink collectors. Other personal favorites from this line include Burgundy Mist (which was my first favorite burgundy ink), and “Avocado” (famous for years because the name was misspelled “Avacado” on the label). I’ve had some fun exploring some of these, especially the black-infused “Ebony” line of colors.

Private Reserve Ink is priced at $18 for a 60ml bottle, and $7 for a pack of 12 cartridges. Swatches of all the colors are available to browse online and in-store. Come see us this week, and note that we have special hours on July 3rd and 4th. Saturday hours of operation will be per the usual 10am-6pm.