Platinum Preppy (Fine) - Is this really supposed to be decent?

[EmptyB]

I'm here following up on my earlier post. I got a Platinum Preppy (fine nib) to test out the FP waters. I can see why a lot of people like FPs. Anyway, I have zero experience in this area, and am wondering whether this pen is really supposed to be an example of a decent FP. I am not impressed at all. I very much prefer my Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel pen (0.5 mm size) and my Pentel EnerGel pen (0.5 mm size) over the Preppy, in almost all departments other than "cool factor". Both of those gel pens are much smoother, very consistent, not scratchy at all, and do not skip at all.

Due to my inexperience, I don't know whether my Preppy is a dud, whether it's user error, or whether the Preppy is performing as well as can be expected for a $3.00 FP. Can anyone out there in B&B land rank a fine nib Preppy on a scale of one to ten? I ask because if the Preppy is in the 0-2 range, then perhaps I just need to try something better. But if it's in the 4-6 range, then maybe I got a dud, I just suck, or my expectations of FP performance are too high.

The "problems" I am having with the Preppy are as follows: (1) great ink flow and smoothness if I begin use after it has sat for awhile, but then it seems to dry up while writing to the point where it starts to skip; (2) seems finicky with respect to the angle relative to the paper and the "roll" of the nib relative to the paper - if not held in within a very limited range of positions, it just doesn't write and it simply scrapes the page; (3) works good if I write in slow motion, not so good if I write fast or even if I write my normal speed; (4) due to the above, the ink color when dry is too light; it is supposed to be blue-black, but it looks more like a washed out blue-gray.

As I mentioned in item (1) above, the pen works great and smooth out the gate so to speak. If it consistently and continuously wrote like this, I would be extremely happy with it. It's really just a tease to me right now . . . I get a taste of something sweet, only to have it yanked out of my mouth after one sentence!

The point of this post is to solicit some advice/feedback regarding whether I should stick it out with the Preppy or consider another "cheap" beginner pen, such as a Lamy Safari, Kaweco Sport, [insert other here], etc. I'm also trying to get expert opinions about the Preppy to see whether all of the positive reviews I read are misleading. Basically, if a "good" FP is supposed to work as I've described above for the Preppy (at the beginning of a sentence and before it craps out), then I could see myself going down this path for sure.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice you might have.

 

[Andy]

I have a few Preppy FPs in fine and medium and think that they are a good cheap pen (would give them 6/10)
But remember they are just that...cheap, not in the same realm as a Lamy.
That being said I keep a couple inked in my work bag as if I loose them at work I wouldn't be too concerned.

In regards to the pen skipping, are you using a cartridge or a converter?
I didn't have a great deal of luck with the cartridges, but a converter makes all of the difference.

If you are using a converter perhaps flushing the pen and converter would help, I have left my preppies with ink in and gone back and used them several months later and they never missed a beat.

Not too sure about the limited angle, have never really noticed when using one.

 

[Dave258]

I bought a few Preppies but in medium nibs to test out the inks for the ink drop. I set them up as eyedroppers, and have not had any issues with them. In fact 3 of them still have in in them from the May ink drop, and they write on demand. Because I set them up as eyedroppers, it took a bit for the ink to work through the feed. Like Andy asked, are you using carts or converter? If you are using a cart, maybe give it a little squeeze to try and flood the feed, assuming that you flushed the pen before using it.
As far as the other pens you asked about, I enjoy my Lamy pens, and my Kaweco Sports. A Pilot 78G is another good one, but I would suggest going with at least a medium in the 78G.

 

[Doc4]

What ink are you using? This is important information.

Are you using cartridge, converter, or is it eyedroppered? Again, important.


Generally, a Preppy is a pretty darn good pen for the money. The body is pretty cheap & flimsy plastic, but the nib & feed should be quite good (unless you got a clunker ... for $3, you know some clunkers are going to slip through.)



Your experience so far is NOT indicative of fountain pens overall ... persevere!

 

[Go West Young Man]

You always need to flush and clean a new pen, residue from the manufacturing process can gum up the works at first. Might be worth a try, that could. d causing all you issues.

 

[EmptyB]

Thanks for all of the consistent comments. I am using the cartridge that came with the pen. I want to keep things simple and user friendly at this time, so no converter and no eyedropper.

I did not flush it, and don't even know what that means, so I'll do some research about that. Is it possible to remove the cartridge, flush, and replace it?

So a score of 6 and the other comments indicates that something might be amiss here. I only spent $3.00 on this thing, so I'm not going to worry too much about a failed experiment.

Thanks again.

PS - is the area directly above the nib (where there are circular rib looking things) supposed to be FULL of ink? Mine is not. Most of it is clear of ink; only about 30% of it has ink in it (the area closest to the cartridge).

 

[duokun]

I have had nothing but good results from my all of my Preppy pens. i have had about 4. I have never used one of the cartridges though so i cant comment on that. might be a dud pen. they are cheap, but all of mine have written very smoothly.

 

[Andy]

.....<snip>....I did not flush it, and don't even know what that means, so I'll do some research about that. Is it possible to remove the cartridge, flush, and replace it?

Before flushing it, perhaps give the cartridge a good squeeze until a drop of ink or so comes out of the nib, that way the feed has been saturated with ink, could be an air bubble.

To flush it, best thing would be a bulb syringe take a look at this for more info.

PS - is the area directly above the nib (where there are circular rib looking things) supposed to be FULL of ink?

Yes it should be, perhaps a squeeze as suggested above might fix.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Flush is a fancy word for "run some warm water through everything " :-D

 

[EmptyB]

I tried the squeeze technique to no avail. Actually, the plastic is pretty tough and I'm not sure if the squeezing did anything. I just washed it out with water and that will be the last thing I try. I get it; this is a $3.00 disposable pen. It served its purpose of giving me a virtually zero cost FP trial, so as far as I'm concerned it's a success. However, I'm not going to spend any more money (converter, flushing syringe, ink samples, o-ring and grease, etc.) trying to make this a workable pen. I might jump in and buy a "next level" pen after this ink cartridge runs out or it stops writing altogether.

 

[EmptyB]

Flush is a fancy word for "run some warm water through everything " :-D

Ha. you posted this as I was writing my last reply. That's exactly what I did a minute ago. This pen is cheap - the cool blue colored nib is chipping away now. It must not be waterproof lol.

 

[txinsk]

Two things I will note. The preppie has a narrower nib than other fines so the scratchiness could be the nib itself. It will require a really light touch and extra pressure will make the scratchiness worse. The second is that the area above the nib with the fins is the feed. It needs ink in the main channel if the fins are dry it is not a problem. The feed adjusts for changes in temperature and pressure so the ink does not blob out the nib. Don't worry about forcing ink into the fins, the main channel may need more ink which is why priming (squeezing the cartridge) helps but forcing ink into the fins is not neccesary.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Hey - I'm looking for a Preppy nib in Fine, if you're not happy with it can we arrange a trade or something? Where in CA are you?
PM me and we can talk;



(Back story - I have a Platinum Plaisir, which takes the same nibs as the Preppy. Mine is Medium, and I'm realizing that I prefer the narrower nibs but Platinum doesn't sell the nibs by themselves so I'd have to buy a $3 pen and pay $3 for shipping just to get the nib I want)

 

[EmptyB]

I tried, but you have too many PMs and it won't let me. So I'll just repeat my PM here for all to see.

Did you want the entire Preppy pen, or just the nib part? I am not going to keep the pen, so I'd be willing to send it to you after the ink cartridge runs out or until I get a different pen. I don't know how to remove just the nib. Anyway, if you are willing to pay the actual shipping cost, I'd just throw the whole thing in a bubble mailer.

NOTE: The cap has a hairline crack in it already.

PS - does that Plasir pen really prevent the pen from drying out?

 

[Go West Young Man]

I tried, but you have too many PMs and it won't let me. So I'll just repeat my PM here for all to see.

Did you want the entire Preppy pen, or just the nib part? I am not going to keep the pen, so I'd be willing to send it to you after the ink cartridge runs out or until I get a different pen. I don't know how to remove just the nib. Anyway, if you are willing to pay the actual shipping cost, I'd just throw the whole thing in a bubble mailer.

NOTE: The cap has a hairline crack in it already.

PS - does that Plasir pen really prevent the pen from drying out?

Didn't realize my inbox had gotten that out of control!

If you're not using it, I'd love to grab the whole pen off you, and I'll gladly pay the shipping costs.
Where in CA are you? if you're anywhere near the Bay Area I could probably just pick it up one day.


Chris

 

[EmptyB]

^ yeah, you need to clear out some messages I think.

Send me a PM with your name and shipping address. I will send you the pen after I buy another FP or when the Preppy runs out of ink.

 

[LouieGrandie]

The Preppy is a cheap pen, it cost what $5.00. What do you expect. My cheapest pen cost $125.00, a Pilot Vanishing Point and is an excellent writer.

 

[Dave258]

The Preppy is a cheap pen, it cost what $5.00. What do you expect. My cheapest pen cost $125.00, a Pilot Vanishing Point and is an excellent writer.

Let's not scare him that much, the guy is looking for his second pen to try out. You do not need to spend $125 to get a great writing pen. But as with everything, YMMV!

 

[Raatt]

When you talked about the feed not being full, I think you located your issue...whether cartridge, converter or eyedropped...if the feed, (the finned thingy behind the nib and in the grip section) should be totaly saturated with ink. The Platinum feed system is reknowned for never drying out and after lengthy capping, takes right off with a smooth line...this is however based on the feed being totally saturated. While new pens should be flushed, I have had good experience with many preppys and my Plaisir with out flushing...The easiest way to ensure a saturated feed is to have a converter on and draw and expell ink while the nib section is submerged in a bottle of ink, several times until all the air has cleared from the feed. Another method that I have found successful, however tedious is to have an ink source on and lightly tap the the end of the pen on a hard surface, this works best with cap on and don't get aggressive. Once your feed is full, a light stroke should give you a smooth consitent line, which should also give you a larger radius with nib angles then you previously described. Technically the nib should not touch the paper, you should be gliding on a layer of ink...lighter touch than a gel.

As to Preppy quality for the price...yes it is an inexpensive pen, however as a modern system pen it is one of the best out there. The feed system in the Preppy is identical to the Plaisir. You should also try out a medium nib...between the two it will give you a good all around sense whether FP are for you or not.

PS...recently converters have become cheaply available for these pens...an inexpensive good next step...also consider getting an eyedropper kit from "Goulet's"...pennys...
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/170893068868?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 converters from this vendor also come in twos...

 

[EmptyB]

The Preppy is a cheap pen, it cost what $5.00. What do you expect. My cheapest pen cost $125.00, a Pilot Vanishing Point and is an excellent writer.

I expected a piece of crap, but I've heard that the thing is SUPPOSED to be decent. So I'm curious about what others have to say about it. Not sure what point you are making other than the fact that your definition of "cheap" is different than mine, lol.