Pen Connoisseurs and Pen Refills

Our business is frequented by, what I call, pen connoisseurs. They could tell you why pen x is better than pen y, what characteristics make it different, when it smudges, and what they use it for. When the packaging changes, they spot it immediately. If the manufacturer changes the pen's design or appearance, they will ask me to special order old stock for them.

To others, this may sound silly, but these are my customers and this is what keeps them coming back. Recently, I have noticed an increase in "non-regulars." Their stories are similar, they have a sentimental pen or one that they "picked up somewhere," fell in love with, and now can't refill. It's these narratives that make my day: the 30-years of service pen, the exorbitantly priced guilty pleasure pen, the "daily driver" (the pen you write with every day and would be lost without), etc.

Where have all the refills gone? As giant office supply companies continue to absorb each other, SKUs are cut, product lines are thinned, and profit margins increase. Why sell a pen refill for $4 when you can buy a dozen for 99 cents? What big business fails to see is that there is no character in a pen that was made in China for fractions of a penny. Without the emotional connection, a pen is just a pen.

Now I can understand why high end manufacturers, like Montblanc, have coined the term "writing instrument." In 2007, Montblanc sold a pen writing instrument for $700,000 . While Montblanc limits distribution of these high end pens through its boutiques, if the person who bought the pen came into my store, I'd be more than happy to sell them a refill.

So, pen refills, welcome to the Office Graveyard.

Come on in, get comfortable, and stay a while.

Spirit Duplicator aka Ditto Machine

In the office supply industry, it is rare to find a new use for a product once it has become obsolete. For example, thermal fax machines made their way to the office graveyard when inkjet and laser machines came out. The same could be said about many of the items that we sell and write about. But, spirit duplicators are one item that has experienced a total reincarnation.

Spirit duplicators, aka Ditto machines, were invented in 1923 and were the predecessor of the copy machine. You typed or wrote on the master sheet, which was reproduced by the machine using a rotating drum (some were manual and others electric). The generic name "spirit duplicator" derives its name from the solvents used by the machine, which were primarily alcohol. These chemicals gave the copies that characteristic smell (if you are too young to remember it, watch the classic scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, when entire class sniffs the freshly made dittos).

Today, the machines have made a resurgence with underground print houses and amateur press companies. However, the biggest user of these machines presently is the tattoo industry. So, while today's aromatic pages may not contain math or spelling tests, the A. B. Dick Company (creator of the Ditto brand name) should be proud that they are helping to reinvent the term "ink".