The holiday season is here and this week, Rants of The Archer has a fun stocking stuffer for fountain pen lovers and for those who are new to the hobby. Platinum has several beginner fountain pens such as the Preppy and Plaisir. On November 1, 2019, Platinum, one of Japan's big three pen companies, launched the Prefounte, a new beginner fountain pen in the brand's entry-level pen series. The Prefounte is very similar to the Preppy, but it has an upgraded metal clip and without the excessive branding of the Preppy. It looks smart and polished with a metal clip and subdued body colors, giving it a more professional look.
Scribe.ph, the only authorized seller of Platinum pens in the Philippines stocked up on the Prefounte as soon as they were released. The initial reviews were good and said the Prefounte is an excellent fountain pen. With the Prefounte, Platinum has filled the gap between the Preppy and the Plaisir. I may not be a fan of both pens, but I like the Prefounte a lot and its writing performance. I'm glad that people who want to move up after the Preppy can get a less expensive but more professional looking fountain pen. At PhP495 (roughly US$10), this pen is a good catch! Platinum offers Prefounte as a beginner pen at an affordable price point that makes it an ideal gift or someone's "first fountain pen."
Unlike most pens that are sold in boxes, the Prefounte is offered in retail packaging so that it's easy to display in stores. The packaging is simple and includes a cartridge of Platinum Blue Black ink. This packaging is very similar to the one used in Pilot Kakunos.
The Prefounte fountain pen has the following measurements and specifications:
- Colors: Crimson Red, Dark Emerald, Vermilion Orange, Night Sea, and Graphite Blue
- Material: Polycarbonate
- Filling mechanism: Converter or cartridge included in the package
- Cap: Snap-on, postable
- Clip material: Chrome-plated steel
- Nib: Stainless steel in Fine or Medium
- Length, capped: 5.4 in | 13.8 cm
- Length, uncapped: 4.8 in | 12.1 cm
- Length, cap posted: 5.9 in | 15.1 cm
- Full pen weight: 13g including cartridge
The Platinum Prefounte fountain pen is made from impact-resistant polycarbonate resin and available in five stylish colors: Crimson Red, Dark Emerald, Vermilion Orange, Night Sea, and Graphite Blue. These five colors are offered to suit both formal and casual styles. I think all colors are suitable for any setting, and these pens will be useful in testing inks later on.
The Prefounte is available in either Fine or Medium stainless steel nib. These nibs are the same ones used in the Preppy and Plaisir fountain pens. The Fine nib is suitable for writing in small spaces, while the Medium nib writes with thicker lines with smooth ink flow. While most prefer the Fine nib, I am more comfortable writing with the Prefounte's Medium nib which is more like a western medium than a Japanese medium. They all wrote smoothly out of the packaging and I did not have to do any priming.
The Prefounte fountain pen's cap is equipped with Platinum's unique "Slip and Seal Mechanism" that prevents the ink from drying out in the nib. With this mechanism, the Prefounte can go unused for months and not dry out. It also prevents ink loss due to evaporation and ensures writing with fresh ink each time the pen is used.
The Prefounte shares the same material, shape, and size as the Preppy and writes so much like the Preppy. While capped, it's longer than the Pilot Kakuno, and just the same with the Pilot Metropolitan.
Uncapped, the Prefounte is shorter than the two Pilot fountain pens and is exactly the same length as the Preppy.
It took me a year to try the Platinum Prefounte and I must say that it writes so much better than I thought, especially the medium nib which is perfect for writing quick notes and some doodling. The Prefounte writes beautifully and very comfortable for long periods of writing. Its medium nib is more of a western medium so it's wetter than other Platinum medium nibs and I love it!
To test all five Prefounte fountain pens, I filled them with the following inks: Krishna Inks Sindhoor (Crismon Red), Pelikan Edelstein Jade (Dark Emerald), Robert Oster Red Orange (Vermilion Orange), J. Herbin Bleu Nuit (Night Sea), and used the Platinum Blue Black cartridge for Graphite Blue. All five pens wrote easily upon inking and I did not get any hard starts.
The Prefounte is a good value and an excellent fountain pen from Platinum and it's widely available at an affordable price point. The "1 Year No Dry" claim is also interesting and useful as most fountain pen users have the tendency to leave inked pens in storage. I'd also prefer to give the Prefounte as gifts to friends because they look less flashy than the Preppy. Get one—or get all for your collection—and your friends, too!
Rants of The Archer thanks Scribe.ph for providing the Prefounte fountain pen in this review. Scribe offers the Prefounte and other Platinum fountain pens in their stores. Visit the Scribe.ph website to learn more about their products, promos, and new brand offerings. Scribe.ph now offers worldwide shipping. For more updates, follow them on social media:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScribePH/
- Instagram: https://https://www.instagram.com/scribe.ph/
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