An ode to the Preppy
Although this has not been my first fountain pen (nor the second), I want to dedicate the first post of this blog to a pen that holds a very special place in my heart.
Proud daughter of the renowned Japanese pen industry, the Platinum Preppy is as close as you can get to a masterpiece (remember, this is my opinion, not an universal truth!). Not so much for the technical characteristics of this pen, but because it manages to evoke so many good sensations in me when I use it.
Let’s face it, it’s not the most unknown pen out there. If you are in the FP world, you have heard of the Preppy and it’s quite likely that you have tried or own one (… or more!).
Platinum
Of course, there is no Preppy without Platinum.
The Platinum Pen Company is a Japanese fountain pen manufacturer based in Tokyo. The company was founded in 1919 by Shunichi Nakata, who started selling fountain pens and producing pens designed by Japanese artists. The business changes its name in 1942 to Platinum Fountain Pen Co. Ltd., and it’s after the war that the business explodes. Since then, Platinum has became one of the leading brands in Japanese fountain pens and it’s well renowned worldwide for the quality of its writing instruments.
Throughout the years, Platinum has expanded its business into other forms of writing, including ballpoint pens, brush pens, mechanical pencils, markers and others. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 with special limited edition pens.
Among the most famous models:
- The flagship 3776 (referring to the height of Mt. Fuji), first released in 1978
- The President
- The Izumo
- The Preppy, which is possibly Platinum’s best selling pen.
The Preppy
The Platinum Preppy is a plastic fountain pen which comes at a surprisingly cheap price: usually it can be found for around £5 online. The best thing about this pen, is that for such a low price it writes like a dream.
The Looks
One of the distinctive traits of the Preppy is its looks: it’s a plastic, snap cap pen, with a coloured body made of transparet plastic. The standard version comes in different colours: Violet, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, Red, Black and Clear. Unlike higher-end fountain pens, the Preppy’s body has its name printed on it with a number representing the nib size that is installed. This gives the pen an overall utilitarian look: it is a pen that wants to be used, and I can guarantee that once you try it, you will want to use it.
The cap is snap-on. This makes readying the pen for use very quick. It can then be posted on the back of the pen. Once posted, the pen length is around 15cm. A nice feature of the cap is the unique nib shield. Inside the cap, there is a small plastic cover that sits against a spring. When the pen is capped, the plastic cover is pushed against the spring and it forms a seal around the nib, preventing the ink to dry. A rather clever way of keeping the pen usable for longer!
It’s thicker than a BIC Cristal, but definitely not the thickest pen out there – I find it quite comfortable to use and I tend to prefer thicker pens myself. The plastic quality is good, but less durable than, let’s say, a LAMY Safari. I have dropped a couple of Preppies on the floor while at work and there were cracks: in one pen (green), the screw section of the barrel was damaged, whereas in the other (clear) a crack appeared on the barrel itself. If you use it mainly on a desk and don’t drop it, however, it’s a solid pen.
Apart from the basic colours, there is also the Preppy WA. These are different lines of the pen where the only difference is in the barrel texture. The current one, I think, is the Modern Maki-e line, with six models: Hyotan, Tachibana, Koi no Taki-Nobori, Nasu, Yanagi ni Kournori and Asa Gao. The barrels of these models are decorated with motifs inspired by maki-e, which is a traditional Japanese lacquer decorating technique. I am personally quite in love with the Nasu (Aubergine) model – difficult to find in the UK though! I found a website that is selling them for a tenner, but then the shipping is almost £30 – sorry, too much for any pen, no matter how gorgeous it is!
Writing
The Preppy comes in three different nib sizes: 02 (Extra Fine), 03 (Fine) and 05 (Medium). It’s worth noting that, as with most Japanese pens, the nib size tends to be a smidge thinner than its European counterpart: usually Japanese M nibs write thinner lines than European M nibs. The nibs are manufactured by Platinum itself.
Each pen comes with a bundled Platinum ink cartridge, usually in the same colour as the barrel. The cartridges are quite big and hold a good amount of ink. Platinum offers its standard coloured ink, its famous Carbon black ink (a well loved black permanent ink) and its blue pigment ink in cartridge form.
The Preppy can also use a Platinum Ink converter, with a small caveat. It fits well, but If you try to draw ink as you would normally do with a converter, the ink does not go past the feed for some reason. If you pre-fill the converter and then insert it into the pen, however, it writes perfectly with no leaks. This is what I do usually – the capacity is less than a Platinum cartridge, but you can really use whatever ink you like!
The converter can be bought in two versions: silver and gold. Both are made of plastic and the only difference is the colour of it. The big knob on the top makes it easy to operate the piston, which is a nice feature.
Many have also converted the Preppy into an eye dropper pen with a majestic capacity: all is needed is some silicone grease and an O-ring to make the magic work. I haven’t tried this, as I tend to be quite messy myself, but there are numerous reports and tutorials that show this works.
I tried the Preppy with both the F and M nibs. The writing is very smooth, the pen flies through the page and it’s a comfortable writing experience overall. The price certainly does not match the level of writing!
I prefer ever so slightly larger pens for longer writing sessions (something like a TWSBI Eco), but this is a pen that defends itself. I never experienced skipping or scratchy nibs, although a lot will probably depend on the medium you write on and the ink you use. The inks I have used so far with mine are:
- Pelikan 4001 (in Türkis and not-so Dunkel-Grün)
- Diamine (Jet Black and Merlot)
- Rohrer und Klingner “Salix” (a ferrogallic ink) – it worked well, but despite me liking this colour, I find ferrogallic inks a bit scary 🙂
All of these have behaved really well. As per its portability, being an utilitarian pen, the Preppy worked well at work too (I am a nurse) where it was quick to take it out for a quick signature, scribbling some notes or writing a label for some drugs. The only drawback, as I mentioned earlier is that after a few drops to the floor, the plastic cracked (now, often I find myself to bend over to the floor to check a catheter bag, or a drain or to pick up something – glamorous stuff). I would definitely entrust it as a daily carrier for office tasks though, and I’d happily leave it navigating in my bag.
Conclusion
As I have explained throughout the post, this pen is a favourite of mine.
What I really like about it is its utilitarian aspect – it’s a pen to be used, not to be looked at (although the WA models are quite pretty). This is something I really like about pens: the design is very functional to the use and the target for which this is destined to. It’s an office pen, a student pen, a desk pen. It’s the pen for everybody.
Its maintenance is very simple, the filling options are flexible – you get Japanese engineering and quality for (often) less than a Tesco Meal Deal.
Sure, it’s not perfect by all means – and out there there are pens that offer a more comfortable writing experience and better looks. Those pens deserve their prasie too. But none has conquered my heart like the Preppy did 🙂