Data Analysis & Visualization: Fountain Pen Ink
Introduction
This page presents a quantitative analysis of fountain pen ink characteristics using data gathered from over 15,000 customer reviews. Inks with no reviews were excluded from the analysis. N = 548 inks. Some ink products of the same name are represented at multiple volumes (e.g. 30mL, 50mL). All items sharing a name are included as each item includes its own review statistics.
Data Source
The data for this analysis were gathered in late September 2019 with permission from https://www.gouletpens.com/ and results have been shared with them. The inks represented here were found in the ‘bottled inks’ section of the site.
Characteristics
The data used for this analysis feature several ink characteristics: drying, flow, shading, value, and water resistance. Each characteristic was scored by reviewers on a five-point scale (1 to 5). The table below provides additional information regarding each scale.
| Score | Drying | Flow | Shading | Value | WaterResistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | slow | dry | low | low | low |
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | medium | medium | medium | medium | medium |
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | fast | wet | high | high | high |
Review Count
Review Count Distribution
The distribution for the number of reviews is skewed heavily to the right and is spread over a wide range of values.
Review Count by Brand
Inks from the Noodler’s brand have been reviewed far more often than those of any other brand. Diamine and Pilot round out the Top 3 most-reviewed brands.
Rating
Distribution
The rating distribution is heavily skewed and it seems reviewers are quite generous with their given scores.