TWSBI Fountain Pen Lineup

TWSBI is one of our bestselling fountain pen brands, and a favorite among beginners, collectors, and team members alike. Known for their high quality, low price point, and the amount of variety for finish, color, and nib sizes, there is a TWSBI out there for everyone!

A little bit of background on TWSBI:

Before becoming TWSBI, they were TaShin Precision, an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) in Taiwan. TaShin Precision worked in plastic and metal to make pieces for a range of things–from lego toy parts to writing instruments. After gaining over 50 years of experience producing parts, they shifted to the name TWSBI and used their years of acquired knowledge to start designing and manufacturing their very own pens.

Taking advice and listening to communities online, TWSBI learned the needs and wants of fountain pen users and developed their first pen, the Diamond 530, in 2009. Today, the ECO is probably their most well known and bestselling pens with recent colors like matcha, espresso, and fluorite being extremely popular within the stationery community.

The Lineup: 

To see the specs of all the pens, scroll to the bottom to see the chart we put together! 

Released in fall of 2018, the Go has a spring-loaded piston filling mechanism. Working very quickly to draw ink in, this is the pen's distinguishing feature. The body and color options are not the most aesthetic, so this is a great pen for someone pragmatic looking for an affordable fountain pen. 

The Swipe came out in fall of 2021 and is the only fountain pen by TWSBI we carry that has a cartridge/converter fill system. It takes standard international c/c and comes with two converters: one piston-fill and one spring-loaded piston fill, as well as a cartridge. This pen is perfect for someone who is a fan of cartridge/converter systems but still wants a pen with a TWSBI nib. 

The ECO is TWSBI's most notable pen, and definitely the most popular model at Yoseka. It came out mid-2015 and features a piston fill system, huge ink chamber that fits around 1.5-1.75 ml of ink, and a large selection of colors. ECO pens come in a large range of finishes including silver, gold, rose gold, bronze, and onyx, and recent colorways such as the Fluorite Purple, Matcha, and the Creme, Caffé, and Espresso from the Breakfast Collection have become extremely popular. These are great for beginners and collectors alike as they're easy to fill, maintain, and clean while remaining extremely affordable. 

The ECO's sibling pen is the ECO-T. Released in November of 2017, around 2 years after the ECO, it's nearly identical to the ECO but features a triangular grip and body section, hence the T! It comes in many colors that the ECO doesn't such as Mint, Saffron, and Eggplant! It's great for people who are fans of a defined grip shape (like LAMY's triangular grip) but want the nib and ink capacity of a TWSBI). 

The (now discontinued) Diamond 530 and 540 were precursors for the Diamond 580 that most people are familiar with today. 

The Diamond line is a higher price point, but all Diamond pens share the following features: a #5 nib, piston fill, and have removable nibs. The grip sections simply screw off on Diamond pens, allowing you to test out different line widths by using the replacement nibs with grip sections that TWSBI sells. 

The Diamond 530 was the very first “Diamond” fountain pen they made, and it was released in 2009 being the first product to hold the TWSBI name after their switch over from being Ta Shin Precision. It has the piston fill and clear body features we're all used to frorm TWSBI, but in 2009, these were not commonly found in beginner friendly pens so it made quite a splash in the stationery community. This was the only Diamond in their line for 2 years or so as they prototyped and worked to better the design before they released the Diamond 540 in August of 2011. The 540 was the more refined and durable version of the Diamond 530, and had all the same mechanics as the Diamond 530. 

In March of 2013 they came out with the Diamond 580. It’s the most improved version of the Diamond, and also has the largest ink capacity at around 30% more than the Diamond 530, being able to hold 2ml of ink. Holding the older models of the Diamond along with the current 580 there is a noticeable upgrade in quality. 

There is also the Diamond 580AL, which has all the same elements of the Diamond pens but has an aluminum grip, screw, connector, and screw bolt, adding durability and weight. 

The Diamond 580ALR has the same features as the 580AL, but the aluminum has a matte finish and is adorned with circular engravings in the grip and cap area. 

The Diamond 580 is quite large and heavy, so in 2012, TWSBI released the Diamond Mini. This pen has a smaller nib than the Diamond 580 family, but the grip and part of the piston system are designed in aluminum which gives it a bit of weight. Despite being a pocket size pen it has an ink capacity of around 1.3 ml (equivalent to the ECO), and is great for someone who's on-the-go or who prefers a smaller pen.

In late 2012, TWSBI developed a new filling mechanism for their fountain pens: the vacuum. The first rendition of this was the (now discontinued) Vac700 in late 2012, and this pen was remodeled due to design problems. They released the Vac700R in 2017, and this pen features the largest ink capacity of TWSBI's entire fountain pen line at 2.3 ml, and the biggest nib as well. There are limited color selections for the Vac700R with the current options being classic clear with black accents, Iris, and Kyanite. For those who find it inconvenient to refill their pen, the Vac700R solves that problem with the huge ink capacity lasting much longer than a traditional cartridge/converter. 

The Vac Mini was released at the end of 2015 as the pocket size version of the Vac700R. Its nib is two sizes smaller than the Vac700R but it has nearly 2ml of ink capacity, making it a great pocket pen for those who prefer a smaller body but want a pen with a larger ink capacity. 

Finally, there is the Precision fountain pen. Coming in two colors (Gunmetal and Gemini Blue), this nib has a #5 nib and piston fill mechanism. It has a brushed aluminum body, an ink window, and is definitely the heaviest pen in the entire TWSBI line since as it's made of aluminum and stainless steel, with brass accents. This pen is for those who like the luxurious feel of a heavy pen and a larger nib. 

Conclusion

TWSBI has created quite the line since they released the Diamond 530 in 2009, and have grown to make some of the stationery community’s favorite pens to date. Seeing the development and time they put into pens such as the Diamond and Vac line, it’s obvious that quality and user experience are at the forefront of their company’s goals, and that they’re always working to improve and make the best pens they can.

Spec Chart