Platinum Preppy pen cap.

The pen cap has a colored clip that matches the barrel. The snap-fit mechanism closes with a satisfying sound so you know the pen is securely capped. Additionally, the cap features Platinum's unique "Slip & Seal" mechanism. When you cap the pen, the nib fits into a spring-loaded interior cone that creates an airtight seal around the nib. Some fountain pens can dry out in a few weeks or even days if not used, which can lead to frustrating hard starts.

Platinum's tests show that, while many fountain pens dry out within four months, their fountain pens retain 40% moisture at the 24-month mark due to the Slip & Seal mechanism. In our experience, a Preppy can lie unused for months without drying out. Our testing set always writes immediately, no matter how long we leave it. Watch this video to see us test the Preppy for a whole year.

Platinum Preppy pen barrel.

The Preppy has two slightly different barrel designs, depending on which kind of pen you have. The fountain pen’s barrel is made of translucent colored plastic that matches the pen’s ink color. The Crystal fountain pen has a clear, uncolored barrel and cap. The highlighter also has a clear barrel. The translucent barrel allows users to see the ink level and helps new pen users better understand pen anatomy. There is a minor cosmetic detail to consider: the pen name and barcode are featured prominently on the otherwise clear barrel.

These labels are more subtle on other colors of the Preppy Fountain Pen. If you do not like the lettering, you can remove the labels by rubbing them with non-acetone nail polish remover or isopropyl alcohol. Do not use acetone to remove the labels, as this will damage the pen.

The barrel is light with most of the weight concentrated at the tip. This makes the pen easy to hold without requiring a heavy-handed grip. Additionally, the pen measures 5.9 inches posted, comfortable to grasp because it's neither too long nor too short.

This is the easiest way to install ink into your Preppy. Use the cartridge that comes with your pen or check out other ink cartridges that are compatible with the Preppy.

1. Insert the cartridge's stopper (the end with the metal ball) into the grip section.

2. Press the cartridge down firmly into the grip section until the cartridge stopper is punctured.

3. Leave the pen pointing downward to help the ink saturate into the nib or tip.

Use the Platinum Fountain Pen Converter to fill your Preppy Pen with different bottled inks. The converter has a smaller ink capacity than a Platinum cartridge does, but is reusable and allows you to choose from a wide range of bottled inks.

1. Insert the converter into the pen. Twist the end knob until the piston is fully extended.

2. Twist the piston in the other direction, retracting it to draw ink. Repeat if the converter is not full.

3. Clean up by wiping off the nib with a paper towel and reassemble the pen.

Although it requires a little bit of work and patience, this method allows you to choose between different bottled inks and gives you greater ink capacity than the converter method. All you need is a Preppy, an O-ring, silicone grease, an eyedropper or syringe, and a bottle of ink. This method works best for fountain pens. The ink lays down wetter and pools slightly when you use the eyedropper method with the highlighter tips.

1. Disassemble the pen and remove the cartridge. Stretch the O-ring over the threads at the end of the grip section. Lubricate this area with silicone grease.

2. Unscrew the barrel. Fill up the barrel to the threads, leaving room (about ⅓ of the barrel volume) to ensure proper air pressure.

3. Screw the pen back together with the nib facing up. The O-ring should be 20-25% compressed. Gently shake the pen up and down to get ink flow.

The Preppy’s highlighter tips can be replaced once they wear out. This is both economical for the consumer and sustainable for the Earth. If you already own a Platinum Preppy fountain pen, you can easily switch the nib for a highlighter tip without buying a new pen. In our demonstration, we switched an unused highlighter tip to a marker tip, but if you’re replacing inked tips, we recommend using tweezers or a pair of gloves to avoid messiness.

1. Find the plastic white base. It is the plastic funnel that holds the tip.

2. Pull the old tip straight out.

3. Insert your new tip and push it tightly into the feed to secure it.

Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen nibs.

The Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen’s nib is made of polished stainless steel that is durable and abrasion resistant. The nib comes in three different sizes: 02 (Extra Fine), 03 (Fine), and 05 (Medium). You can easily distinguish between different sizes by referring to the pen cap, which indicates the nib size in silver print. Overall, the nib is firm, with just a little flex to it, which allows for minor stroke variation. It is very smooth to write with, creating just the slightest amount of drag as you glide it across the page.

The medium 05 nib feels the juiciest to write with, while the fine 03 and extra fine 02 nibs produce more feedback. The latter two nibs, however, produce thinner lines that are optimal for small and thin handwriting.

Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen writing sample.

The ink colors in the Preppy Fountain Pen line-up include both staple professional colors—red, blue black, and black—and casual colors such as purple, yellow, pink, and green, which are great for personal letters, notes, and crafts. The 03 line has the most pen colors (7 total), whereas the 05 and 02 lines only include red, blue black, and black. Each pen comes with an uninstalled ink cartridge. The ink that comes with the fountain pen performs very well. The ink is bold, which makes it easy to read.

Even lighter inks like yellow and pink are highly visible. The ink neither feathers on fountain pen friendly paper (like 75-80 gsm Maruman or Kokuyo paper) nor printer paper. Note that the ink may pool and show through printer paper if you press down too hard in one area.

We conducted a finger smudge test for each fountain pen nib at 10, 20, and 30 seconds.

Nib Size	10 sec.	20 sec.	30 sec.
Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen 02 - Extra Fine
Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen 03 - Fine
Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen 05 - Medium

Platinum Preppy Highlighter writing sample.

The highlighter inks are vibrant and come in a rainbow of neon colors: pink, green, orange, blue, and yellow. Employing the converter or eyedropper method, you can use Preppy highlighters with other highlighter inks, such as Noodler’s bottled highlighter inks. The ink lays on wet but dries fast (around ten seconds) on porous paper. For the least smearing, pair the highlighter with ballpoint and rollerball ink. Fountain pen ink and gel ink will more likely react with the highlighters, which leads to an ink halo around your text.

Do note that Preppy highlighter ink tends to create bleedthrough on porous papers like printer paper and thin book pages but does not really bleed on magazine paper or glossy paper. While more bleed-resistant on nonporous paper, Preppy highlighter ink will take longer to dry on such surfaces.