The Parker 45 was built around the concept of having a standardised fitting that would accept the new ink cartridges as well as the new generation of removable ink converters. This fitting has remained unchanged throughout the life of the Parker 45 (and beyond) meaning that all Parker cartridges and ink converters should fit any Parker 45.
Occasionally we find a 45 that has been modified or has something stuck inside it which can cause problems with fitting converters, the most common example of this being an early flighter where the black end tip has been broken at some stage and “repaired” with large quantities of glue or worse metal screws to try to hold the tip on.
The earliest pens would have been fitted with the original wide squeeze converters, sometimes called the “Robot” converters due to their shape. Later (during the 1970’s) Parker began slimming down the converter designs to ensure that they could fit the narrower modern pen designs. Eventually the squeeze converters gave way to the piston and slide converters which remain to this day.
Parker Ink Converters and Cartridges
The ink cartridges have hardly changed at all except for the wording on them and the ingredients of the ink inside them. The basic shape, size and fitting have remained the same.
Ink Quantities
Wide Bodied Squeeze Converters – approximately 0.9ml
Narrow Bodied Squeeze Converters – approximately 0.5ml
Piston and Slide Converters – approximately 0.6ml
Parker Long Cartridge – approximately 1.2ml
Parker Mini Cartridge – approximately 0.6ml