Hey! Does your Rotring ArtPen use cartridges or ink from a bottle? I've done my best to avoid cartridges (I'll admit, it's a little bit of a vanity thing. I think it's cool as hell to fill from a bottle!), but it seems like a reliable little every-day pen!
It depends which version of the pen you buy - some (the calligraphy sets, for example) come with this piston converter in the box. They're pretty easy to get separately, though. I'm using standard cartridges in mine at the moment - I'm in the middle of moving house and all my stuff's in boxes. It's handy to be able to switch between the two. I'm missing real inks, though - Especially because I'm in France, and even the tiny small-town newsagents (now I've realized how many fountain pen appreciators there are here I'm going to sneak a photo next time I go into one) stock J.Herbin and Lamy and Waterman and Clairefontaine paper and and and... so much temptation...
Oh my, I wouldn't be able to manage in that town. Can I ask where you're at, and where you came from? It sounds like it'd be an interesting story! And that looks like a standard international converter, if I'm not mistaken...I think I might already have one, in which case I'll be snatching up an art pen before too long :) We should really try to breathe some life into #fountainpens, I think it'd be cool to build up that community!