Rollerball pen

A gel-based rollerball pen

Roller ball pens are pens which use ball point writing mechanisms with water-based liquid or gelled ink, as opposed to the oil-based viscous inks found in ballpoint pens. These less viscous inks, which tend to saturate more deeply and more widely into paper than other types of ink, give roller ball pens their distinctive writing qualities. The writing point is a tiny ball, usually 0.5 or 0.7 mm in diameter, that transfers the ink from the reservoir onto the paper as the pen moves.

Advantages

Close up of an extra fine roller ball pen next to something written with it

Rollerball pens were introduced in 1963 by the Japanese company Ohto.[1] There are two main types of roller ball pens: liquid ink pens and gel ink pens. The 'liquid-ink' type uses an ink and ink supply system similar to a fountain pen, and they are designed to combine the convenience of a ballpoint pen with the smooth "wet ink" effect of a fountain pen.

Gel inks usually contain pigments, while liquid inks are limited to dyestuffs, as pigments will sink down in liquid ink (sedimentation). The thickness and suspending power of gels allows the use of pigments in gelled ink, which yields a greater variety of brighter colors than is possible in liquid ink. Gels also allow for the use of heavier pigments with metallic or glitter effects, or opaque pastel pigments that can be seen on dark surfaces.

Liquid ink roller ball pens flow extremely consistently and skip less than gel ink pens do. The lower viscosity of liquid ink increases the likelihood of consistent inking of the ball, whereas the higher viscosity of gel ink produces "skipping", that is, occasional gaps in lines or letters.

In comparison to ballpoint pens,

Disadvantages

Close-up shot of a rollerball pen tip

There are a number of disadvantages inherent to roller ball pens:

Standards

The International Organization for Standardization has published standards for roller ball pens:

ISO 14145-1
1998: Roller ball pens and refills – Part 1: General use[2]
ISO 14145-2
1998: Roller ball pens and refills – Part 2: Documentary use (DOC)[3]

To comply to the ISO 14145-2:1998 documentary use standard the following has to be established by a ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory:

Most roller ball refills do not comply to the ISO 14145-2:1998 standard, meaning they are not approved for documentary use.

Uses

Former MI-6 agent Richard Tomlinson alleges that Pentel Rolling Writer roller ball pens were extensively used by SIS agents to produce secret writing (invisible messages) while on missions.[5]

The Ohto Model CB-10F Ceramic Roller Ball Pen was used at the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations.[6]

See also

References

  1. "Ceramic Ball (OHTO Japan English Website)". ohto.co.jp. 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  2. "ISO 14145-1:1998 - Roller ball pens and refills - Part 1: General use". Iso.org. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  3. "ISO 14145-2:1998 - Roller ball pens and refills - Part 2: Documentary use (DOC)". Iso.org. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  4. Standard designation: N-chloro-p-toluene sulfonamide sodium salt. IUPAC designation: N-chloro-4-methyl-benzene sulfonamide sodium salt.
  5. Tomlinson, Richard (2001), The Big Breach: From Top Secret to Maximum Security, Mainstream Publishing, p. 44, ISBN 1-903813-01-8, you will need to buy a $200 roller ball pen.
  6. "Ohto Innovations". ohto.co.jp. 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2012.

External links

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