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A retractable pen is a type of ink pen that has a spring-loaded ink cartridge which retracts and extends outside a protective housing. By clicking downward on the top of the pen, the tip is extended and locks in place at the bottom of the housing for use.
The retractable pen was first invented and patented in 1888 by John J. Loud. However, the design was seen as imperfect and the retractable pen would not be marketed until sixty years later. Lazlo Biro and his brother Gyorgy Biro solved the technical problems of the first ball point by using thicker ink and an easier way to store it. This resulted in the use of capillary action which slowly pulled the ink out of the pen and onto the paper. The brothers sold their pen only in Europe. Milton Reynolds, an American entrepreneur, changed the design to a gravity feed and it became successful in the US market. [1] The Frawley Pen Company, founded in 1949 by Patrick J. Frawley, claims to have made the "first pen with a retractable ballpoint tip" in 1950. [2] [3]
A click pen comprises the frame, a thruster, two cams, a guide pin, a spring, an ink cartridge of your choice a ballpoint at the end of the cartridge, and other parts. The guide pin is typically molded into the frame and the spring provides the tension required to retract the ink cartridge. The cams provide a bistable system where in one position the ink cartridge is retracted and in the other it is extended. When the button at the end of the pen is pressed, the system moves from one position to the other. This causes the ballpoint tip to be pushed forward. [4]
Pen clicking is repeated pressing of the button which produces a clicking sound. [5] Normally, the button is only pressed to expose the nib of the pen for writing. The resultant noise varies in tone, dynamic and timbre depending on the size and make of the pen. When the noise is heard repeatedly, it can have a psychological effect on the doer or anyone in earshot. The action can be either conscious or subconscious and is often associated with boredom, inattentiveness, [6] thinking, hiding something, or nervousness. It has been described as a nervous habit –a form of fidgeting. [7] It can also be described as a "distracting activity that releases nervous energy". [8] Clicking a pen can be a type of stimming behavior, but is unique in that "a person can do in public without drawing much attention to themselves," whereas some other similar behaviors are not socially acceptable. [9]
Some people find it hard to concentrate when others are pen-clicking, and so the action may be considered a pet peeve. Pen clicking can also be a trigger of misophonia.
A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro, ball pen, or dot pen, is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its point, i.e., over a "ball point". The metal commonly used is steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument; millions are manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.
A fountain pen is a writing instrument that uses a metal nib to apply water-based ink, or special pigment ink—suitable for fountain pens—to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkwell during use. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits the ink on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action. Filling the reservoir with ink may be achieved manually, via the use of an eyedropper or syringe, or via an internal filling mechanism that creates suction or a vacuum to transfer ink directly through the nib into the reservoir. Some pens employ removable reservoirs in the form of pre-filled ink cartridges.
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity that had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell. Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph. All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing.
A dip pen is a writing instrument used to apply ink to paper. It usually consists of a metal nib with capillary channels like those of fountain pen nibs, mounted in a handle or holder, often made of wood. Other materials can be used for the holder, including bone, metal and plastic; some pens are made entirely of glass.
László József Bíró, Hispanicized as Ladislao José Biro, was a Hungarian-Argentine inventor who patented the first commercially successful modern ballpoint pen. The first ballpoint pen had been invented roughly 50 years earlier by John J. Loud, but it was not a commercial success.
The Space Pen, marketed by Fisher Space Pen Company, is a pen that uses pressurized ink cartridges and is able to write in zero gravity, underwater, over wet and greasy paper, at any angle, and in a very wide range of temperatures.
Paper Mate is a division of Sanford L.P., a Newell Brands company that produces writing instruments. Paper Mate's offices are located in Oak Brook, Illinois, along with those of Newell Rubbermaid's other office products divisions.
A writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Writing consists of different figures, lines, and or forms. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, but writing instruments generally have the ordinary requirement to create a smooth, controllable line.
Roller ball pens or roll 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.
Rotring is a manufacturer of technical drawing tools and writing implements. Established in Germany in 1928 as a fountain pen manufacturer, Rotring went on to be acquired by Newell Brands in 1998. The name "Rotring" directly translates to "red ring" which is still placed around the barrel of their pens today. The company's name was changed to Rotring in the early 1970s to match the trademark.
Lamy is a German pen manufacturing company. Josef Lamy, who was a sales representative for Parker Pen in Germany, founded the business in 1930 by purchasing the Orthos pen manufacturer. Lamy was a pioneer in the use of moulded synthetic plastics to make their products.
The BIC Cristal is an inexpensive, disposable ballpoint pen mass-produced and sold by Société Bic of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It was introduced in 1950 and is the best-selling pen in the world, with the 100 billionth sold in September 2006. It has become the archetypal ballpoint pen and is considered ubiquitous, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art has made it a permanent part of its collection. Its hexagonal form and design mimics a standard pencil and it is sold in six types of point and 18 colours around the world.
Zebra Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manufacturer of writing instruments, established in 1914 by Tokumatsu Ishikawa.
Paul C. Fisher was an American inventor and politician. He invented the Fisher Space Pen.
Erasermate is an erasable pen introduced by the Paper Mate division of the Gillette Company in 1979.
Since their invention and subsequent proliferation in the mid-20th century, ballpoint pens have proven to be a versatile art medium for professional artists as well as amateur doodlers. Ballpoint pen artwork created over the years have been favorably compared to art created using traditional art mediums. Low cost, availability, and portability are cited by practitioners as qualities which make this common writing tool a convenient, alternative art supply.
Reynolds Pens is an Indian brand and a former American manufacturing company of writing instruments, mainly pens. Products commercialized under the Reynolds name include ballpoint, gel, rollerball, and fountain pens, and mechanical pencils.
Nathan A. Zepell was born in Riga, Latvia. He survived the Russian occupation of his Latvian homeland following World War I and the Great Depression, survived the Nazi Holocaust, and helped create a Jewish state in Israel before immigrating to America. Ultimately, Zepell patented forty inventions and over 200 million of his pens have been sold worldwide.
Patrick Joseph Frawley, Jr. (1923–1998) was a Nicaraguan-American business magnate whose portfolio included Paper Mate, Schick, and Technicolor, Inc. A devout Catholic, he was a leading American conservative figure from the late 1950s onward. He became involved in publishing and film production from the late 1960s.