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A technical pen is a specialized instrument used by an engineer, architect, or drafter to make lines of constant width for architectural, engineering, or technical drawings. Technical pens may use either a refillable ink reservoir or a replaceable ink cartridge.
Early technical pens (ruling pens) consisted of a small pair of calipers, having one flat and one bowed leg holding ink between them. By adjusting the gap between the legs the width of the line drawn by the pen could be adjusted. Such pens, kept at a constant angle to the paper, were used for ruling lines, but not for cursive handwriting, nor for off-hand flourishes. The Graphos technical pen introduced in 1934 miniaturized the caliper principle and made the points easily interchangeable. The Sheaffer company produced an expensive drafting set which included such pens for use on linen prints. These sets were often presented to a draftsman upon completing 'time served', which marked the end of the apprenticeship.
In the 1950s, fountain pens with cylindrical points became available, but they were complex instruments with tubes holding a tiny shaft. To release ink the shaft is depressed and a line of about the width of the exterior diameter of the tube can be drawn. Additionally, in later models, the tube had a small ledge that effectively narrowed its end, that—while maintaining the line thickness—made the tube thicker along most of its length and also protected ink from spilling while drawing along the edge of a rule, set-square, T-square or other template (the ink had no immediate contact with the template's edge). Some special, more expensive nibs were equipped with tubes made of tungsten carbide or with their tips made of synthetic precious stones such as sapphire, to slow their wear on hard surfaces.
In the 1960s, the pen's design evolved to feature tubes of ink that were filled with a Pasteur pipette or from a narrow spout on a special bottle of ink. Such pens frequently came in sets of various sizes, and several pen points which were installed into the holders that also contained a filled fountain, which in turn would be screwed into a handle. The construction and number of parts varied depending on the company, and the parts were not cross-compatible in most cases. Some later designs (like the Staedtler MarsMatic700) had specially designed channels to allow better air flow in between the wall of the external grip and the point assembly. This made ink flow more reliable. The general drawback of this group of pens is that they have to be frequently and carefully cleaned to remove all ink from the tubing, otherwise it would set and could not be removed.
In the United States, several firms produced this kind of technical pen: WRICO, Leroy, and Koh-I-Noor. Each had its own proprietary sequence of line widths, meaning that the widths were not standardized across the industry, and each company's specifications for the widths did not match the others. And the specifications were given as fractions of an inch instead of fractions of a millimeter. In the case of technical pens made for the US market, they were marked with both proprietary symbolic expressions (4×0, 3×0, 2×0, 0, 1, 2 etc.) and standard metric dimensions denominated in millimetres.
For the rest of the world, the most recognized brands were Staedtler, Rotring, and Faber-Castell; currently only Koh-I-Noor USA, Rotring, Rystor, Aristo, Staedtler, and Trident Desegraph (from Brazil) still make the traditional technical pen. Some other brands that manufacture technical pens not following ISO standards are Faber-Castell, Isomars, Alvin, Hero, and Standardgraph.
A full set of pens would have the following nib sizes: 0.10, 0.13, 0.18, 0.25, 0.35, 0.50, 0.70, 1.0, 1.4, and 2.0 mm, which correspond to the line widths as defined in ISO 128. However, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) called for four pen widths and set a colour code for each: 0.25 (white), 0.35 (yellow), 0.5 (brown), 0.7 (blue); these nibs produced lines that related to various text character heights and the ISO paper sizes.[ citation needed ]
| Diameter (mm) | Diameter (in) | ISO Colour code |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 | 0.01 | White |
| 0.35 | 0.014 | Yellow |
| 0.50 | 0.02 | Brown |
| 0.70 | 0.028 | Blue |
Text (produced by an ISO stencil template for use with the technical pens) of 5 mm in height has a stroke or line thickness of 0.5 mm, and so requires a brown-nibbed 0.5 mm pen. If this text were used in an ISO-sized document (e.g. A0), and the document were reproduced at half its original height (A2), the text would be rendered 2.5 mm high with a stroke thickness of 0.25 mm—the white-nib size. Thus, changes to reductions or enlargements can be made easily as everything is in proportion. This worldwide standard (excepting Canada and the United States) ensures that drawings can always be legible even after microfilming, photocopying, and faxing.
The main drafting sets of four nibs came in two kinds: Gold and Silver. The Silver (steel tip) was for rough tracing paper, and the Gold (tungsten tip or jewel tip) was for plastic film (velograph or durables). Drawing boards changed as a result of technical pens—a hard (not spongy) surface was required, and when plastic film was used, the static attraction between plastic cursors, T-squares, set-squares etc. meant that as one lifted the edge from the film, the film would rise through static attraction and the ink would blot. The solution was to stick down a plastic sheet (Ozalid) that attracted the film more strongly than the drafting instruments. The tracing paper or velograph sheet would be placed on the Ozalid sheet stuck onto the drawing board and the air brushed away. Brushing charged the surface, and the film would then be taped taut (but released at the end of each working day to allow for overnight temperature expansions and contractions).
When pen plotters became widespread, a special variety of point assemblies was produced. These had the basic characteristics of the standard pen nib, but the tube was much thicker to strengthen it against quick lateral movements. Only the tip of the tube had the desired, line-size width. They fell out of use as plotters were replaced with ink-jet printers.
While the Rapidograph style of pen is still widely used by artists, the use of computer-aided design (CAD) has largely replaced the need for manual drafting. Also, the development of felt-tip, ink-based pens has provided cheaper, lower-maintenance disposable tools that sell much better than traditional technical pens.
A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes known as a cutting plotter.
A pencil is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal-nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen.
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.
An engineering drawing is a type of technical drawing that is used to convey information about an object. A common use is to specify the geometry necessary for the construction of a component and is called a detail drawing. Usually, a number of drawings are necessary to completely specify even a simple component. These drawings are linked together by a "master drawing." This "master drawing" is more commonly known as an assembly drawing. The assembly drawing gives the drawing numbers of the subsequent detailed components, quantities required, construction materials and possibly 3D images that can be used to locate individual items. Although mostly consisting of pictographic representations, abbreviations and symbols are used for brevity and additional textual explanations may also be provided to convey the necessary information.
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.
A mechanical pencil or clutch pencil is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead". The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its point is worn away as it is being used. The vast majority of mechanical pencils have erasers.
Staedtler SE is a German multinational stationery manufacturing company based in Nuremberg. The firm was founded by J.S. Staedtler (1800–1872) in 1835 and produces a large variety of stationery products, such as writing implements, art materials, and office supplies.
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.
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.
A nib is the part of a quill, dip pen, fountain pen, ball point or stylus which comes into contact with the writing surface in order to deposit ink. Different types of nibs vary in their purpose, shape and size, as well as the material from which they are made.
A Flex nib is a type of fountain pen nib that can create different line widths. Due to its non-rigid structure, a flex nib allows a writer to control line width by adjusting the pressure of the pen on paper. Increased pressure will cause the two tines of the nib to separate slightly, allowing more ink to flow onto the page. A lighter grip will allow the tines to remain close together and produce a thinner line. Range of line widths from a fountain pen is limited; however, the most flexible nibs can produce a width about six times greater than that of a regular nib. The most flexible nibs are sometimes known among collectors as "wet noodles".
Drafting tools may be used for measurement and layout of drawings, or to improve the consistency and speed of creation of standard drawing elements. Tools such as pens and pencils mark the drawing medium. Other tools such as straight edges, assist the operator in drawing straight lines, or assist the operator in drawing complicated shapes repeatedly. Various scales and the protractor are used to measure the lengths of lines and angles, allowing accurate scale drawing to be carried out. The compass is used to draw arcs and circles. A drawing board was used to hold the drawing media in place; later boards included drafting machines that sped the layout of straight lines and angles. Tools such as templates and lettering guides assisted in the drawing of repetitive elements such as circles, ellipses, schematic symbols and text. Other auxiliary tools were used for special drawing purposes or for functions related to the preparation and revision of drawings. The tools used for manual technical drawing have been displaced by the advent of computer-aided drawing, drafting and design (CADD).
The Esterbrook Pen Company is a former American manufacturing company founded by English immigrant Richard Esterbrook and based in Camden, New Jersey. It was the largest pen manufacturer in the United States, having reached a record of producing 216,000,000 pens a year. The company produced dip pens, then concentrating on fountain pens until it was acquired by Venus Pencils in 1967, ceasing activities in 1971.
Speedball is a US manufacturing company of stationery and art products, based in Statesville, North Carolina. The company was originally established as the "C. Howard Hunt Pen Company" in 1899, to manufacture dip pens.
The Parker 180 is a fountain pen developed in the 1970s by the Parker Pen Company. Introduced to market in 1977 as an attempt to modernize the then-floundering fountain pen industry, the 180 was a slender pen with a very unusual flat nib design. The "180" is a play on 180°, because the pen was meant to be used in either a rightside-up or upside-down orientation to modify the width of the line drawn by the pen. It was offered in either an "X/M" or "F/B" configuration. Towards the end of its production the nibs made were not two point nibs, and was marked as X, F, M or B.
