Overview and History of Pens

According to statistics put forth by the U.S. Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association in 2005, retractable ball point pens were the most popular writing utensil with 26%. Standard ball point pens took second with 14%. There is no doubt that the pen is an extremely important part of modern day society. The pen has had an important role in the past as well, with a history dating back to the Egyptians.

Around 3000 BC, scribes from ancient Egypt were the first people to write on paper. Back then, reed brushes were used to write on papyrus scrolls. The reed pen was used for awhile, but slowly began to be replaced around the 7th century by the quill pen. This is the type of pen that was used to write the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was introduced to Europe in 700 AD, and stayed in use for a long time. The constitution of the United States was signed using a quill pen in 1787.

In the early 19th century, the quill pen was replaced with the metal dip pen, which contained a steel nib to hold ink. It started to be mass produced in 1822 and within 30 years, it came into generalized use. The dip pen had to be constantly dipped in ink, however, people considered this very inconvenient. They wanted a pen with a reservoir of ink, which brought about the fountain pen. Widespread use of the fountain pen did not occur until the 1870s.

Improvements continued to be made to the fountain pen over the years, adding better ways of controlling ink flow and faster and cleaner ways to fill it. Once the pen was made reliable, fashion took over and new designs started being made as well.

More modern day pens were created a few years after this. In 1943, the ballpoint pen went into commercial production, followed by the felt tip pen in the 1960s. The rollerball pen was introduced in the 1980s and is one of the smoother pens available.

It is clear that pens have been important writing instruments throughout history. Constantly reworked and reinvented, the pen has come a long way from being made of reeds or feathers. Pens have offered a more permanent method of record keeping for thousands of years, and will continue to do so in the years to come.

A short description of the types of pens discussed is offered below:

- Ballpoint Pen – This type of pen dispenses oil-based ink by rolling a small ball in a socket. The ball picks up ink as it rolls and then dispenses it on the paper. It is very reliable, and has become one of the most popular tools for writing.

- Rollerball Pen – A rollerball pen uses a water-based liquid or gel ink in a similar fashion to the ballpoint. The ink used by a rollerball is more easily absorbed by paper, however, so the pen moves easier across the writing surface. This gives the pen very smooth movement and an unmatched ease of writing.

- Fountain Pen – A fountain pen delivers water-based ink through a nib, usually made of metal. The ink flows from a reservoir through a feed, to the nib. Capillary action and gravity do the work in this process. The reservoir can be refillable or disposable. Refillable reservoirs may require the use of an eyedropper or some sort of piston.

- Felt-tip Pen – A felt-tip pen, commonly called a marker, has a porous tip of a fibrous material. There are different classes of felt tips, depending on the type of writing surface being used. Fine-tip markers are for paper, medium-tip markers are often used by children, and larger markers are used for whiteboards or cardboard. Markers can come in permanent or non-permanent inks as well.

- Dip Pen – A dip pen uses a metal nib attached to a handle or holder. It is similar in function to a fountain pen, but does not have an ink reservoir, so must be repeatedly recharged with ink.

- Quill Pen – The feather of a large bird, often a goose, is the basis for a quill pen. Used before most other types of pens, the shaft of the feather acts as the ink reservoir. They were used in medieval times and were the replacement for the reed pen.

- Reed Pen – One of the first writing utensils, a reed pen is cut from reeds or bamboo and slip with a narrow tip. It works similar to a quill pen, but is made with different materials.