A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Bangladeshi, Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Japanese and Philippine English), or dot pen (Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a hard ball at its point, i.e., over a "ball point". The materials commonly used are 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.
HINT:
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Ballpoint
- Ballpoint in the context of Gel pen
Ballpoint in the context of Gel pen
A gel pen uses ink in which pigment is suspended in a water-based gel. Because the ink is thick and opaque, it shows up more clearly on slick surfaces than the typical inks used in ballpoint or felt tip pens. Gel pens can be used for many types of writing and illustration.
The general design of a gel pen is similar to that of a regular ink-based pen, with a barrel containing the writing mechanism and a cap, and a reservoir filled with ink. At the end of the ink tube is an ink "follower", made of more viscous gelled material which is usually translucent and follows the water-based ink. The follower mainly prevents leakage and back flow of the ink.
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