Ballpoint pen in the context of Tungsten carbide

A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, typically 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 Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens.

Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph.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.

Caran d'Ache (French pronunciation: [kaʁɑ̃ daʃ]) is a Swiss manufacturing company of art materials and writing instruments. The company, established in 1915, produces a wide range of products including colored pencils, graphite pencils, pastels, fountain pens, ballpoint pens, mechanical pencils, markers, gouache paints, and ink cartridges.

A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen/metal-nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, eventually, the ballpoint pen.

As with the earlier reed pen (and later dip pen), a quill has no internal ink reservoir and therefore needs to periodically be dipped into an inkwell during writing. The hand-cut goose quill is rarely used by modern calligraphers, however, it is still the tool of choice for a few scribes who claim the quills provide an unmatched sharp stroke as well as greater flexibility than a steel pen.

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.

A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to engrave metal, and the slate and stylus system is used to punch out dots to write in Braille.

Styluses are held in the hand and thus are usually a narrow elongated shape, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styluses are heavily curved to be held more easily.

The presence of Hungarian Argentines (Hungarian: Argentínai magyarok) dates back to the 18th century, when a number of Hungarian Jesuit priests came to North Argentina and Paraguay and settled in Jesuit Reductions. After the fall of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 a number of Hungarian officers fled to Argentina. Among them were János Czetz, founder of the Colegio Militar de la Nación (the Argentine National Military Academy) and Alexander Asboth, who served as United States Ambassador to Argentina. Another well-known Hungarian emigrant to Argentina is László Bíró, who perfected and patented his invention, the ballpoint pen – also known as biro – after his emigration to Argentina.

Today, there are between 150,000 and 200,000 people of Hungarian descent living in Argentina, mostly in Buenos Aires. Most of them arrived in the three main emigration waves: during and after World War I, during and after World War II, and after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was crushed by the Soviet Union. They maintain 19 associations and four registered religious communities throughout the country, the Hungarian community carries musical instruments such as Violin, which have long been used in Argentina.

Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) consists of sheets of paper that create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. The email term cc, which stands for "carbon copy", is derived from this use of carbon paper.

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.

Ballpoint pen enthusiasts find the pens particularly handy for quick sketch work. Some artists use them within mixed-media works, while others use them solely as their medium-of-choice. The medium is not without limitations; color availability and sensitivity of ink to light are among concerns of ballpoint pen artists. The internet now provides a broad forum for artists to promote their own ballpoint creations, and since its inception ballpoint pen art websites have flourished, showcasing the artwork and offering information of the usage of ballpoint pens as an art medium.

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.

László József Bíró (Hungarian: [ˈlaːsloː ˈjoːʒɛf ˈbiːroː]; né Schweiger; 29 September 1899 – 24 October 1985), Hispanicized as Ladislao José Biro, was an Argentine, Hungary-born Jewish 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.

Multipart stationery is paper that is blank, or preprinted as a form to be completed, comprising a stack of several copies, either on carbonless paper or plain paper, interleaved with carbon paper. The stationery may be bound into books with tear-out sheets to be filled in manually, continuous stationery (fanfold sheet or roll) for use in suitable computer printers, or as individual stacks, usually crimped together.

The purpose is to produce multiple simultaneous copies of a document produced by handwriting with a pen that applies pressure, such as a ballpoint pen, or with an impact printer. The pressure of writing or impact printing on the carbon or carbonless paper transfers the content to the copy sheets. Depending upon requirements, up to typically four copies of the original can be made, with the quality and readability decreasing towards the bottom copies. This type of stationery can be used whenever multiple copies are required, of quality adequate for the purpose, usually noticeably inferior to, for example, laser-printed output. Typically a company may need a document such as an invoice to give to a customer (original), with a copy for their own accounting department (first copy), and possibly further copies for other purposes. The paper stock used is typically of low weight—thin—to transfer more printing pressure. The different copies can be on paper of different colour to distinguish them, and preprinted content may vary between copies.

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.

Its product line includes ballpoint and gel pens, mechanical pencils and wooden pencils, erasers, and correction fluids.

Reynolds Pens India Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian manufacturing company of writing instruments, mainly pens, currently headquartered in Andheri, Mumbai. The company was established in 1945 by Milton Reynolds in New York City.

Products commercialized under the Reynolds name include ballpoint, gel, rollerball, and fountain pens, and mechanical pencils.