A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument which features a metal ball tip (i.e. a ball point) that is refreshed with ink automatically. The metal ball normally used is brass, steel or tungsten carbide. It was regarded and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to fountain pens and dip pens. So, have you guys ever wondered who invented the modern ballpoint pen?
Although ballpoint pens were first patented in the late 19th century, it was in the early 1950s that they began to achieve commercial success. Now, ballpoint pens dominate the writing instrument market, with millions of them manufactured and sold daily worldwide. As a result, it has influenced art and graphic design, and has spawned an artwork genre. Pen manufacturers make designer ballpoint pens for the high-end and collectors’ market.
(Components of A Ballpoint Pen)
Even though different versions of ballpoint pens are available, most of their components are the same. Common components for a ballpoint pen usually consist of a ball, a tip, ink, an ink cartridge or reservoir, as well as an outer housing. Some ballpoint pens are equipped with a cap to prevent it from leakage or having its point damaged. Other pens adopt a retractable point mechanism out of the same reason. Moreover, other varieties of ballpoint pens contain several ink cartridges, allowing people to write in various colors with one ballpoint pen. Still other pens have ink cartridges which are refillable.
A ballpoint pen, also known as a Biro pronounced “BY-roe” in British English after its inventor László Bíró, is a modern type of pen for writing. It uses oil-based ink with high viscosity. The ink is inside a long, thin tube within the pen. When a person uses it to write, the ink automatically comes onto the tiny, ball-shaped metal tip. The ink then dries almost as soon as it’s on the paper.
(László Bíró, Hungarian-Argentine Inventor of the Modern Ballpoint Pen)
Early ballpoints failed to deliver the ink evenly, and clogging and overflow were among the impediments that inventors confronted toward developing reliable ballpoint pens. If the ball socket was too loose or the ink too thin, the pen would leak or the ink would smear; if the socket was too tight or the ink too thick, it wouldn’t reach the paper.
László Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor, who was greatly frustrated by the great deal of time he wasted in filling up fountain pens and cleaning up smudged pages, noticed that the inks used in newspaper printing dried rapidly, leaving the paper dry and smudge-free. He therefore decided to invent a pen using the same kind of ink. Bíró enlisted the assistance of his brother György Bíró (a chemist) to develop viscous ink formulate for new ballpoint designs.
(Birome Advertisement in Argentine Magazine Leoplán, 1945, Source: Wikipedia)
Bíró, in collaboration with his brother György, finally developed a new tip consisting of a ball which was free to turn in a socket, and as it turned it would draw ink from a cartridge and then roll to deposit it on the paper. Bíró’s innovation successfully coupled ink viscosity with a ball-socket system that worked compatibly to prevent ink from drying inside the reservoir while at the same time allowing controlled flow. In 1938, László Bíró patented the first commercially successful modern ballpoint pen.
After reading through this article, I hope you’ll know the story of ballpoint pen and the person who invented the modern ballpoint pen.
Post time: Oct-19-2018