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Types There are two types of rollerball pens: those that use a liquid ink and those that use a gel containing ink. Gel rollerball pens use a jelly-like ink: the ink sets just after it is applied to the paper and is no longer being "rolled" around. Because their inks set so quickly, gel inks do not sink into the paper as much as liquid ink. With a gel ink, one may often write on both sides of a piece of paper. But with a liquid ink, the ink will often flow through enough to make the second side unusable. Gels carry color better than liquid ink, so gel-based pens are available in a brighter and wider range of colors than liquid ink pens. Advantages over a Ballpoint A rollerball has two advantages over a ballpoint: first, less pressure needs to be applied to the pen to have it write cleanly. This permits holding the pen with less stress on the hand. Second, the ink is brighter. Disadvantages There are three disadvantages inherent to rollerball pens: first, the ink is more liable to smudge than a ball-point pen's ink because the ink dries more slowly, and second, the ink may seep through the paper. Thicker paper must be used with a rollerball pen than with a ballpoint, because the oil based ink does not penetrate deeply into the paper. The problem with gel inks is that they do not flow as readily as a liquid ink. This increases the likelihood of intermittent inking, where the flow of ink will randomly cease. One other point worth noting is that rollerball pens usually do not last as long as a regular oil-based ballpoint pens because the liquid water-based ink is dispensed at a quicker rate to give the bolder writing. three, the rollerball cannot give vibrant colors as well as an ordinary ball-point. See also | ||||||||||
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