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Pen blanks
What makes our pen refills what they are?
Surely a pen refill is a pen refill isn't it? - well actually no!
We are more than happy to claim that our pen refills compare favourably with anything you can buy on the high street or online, but at a fraction of the cost. Its a bold claim! After all, if our customers disagree, they will feel hoodwinked and won’t buy from us again.
Why are we so confident? Because our refills are made using the finest possible components and inks, and manufactured to the highest standards and tolerances.
Components
Inferior pen refills have tips made from brass, which is often nickel plated to prevent tarnishing and improve its looks. Brass is a relatively soft material that is easily worked in mass production. However, it’s susceptible to corrosion from the ink ingredients, and because of its softness it is also prone to wear from the ever revolving ball whilst in use. These two factors can ultimately lead to either a seized ball, or the ball becoming too high in the tip, resulting in leakage, blotting and an increased ink flow, meaning a shorter writing life.
To prevent this from happening, all our pen refills have super smooth, channelled tungsten carbide, abrasion-proof balls for smooth, non-skip writing performance. Our tips are all made from stainless steel, which is a much more hard wearing metal than brass in all respects. It’s more resistant to corrosion and to wear, and as a result, the condition of our refills is just as good at the end of their life as it is at the start.
International Standards
Because our pen refills are of the highest quality, it goes without saying that they comply with all the requirements of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) relevant to ballpoint, gel and rollerball pens
They cover, amongst other things, writing quality, paper absorption, bleeding, legibility, shelf life, and resistance to a wide range of perils such as water, light, smearing, erasing, tropical conditions and chemical attack including from bleach & acid.
Inferior pen refills have tips made from brass, which is often nickel plated to prevent tarnishing and improve its looks. Brass is a relatively soft material that is easily worked in mass production. However, it’s susceptible to corrosion from the ink ingredients, and because of its softness it is also prone to wear from the ever revolving ball whilst in use. These two factors can ultimately lead to either a seized ball, or the ball becoming too high in the tip, resulting in leakage, blotting and an increased ink flow, meaning a shorter writing life.
To prevent this from happening, all our pen refills have super smooth, channelled tungsten carbide, abrasion-proof balls for smooth, non-skip writing performance. Our tips are all made from stainless steel, which is a much more hard wearing metal than brass in all respects. It’s more resistant to corrosion and to wear, and as a result, the condition of our refills is just as good at the end of their life as it is at the start.
International Standards
Because our pen refills are of the highest quality, it goes without saying that they comply with all the requirements of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) relevant to ballpoint, gel and rollerball pens
They cover, amongst other things, writing quality, paper absorption, bleeding, legibility, shelf life, and resistance to a wide range of perils such as water, light, smearing, erasing, tropical conditions and chemical attack including from bleach & acid.
Ink
The components which go to make a pen refill amount to nothing if the ink is no good. Needless to say, the inks inside our pen refills are of the finest quality too, specially formulated to give the best possible performance and writing experience.
Our standard Parker pen refills and Cross pen refills contain an oil based paste ink which is designed to flow smoothly without skipping or drying up inside. It is waterproof and even tropical proof, and there is enough of it to write for about 10km and 4km respectively.
Our “Soft & Smooth” Parker pen refill also contains paste ink, which has all the qualities of our standard ink but is formulated to glide effortlessly across the page, and to dispense slightly faster. It really and truly is incredibly smooth to use. A pen is only as good as the refill inside it, and once you’ve experienced our “Soft & Smooth” pen refills you’ll wonder why you ever used anything else.
Gel ink is generally water based and ours is no exception. It has a higher viscosity and contains a greater concentration of pigment than our standard ink. Our Parker style gel pen refills are extremely popular as many prefer the end result. They are more opaque and are also capable of writing on surfaces where an oil based ink won’t work, for instance, on glossy paper or plastics.
Our rollerball ink is also water based, using a dye instead of a pigment, and designed to be dipensed via a narrower ball than a ballpoint. It is formulated to flow smoothly without skipping, and to dry quickly on the page.
The components which go to make a pen refill amount to nothing if the ink is no good. Needless to say, the inks inside our pen refills are of the finest quality too, specially formulated to give the best possible performance and writing experience.
Our standard Parker pen refills and Cross pen refills contain an oil based paste ink which is designed to flow smoothly without skipping or drying up inside. It is waterproof and even tropical proof, and there is enough of it to write for about 10km and 4km respectively.
Our “Soft & Smooth” Parker pen refill also contains paste ink, which has all the qualities of our standard ink but is formulated to glide effortlessly across the page, and to dispense slightly faster. It really and truly is incredibly smooth to use. A pen is only as good as the refill inside it, and once you’ve experienced our “Soft & Smooth” pen refills you’ll wonder why you ever used anything else.
Gel ink is generally water based and ours is no exception. It has a higher viscosity and contains a greater concentration of pigment than our standard ink. Our Parker style gel pen refills are extremely popular as many prefer the end result. They are more opaque and are also capable of writing on surfaces where an oil based ink won’t work, for instance, on glossy paper or plastics.
Our rollerball ink is also water based, using a dye instead of a pigment, and designed to be dipensed via a narrower ball than a ballpoint. It is formulated to flow smoothly without skipping, and to dry quickly on the page.
The Ceramic Safety Tip debunked
Certain rollerball pen kits have a refill which features a so called, “ceramic safety tip.” But what does that actually mean?
Well, the ceramic bit is pretty obvious - the ball is ceramic and is supposed to write smoothly.
The safety tip? That’s a little less obvious. Rollerballs are designed to use an ink which is similar in character to a fountain pen, but formulated to be dispensed via a ball instead of a nib. A fountain pen is occasionally prone to blot, or run or even clog up, and sometimes you may get inky fingers too.
A rollerball is less prone to those characteristics and therefore could be said to be safer to use than a fountain pen. In other words, “safety tip” is just a way of saying it’s a rollerball. Nothing more! Just because other refills don’t use the term “safety tip”, it doesn’t mean they’re more likely to bite you!
And when was the last time you actually wrote with one of these ceramic safety tips? Just how smooth was it? Try one - then compare it to a Beaufort Ink rollerball refill. We’re not telling you what to think, but do keep an open mind won’t you!
Certain rollerball pen kits have a refill which features a so called, “ceramic safety tip.” But what does that actually mean?
Well, the ceramic bit is pretty obvious - the ball is ceramic and is supposed to write smoothly.
The safety tip? That’s a little less obvious. Rollerballs are designed to use an ink which is similar in character to a fountain pen, but formulated to be dispensed via a ball instead of a nib. A fountain pen is occasionally prone to blot, or run or even clog up, and sometimes you may get inky fingers too.
A rollerball is less prone to those characteristics and therefore could be said to be safer to use than a fountain pen. In other words, “safety tip” is just a way of saying it’s a rollerball. Nothing more! Just because other refills don’t use the term “safety tip”, it doesn’t mean they’re more likely to bite you!
And when was the last time you actually wrote with one of these ceramic safety tips? Just how smooth was it? Try one - then compare it to a Beaufort Ink rollerball refill. We’re not telling you what to think, but do keep an open mind won’t you!
