Ballpoint Pen refills: Gel vs. Ink vs. ?

[memphislawyer]

I looked at the one Parker my wife has in her Retro 51 and it is not a gell, but says ballpoint refill. I don't know that I know the difference. How long does one last, a gel, vs. a ballpoint. That auction does not have them capped, so will they dry out? I think we might have had a Shmidtt refill one time but I dont think it was a gel. The little bit of writing I got out of the Visconti refill that was in the pen seemed like it was a bit wetter.

So, what would you say? WIll a gel dry out? I found a great deal on Parker gel refills, $7.50 shipped for 5, in black medium, but they had no caps on the ends. A regular Parker refill is like $3.50, so I guess if the gel lasts half as long but is wetter let's say, it is half a dozen of one, six of another.

 

[Shangas]

I'd be VERY surprised if someone successfully used a ballpoint pen until it literally ran out of ink. I've only known one person in the world who ever managed to do that.

Regarding inks.

There's two kinds of inks.

Liquid ink.

Gel/paste ink.

Liquid ink is stuff like rollerball ink. Fountain pen ink. It's stuff that's wet, smudgy, free-flowing. This stuff can take some time to dry and it can cause feathering, bleeding and yes, it can dry out (this doesn't happen very frequently with rollerballs, although it CAN happen).

Gel or paste ink is the kind of stuff you find in ballpoint pens. It's thicker, more gooey stuff that can dry out, although this doesn't happen often. Really, neither rollerball ink or ballpoint ink ever truly dries out. It can, but it's easily remedied (usually) by running the pen over some paper often enough.

 

[cptjeff]

I've done it. A few times with the same pen. (Formerly) daily use taking notes in class does that. It's a parker, don't know the model. I used the black it came with, then went to blue, then black for the last two. The one I had before this one was pressurized, that was decent. The one I have in there now is gel, the first two were standard ink ballpoint.

Basically, the ones labeled ballpoint are standard ink. Gel will flow a lot smoother, but depending on the design can be annoying- pilot G2s have an annoying tendency to create little blots when you start writing, for example.

As for capping, the parker refill I have in my desk has a little silicone bead over the tip of it. Are you sure the ones you're looking at don't?

As for finding refills, there is really no reason at all you should need to look online and waste shipping. They're available in nearly every drugstore, and there's a pretty good selection in every office depot or staples in the country.

 

[Subvet642]

So, what would you say? WIll a gel dry out? I found a great deal on Parker gel refills, $7.50 shipped for 5, in black medium, but they had no caps on the ends. A regular Parker refill is like $3.50, so I guess if the gel lasts half as long but is wetter let's say, it is half a dozen of one, six of another.

That's a great price for those! Once you try those gel refills in medium (wider points write smoother), you won't want to use a ballpoint ever again. Normally, I'm a fountain pen type, but I like these. Gel differs from ballpoint in that ballpoint ink is an oil based paste, whereas gel is not and uses the heat generated by the friction of the ball to liquefy the gel ink, making it flow, where it will re-gel on the paper, having flowed into the paper fibers. Being neither water based nor oil based, it is difficult to remove it from documents, like cheques, making them hard to alter.

 

[memphislawyer]

Yes, those are the refills and are cheaper for those 5 than some places locally for a two pack. I ordered them as the seller told me they come with small silicone caps to keep from drying out.

 

[norton]

I use parker ballpoint pens but I throw away the ball point refills and put Fisher space pen refills in. I figure that I then have the most durable technologically advance pen ever made.

And I don't lose them.

 

[cptjeff]

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier I had one of those, Not sure on the brand though. It was alright, great for writing with light pressure. But it blotched and sometimes had issues getting going with my writing, as I tend use a lot of pressure. I have the other one at home (2 packs? I need to replace them around once a year!).

Personally I prefer the gels.

 

[MrBern]

mini pens

Ballpoints use a paste ink, not unlike the ink in printing presses.
Rollerballs use liquid ink similar to a fountain pen.
Gel pens use a thick gel & is more like the Rollerball. But the gel ink is based in pigments, not dyes so the gel is not transparent as traditional inks were.

Some people say the gel gives a smoother writing experience. I find they lead to more skips in the pens. I hear gel pens run out quicker too.

Lately, I've put aside my Mont Blanc pens and have been playing around with two cheapie pens. The PilotG2mini, which is a retractable gel rollerball. And the PapermateProfileMini, which is a retractable ballpoint. Both are about 4.5 inches long. Very handy size.
The Gel's occasional skips are annoying.

 

[norton]

Yeah, as I mentioned earlier I had one of those, Not sure on the brand though. It was alright, great for writing with light pressure. But it blotched and sometimes had issues getting going with my writing, as I tend use a lot of pressure. I have the other one at home (2 packs? I need to replace them around once a year!).

Personally I prefer the gels.

Try the Fisher, it writes on just about anything at any angle with no skips, and its waterproof so it doesn't smear. I use a rollerball at the office because the pen is thicker and easier to grasp, but with the fisher refill in the parker it writes as smooth as the rollerball.