Rollerball Vs. Ballpoint

[stevekolt]

Rollerball vs. Ballpoint.

1. Which do you prefer?

2. Why? Please include both positive and negative attributes that you find with each.

 

I've been writing almost exclusively with fountain pens for some years now. But when writing checks with a copy, it becomes tedious having to write the same information twice when using a fountain pen. So I am curious about your thoughts...Have a happy, healthy, and safe New Year!

[RMN]

RB <-> BP?

 

That's bad versus bad.....

 

Well, no, BP are OK to write with IF you have the right refill. I just prefer FP much much more.

 

I dislike RB. I get uneven lines, blobs, skipping

 

Basically RB and BP use the same system, a rotating ball transferring the ink to the paper. But the ink is different.

 

In a former life I used to write with BP a lot. I always had Parker Jotters then, and they wrote OK. I had one cheap FP that did not really work (but I knew not how to maintain it properly) and Granddads old fountain pen was MIA or had a leaking sac, I forget which.

So I wrote with Parkers. At that time the refills were Parkers monoploy. And they were mad in UK. When parker switched part of production to France the refill quality went down, so I had always special orders in my bookshop for the UK-refills. And then UK production stopped. So I went looking for other brands, used Papermates for a while, and then disposible gel-pens.

 

I actually like gelpens. My favourite are Pentel Energel In an Ergonomix holder. They say these are Rollerball refills, but I consider them more Ballpoints. I have long carried those with me for clients to use, as they are ideal for people with hand problems. Alas they don't fit in the current penguard I use so i switched to a multipen with Gelrefills and a pencil refill as well.

But those gel refills get little use these days, only the pencil.

 

Visconti has some nice gels too in the standard Parker size. I don't know where Viscontin has those made, I doubt the have their own assembly line.

 

 

D.ick

[LadyS]

I use gels, ballpoints, rollerballs, pencils and FPs. All really. I think if you want one extra pen for those circumstances when a liquid ink doesn't work, then go with a ballpoint. Rollerballs can have terrible ink which bleeds through the paper and creates a woolly line. Liquid ink is liquid ink, so ballpoints are best for certain situations. As RMN noted, it depends on the ballpoint refill how comfortably it writes, some of mine write with little pressure perfectly, just like FPs... My Faber-Castell Grip Plus Ball (takes Parker style refills) writes really well and Schneider has some amazing refills ("viscoglide" technology, also Parker style) as well as the Pilot Acroball.

Edited December 31, 2015 by LadyS

[sharonspens]

Funny this comes up right now; I just yesterday found my long-lost Visconti Eco-Roller, which is a rollerball that uses FP ink.

 

Between RB and BP, I strongly prefer the smoothness of a RB for most things, being particularly enamored with the glide of pen across paper. I agree that the line is usually not quite as crisp as my FP lines, but that also depends on the FP refill. The blotchiness described by others has not been my personal experience. I really dislike the dryness and relative scratchiness of the BP; I'm also not a fan of their thinness, though I suppose I could use a fatter pen body, right? LOL

 

Now, that said, there are definitely reasons to use a BP; for example, I almost always write checks with BP only (my checks are carbon, and FP and RB don't work well on those).

 

Sharon in Indiana

[Icywolfe]

I like BP, but only special BPs.

 

For the Carbon paper reasoning of saying you can't use a FP on carbon paper. Yes, you can use a manifold or a Pilot PO nib.(Harder than my steel nibs.)

 

I like the Pilot BREN-30 F which is a BP but the ink is very smooth like a gel pen. So not a lot of pressure to write. It even writes with no pressure but the pen's weight, the pen is the Pilot Ageless.

[penrivers]

Funny this comes up right now; I just yesterday found my long-lost Visconti Eco-Roller, which is a rollerball that uses FP ink.

 

Between RB and BP, I strongly prefer the smoothness of a RB for most things, being particularly enamored with the glide of pen across paper. I agree that the line is usually not quite as crisp as my FP lines, but that also depends on the FP refill. The blotchiness described by others has not been my personal experience. I really dislike the dryness and relative scratchiness of the BP; I'm also not a fan of their thinness, though I suppose I could use a fatter pen body, right? LOL

 

Now, that said, there are definitely reasons to use a BP; for example, I almost always write checks with BP only (my checks are carbon, and FP and RB don't work well on those).

 

Sharon in Indiana

You are right. There are RB to RB, l prefer rollerbals to ballpoints, softs , smooths, précises, and btw you can write checks with RB.

[Algester]

I prefer to use BPs at least they dont exhibit the screechy noises that RBs sometimes produce

right now I'm liking the Uni-ball Signo above it's asian competitors between Pilot G2, Zebra Sarasa, Pentel Energel, but the Zebra Sarasa comes next

but if I were to really select an RB I wont go far but with a Pilot V5 if not V7 RT sturdy little (bleep) refills I say they even write when dropped

but here's a BP I might start to like

Pilot Easy Grip though I'm pretty sure it's because of its broad tip and very velvety ink

Edited January 3, 2016 by Algester

[LadyS]

I prefer to use BPs at least they dont exhibit the screechy noises that RBs sometimes produce

 

I have also had RBs that screeched horribly like a banshee, ie those you can refill yourself with ink cartridges. I don't remember non-refillable RBs screeching, but I wouldn't be surprised if I came across one such.

[qvxb]

I like both. For BPs, the Parker black medium Quinkflow refills write smoothly and produce a dark line with little pressure. The Bic Cristal Bold (1.6 mm ball) gives a 0.6 mm line. The black and blue produce dark lines and are very smooth. They have less showthrough than RBs on thin paper.

 

Rollerballs give darker, higher contrast lines than BPs. I want inks that are waterproof and fade-resistant. The Uni-ball Signo 307, Pentel EnerGel, and Pilot Precise V5 and V7 are good.

[Xmsteel]

I prefer a RB hands down. I've never have as much trouble as I do writing with a BP. Even with a nicer BP I still end up having it either dry out and not write or just have poor uneven ink on the paper. Most of the time, I'm scratching and ripping the paper trying to get them to write...

 

The only real downside to a RB for me is writing on slick receipt-type paper (which I do a lot of for my job). I'm a lefty so I tend to smear ink all over the place before it can dry. That's the only advantage to a BP for me.

[dogpoet]

Ball points. Gel pens and rollerballs often don't even last as long as a short international cartridge before they need chucking or refilling.

[pajaro]

Ball points. Gel pens and rollerballs often don't even last as long as a short international cartridge before they need chucking or refilling.

 

+1. Precisely. I like ballpoints.

[NinthSphere]

Not a fan of bp at all. Gel or rb for a nice smooth writer. Just picked up some Itoya gels for the Maxmadco & Jotter.

[pajaro]

Not a fan of bp at all. Gel or rb for a nice smooth writer. Just picked up some Itoya gels for the Maxmadco & Jotter.

They write too slickly. Not enough resistance.

[dkirchge]

I prefer the feel of rollerballs, but I write mostly with ballpoint or pencil these days because they are far less finicky about paper. I pretty much stay with Parker using fine point Quinkflow refills or my Fisher Space Pen, again with fine point in blue or black, or medium point purple.

Edited January 17, 2016 by dkirchge

[orfew]

I use Fps, MPs, RBs, and BPs. They all perform their intended purposes well. You just have to choose the right instrument to suit the task at hand.

[Blurred_Memories]

there's been one ballpoint or rollerball i've preferred over all others... and to be honest i'm not even sure which family it belongs to.. but its those very slim clicky bic pens that some offices buy in bulk. always seemed to be easier to write with (less pressure required) and had less mishaps ( skipping drying blotching ) than others, at least in my experience.

 

~b

[requiescat]

I prefer rollerballs for writing, but I like the effects that you can get from the uneven ink flow of a balky ballpoint when I'm sketching with one!

[dkirchge]

Assuming I have paper that will handle rollerball ink without too much feathering or bleeding, I'll use either a rollerball or my Pentel Tradio Stylo faux-fountain pen. Otherwise, I'll probably use a ballpoint.

[nibfiend]

I prefer Pilot extra fine rollerballs where fountain pens are a problem -- like crossword puzzles on newsprint. I have found, depending on the paper, that one can vary the line by slowing down and speeding up.

 

I detest ball point pens.