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Selecting a pen is as complicated as you want it to be.

A pen is like a hairstyle, a tie, the shoes you wear, the watch you wear, the car you drive, or the colors you like. Taken by themselves, these may not be important, but together they can tell a lot about your personality.

We all probably have a favorite pen and that favorite pen can be dictated by a number of things. For example, perhaps a fountain pen is the preferred pen for signing documents or letters; In a meeting, perhaps, a person wants a pen that makes a statement; Or, perhaps, a functional pen is needed when engaged in extensive writing. Whatever the need, there certainly seems to be a plethora of reasonably priced pens to meet limitless personal needs or preferences.

Exploring pen options is simply about addressing aesthetics; what looks and feels good to the writer while adapting to the writing style and environment. For example, if a writer has a wide and fluent writing style, a wide nib (nib, ball point pen, ball point pen, or gel pen) may be preferred. Whatever your personal preference regarding shape, color, pen size, ink color, breadth of ink pattern / image, it all influences your personality. Even handwriting experts can determine a person’s personality based on handwriting.

“Graphology, the science that analyzes handwriting for personality traits, has been around since the days of Aristotle. Today, it is used for a variety of purposes, from criminal investigations to understanding your health. Some employers even they use handwriting analysis to detect potential employee compatibility, “says Mike Nudelman writing for Business Insider.

Mr. Nudelman spoke with teacher graphologist Kathi McKnight about what the seemingly insignificant details in her writing say about her personality. “Just by looking at your handwriting, experts can find more than 5,000 personality traits,” says McKnight.

In an article in “The Atlantic”, Ms Doll says: “Mr. Schmitz (president of Monte Blanc Pens) always carries at least two pens with him during his workday: one is a functional roller-ball, the other a fountain pen, which is reserved for the moments when you want to take time to express something. ” Some people not only prefer specific pen styles (weight, color, metal vs. plastic, retractable vs. wand, etc.), some even prefer certain smells of the ink they use in fountain pens.

Today, budget pen options go beyond the 1950s when you could choose between a cheap fountain pen, the yellow Bic stick pen, and a Parker retractable pen.

Like most product designs, in the final analysis it comes down to compromise. There are pens that are nice to look at but feel terrible to write with. Some pens allow for smooth writing but do not provide a certain amount of drag to allow for more deliberate writing. To add some confusion, there are now so many different styles of ink; Each ink formula has its own appearance.

In all this discussion it is necessary to take into account the style of paper that the writer uses. For example, some styles of paper allow fountain pens and gel inks to filter; not well.

Selecting writing instruments is the art of compromise. Here are some things to consider when trying to find a pen that becomes your favorite for everyday or special occasions.

Applications-As noted above, which pen will be a style statement or functional? You may need a pen for both of you.

Appearance-If you are looking for an instrument that has a nice design feel in the hand and an attractive color, the options are plentiful. There are rubber grips, translucent bodies, colored bodies with a chrome accent, colored details, and some that are made of metal.

Budget-There are plenty of luxury and everyday pen options on the market that can range from $ 1.90 to $ 7.00 each. Luxury pens are known to sell for thousands of dollars.

Surgery-Don’t discard stick pens; There are some great types of sticks that write well and feel great in the hand, and some come in various colors and styles of ink and dots (gel, ballpoint, rollerball, and emulsion inks). For personal use, not found in the office supply cabinet, there are many options in retractable / click styles.

Ink colors-In fountain pens, the ink colors are unlimited. In the types of rollerball, pen, gel, color options are available. Note that you can buy a pen with certain colored ink (burgundy for example), but you can only get refills in blue or black ink; this makes no sense: a new pen comes in a color that is not available in a refill; Go figure.

Design versus function-There are thin versus thick barrel pens with an abundance of colors. Ultimately, it all comes down to what feels good in your hand. Felt tip pens and fine tip permanent markers are not part of this discussion because most people don’t use them to write every day.

There was a time when there was only one pen company (pen manufacturer) that made a pen that wrote underwater, on oily surfaces, and vice versa. Today there are a couple of other companies that make pens capable of writing in that kind of environment.

The quality of the pocket clip seems to live up to the cost. It’s easy to lose a pen when the clip is poorly designed. You could go as far as to say that the clip is a nuisance.

The weight and balance of a pen is really a design feature that a person should not overlook.

Nib and nib thicknesses-Depending on the ink (fountain pen, ballpoint pen, gels and types of emulsion) there are options of line thickness from 0.35 mm to more than 1.5 mm. Some would refer to this as a fine, medium, or bold point of writing. There are some applications where a colored ink pen is required, with a very fine point. And yes, there is a pen that will do that job.

Each manufacture seems to have a different view of the thickness of a pen tip. A pen labeled 0.7mm can actually dispense ink that appears wider on paper.

Note: Choosing a pen is all about compromise in ink colors, aesthetics, feel, application of personal / writing style, and even paper type – nothing is perfect.

Pot pourri-Personally I prefer a medium point pen with burgundy ink (the color is preferred because I am in the wine business). I prefer the heavier retractable type which is relatively thin with a rubberized grip.

The ink / refill cartridge is essential to enjoy a writing instrument in all price ranges. Invariably I buy a pen that appears to have a burr on the tip that rips and scratches the paper. On the contrary, there are actually some companies that all have a very fluent writing experience; for me a negative because I prefer a slight drag / friction on the paper because I feel more in control of my writing.

For signing documents or formal letters, I use a fountain pen with black ink because black ink makes better copies.

Right now, I have 28 different pens on my desk and on average I probably use 3 different pens a day: gel, pen, fountain. Sometimes my favorite is a free promotional pen. There are approximately 133 companies that sell pens in the US, and most of them offer various pen formats in their collection (fountain, ballpoint, rollerball, and gel). Also, there are several private label manufacturers that are sold in office supply stores and used as promotional items.

With the available options, you can surely find a favorite and enjoy writing and scribbling with a pen. If extravagance is in your budget, you can always spend $ 300 and more on an attractive instrument, be it a fountain pen, ball point pen, or rollerball. However, in the end, the important thing is the tip / nib and the refill / cartridge; after all, writing is really about putting an image on paper.

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