Pens are amongst the most popular gifts for special occasions and we like to think the more expensive the pen we choose, the better it will perform and consequently the more it will be appreciated. However, when it comes to pens we should distinguish the refill quality from the quality and materials of the pen casing or body. This also applies to promotional pens. A refill is at the heart of any ballpoint pen, rollerball or promotional pen and this determines how the pen writes; yet it is always the cheapest component by far. In actual fact, refills, even in the most expensive brands cost very little to produce and their high prices reflect the premium that the brand can command.

Big brands are aware of this so they quite often design their pens in such a way that generic refills do not fit. Where big branded pens are concerned you are invariably paying for the name unless it is made from precious metals. The good news is if it is just writing quality you are after and you are happy with an unbranded plastic or metal pen then you can get quality as good as the top brands for a very small amount of money. It is fascinating to see how refills are manufactured, particularly the speed, precision and level of automation involved. Hopefully, the following will give you an insight into how an inexpensive refill is manufactured for promotional pens.

• The Tip (Nib): This is usually manufactured from brass because it is ductile and easily machined at very high speed. It starts its life as a roll of brass wire slightly larger than the outside diameter of the finished tip. The wire is fed into a machining head that shapes the outside, drills a long narrow hole through the central axis and creates a hemispherical shaped indent in the narrow tip. The drilled hole will be the channel that the ink travels down from the reservoir of ink held in the tube to the ball that will be fitted into the hemispherical dome later in the process. This machining is done at incredible speed whilst being sprayed with coolant that also acts as a lubricant. Once the tip is machined it is parted from the brass wire and falls into a wire basket in readiness for the next stage. These tips are then thoroughly washed to get rid of any swarf or contamination before going to the next stage. The final stage is when the ball is fitted into the narrow end of the tip. Here the tips are fed into a vibrating bowl-feed hopper that delivers each tip, correctly orientated, to the ball insertion head. The ball is placed in the hemispherical domed indent machined in the tip earlier and a crimping tool presses the outside of the tip, locking the ball in place. Despite the fact this is happening at a speed of several thousand units per hour, the accuracy of the operation has to be very high because this stage determines how smooth the refill will be in action. The overall speed of operation is of critical importance because refills in promotional pens, or any unbranded pen must be inexpensive.

• The Reservoir Tube: This can be either plastic or metal and is fed from a roll and cut into predetermined lengths depending on the type of promotional pens it will ultimately be fitted to. These cut lengths are stacked in a feed hopper on an assembly machine, the finished tips are place in a vibrating bowl-feed hopper on the same machine and they are assembled together at high speed.

• Ink Filling: The next stage is where the ink will be injected into the reservoir tube. This can be part of the tip and tube assembly machine or it can be a stand-alone one. In any case the ink is injected in an exact dosage by thin needles and great care is exercised to ensure no ink falls outside the capillary. Many promotional pens are translucent and ink contamination will show if there is spillage or overfill.

• Centrifuge: When the ink is injected into the plastic tube, air is invariably trapped underneath it. Ink flow from the tube through the tip to the ball depends on capillary-action and any presence of air will prevent this from happening. The air must be expelled and this is done in a centrifuge. Each refill is placed in a very large round drum, together with thousands of other refills, and great case is taken to ensure each tip is facing outwards. The drum rotates at very high speed for several minutes and the centrifugal forces push the ink to the bottom of the reservoir and this forces the air out.

• Testing: A selection of samples is taken from each production batch and the tips are examined under a microscope to ensure the balls are rotating freely and that no cracks or burrs appear on the tip. They are then placed on an automatic writing machine and the ink mileage and quality is checked. If everything is within tolerances it is regarded as a successful batch and will be inserted in the next order for promotional pens.

Thank you for reading this brief overview on refill production and please look out for my other technical articles on everything associated with writing instruments and promotional pens in particular.