rOtring Fountain Pen, ArtPen, Sketch, Fine Nib for Lettering Drawing and Writing

Product Information

Another doodle, larger this time, showing that stippling is also possible with the Art Pen. Conclusion

The amount of ink flow may prove limiting for closely-spaced hatching as I noticed a trough of ink forming – in a cold room, this may spread, reducing the white space between the lines but this is behavior to become accustomed to rather than an issue. It certainly offers plenty of ink to work a wet brush into! Price and value One thing that’s quite surprising is how narrow the majority of the pen is. Again, I suspect this was to model the pen on dip pens or quills but that main body of the pen (the bit you hold) is a comfortable 10mm in diameter so it’s wide enough where it matters. The nib and feed of a safety pen (which are of a conventional type) sit inside the ink reservoir, soaking happily in the ink. After you’ve opened the cap, you raise the nib using the provided mechanism (my pen, the Noodler’s Boston – which I believe to be the only modern safely pen in production – has a simple push mechanism. Some vintage safeties use a twist mechanism). The Indigraph is an otherwise conventional fountain pen with a humidifier in the cap, preventing the feed from drying out. It’s a relatively recent innovation and the pen looks very well made, but I haven’t – so far – been tempted to buy it. It’s the most expensive pen listed here and, while it doesn’t come with a flexible nib, it seems that it can be fitted with one. The first Rotring fountain pen was unveiled in Germany in 1928, combining an ink flow regulator with a fine nib and regulator wire. While the pens these days are manufactured in Japan, the brand remains steeped in its German heritage – the name Rotring literally translates to "red ring", which you'll see around the barrel of the manufacturer's pens and pencils today. Just like the Leica red dot in the world of cameras (another German firm), it's an iconic symbol that instantly denotes quality.The high quality of the best Rotring pens makes them particularly popular amongst professional drafters, students and others involved in technical drawing. But they're also good for outlining, shading, sketching, artwork and calligraphy, making them a good choice for both professional artists and anyone learning how to draw. This means that you can put Indian ink in a Pilot Parallel without worrying about the pen. It also helps that the pens are not expensive to buy. Pilot designed the Parallel as a calligraphy pen. It’s got that squared off tip for broad strokes (available in four sizes, from 1.5mm to a huge 6mm). It’s called a fountain pen, but it hasn’t got the traditional dip-pen style shape, and it hasn’t got a separate feed. Instead, it works by drawing the ink between two closely fitted parallel metal plates. And it works remarkably well. ArtPens and Carbon Pens can use each other’s inks with no apparent problems, and I have seen a report that the ArtPen is capable of running unmodified Indian ink. I haven’t tried this, but I would be reluctant to leave such ink in the pen for any significant time. Other special designs Indigraph

The mid-priced Rotring 600 is one of the brand's most iconic and popular mechanical pencils. This all-metal, silver pencil offers the benefits of precision lead advancement and an adjustable lead hardness grade indicator, which helps for easy identification when working. You’ll find a comprehensive, unofficial guide to the Pilot Parallel here, including details of how to convert it into an eyedropper pen. Safety pens The design has the added benefit of being easy to clean. In a conventional fountain pen, the feed presents a problem, because, no matter how far you disassemble the pen, you just can’t get at the narrow capillary channels. In a parallel plate design, the capillary action takes place between the plates. It is often enough to wipe between the plates with the supplied tool (a thin rectangle of flexible plastic), but if that fails, the whole pen can be taken apart and you can clean each part, including the bare plates, separately.I was able to lay down lines with no unexpected breaks due to ink flow issues. I did find that broken lines were a little more challenging draw because the ink flowed so readily but again, this is something to get used to rather than a fault with the pen. I’d rather have reliable ink flow. I really like the Rotring Art Pen. I wasn’t sure that I’d like the length of it but once I was working with the pen, I forgot all about it. The weight is pleasant – it’s barely there at all but heavy enough to use comfortably. I’d like to give it a try on a full-size A4 piece to see how taxing it might be over an extended period. Once I do so, I’ll update this review accordingly but I don’t expect it to be an issue. I had no problems with hatching (other than the already mentioned hook marks if I wasn’t careful) and the smooth flow of the ink made shading a joy. Lines were consistently strong and unbroken and the width was easily controlled as required.

In this article, we bring you the best Rotring pens available today, across a range of pen types, so you're sure to find what you're looking for. It’s this feature – the nib and feed soaking in the ink – that incidentally makes a safety pen safe to use with Indian ink, because the feed will never dry out when the pen is not in use (this does assume that you keep the pen reasonably full of ink, and that you habitually cap the pen when you put it down), and so the pigment particles are kept wet and flowing and the shellac won’t solidify in the feed. In my opinion, this is an excellent pen for drawing and sketching that offers some wonderful opportunities for adding controlled washes on suitable paper (as long as you’re careful to avoid the lines you want to keep). Adding the optional converter extends thoseopportunitiesas you can then use a much wider range of inks to suit your creative urges. Like all the best Rotring pens, its premium construction means it's designed for a lifetime of use, and breakages are minimal. This makes it a great option for anyone needing a precision instrument for frequent writing, drawing and/or sketching. The knurled grip is comfortable over long hours, and it comes with a built-in eraser too.

Rotring Rapid Pro

Convert the pen into an “eyedropper” pen, allowing you to use the whole barrel as a large reservoir.