BALL POINT PEN DAY

BALL POINT PEN DAY 
Prof WAQAR HUSSAIN       

       Once mankind used to write with feather,cane,quills,etc.then fountain pen replaced them but now ball point has revolution ed world of writing.That is why, we commemorate the 10th June as Ball Point Pen Day to pay tribute to John Loud, Biro brother ,Bich and others.The journey began in 1988,when John Loud, an American tanner,patented a roller ball tip pen.It had an ink reservoir and roller ball which applied a thin ink to leather hides.Loud's pen was never produced like 350 other patents of ball tip pens.On 10th June,1946- two Hungarian brothers Laszlo Biro and George filed first successful patent of ball point pen which is now one of the best,easiest and common writing tool.They did not created new pen rather modified the older models which had major problem of ink flow--thicker ink used to get clogged while thinner used to get leaked.This model based on capillary action unlike older gravity driven models.The tip ball acted like metal sponge thus allowing the ink to flow smoothly and allowing the user to hold pen at slant rather than straight up.

Biro was editing a small newspaper where he waisted a lot of time in filling fountain pen and cleaning up ink smudges.Further frustrated by scratchy nibs which splattered ink,tore paper or sometime get dried.He pledged with himself to make the process of writing simpler,humble and elegant.To accomplish the goal,Biro brothers replaced nib with a tiny ball.As the pen moved on the paper,the ball rolled,picking up ink from the cartridge and spreading evenly on the paper.While vacationing on the beach,they met an old man,Augustine Justo,who happened to be the president of Argentina.They showed him their ball point ,on seeing it Justo offered them to set up factory in Argentina.During the World War II,they were forced to flee and they moved to Argentina.They were so obsessed with the idea of simple writing ,they soon did away their nostalgic feeling and set up a small unit of manufacturing in 1944 and started producing ball points under name Eterpen having price 27 pounds.

Later,Biro sold his patent to Baron Marcel Bich of France for $ 2 million.In 1950 Bich launched cheap and large scale production of ball point under the name BIC(dropped 'h' from his name) and conquered the market,compelling French govt to approve its use in schools.Bich not only bought the patent but also improved its construction, made it inexpensive,non- leaky and clear barreled.

The design of ball point is now further modified.The ball is now made from Tungsten Carbide having diameter of 1mm and hardness of diamond ensuring it will neither develop pit or flatten.The barrel was made hexagonal for a better grip and has a small hole to air into the Capillary tube so the rotating ball creates only a partial vacuum,ensuring the ink flow properly.

Ball point can write ten carbon copies,can be used in water, high altitude,in space.It is light in weight,long life in use,smooth in flow,fast in speed,cheap in price.Can we pay tribute to inventors of ball points in true sense?