Fountain pen

What we understand by pen

A pen (Latin pinna, feather) is a writing instrument used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper. There are several different types, including ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, felt-tip. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used.

History

Ancient Egyptians had developed writing on papyrus scrolls when scribes used thin reed brushes or reed pens from the Juncus Maritimus or sea rush . In his book A History of Writing, Steven Roger Fischer suggests that on the basis of finds at Saqqara, the reed pen might well have been used for writing on parchment as long ago as the First Dynasty or about 3000 BC. Reed pens continued to be used until the Middle Ages although they were slowly replaced by quills from about the seventh century.

Fountain pen

A fountain pen is a pen that contains a reservoir of water-based liquid ink. If it uses ink cartridges instead of having a built-in ink reservoir, it is often called . From the reservoir or the ink cartridge, the ink is drawn through a feed to the nib and then to the paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action, so most fountain pens require no pressure to write.