Custom Ballpoint Pens | Personalized Ballpoint Pens in Bulk

Custom Ballpoint Pens For Handouts and Giveaways

Businesses across a variety of industries hand out pens and other custom office supplies at conferences, expos, and other events. They’re useful – even customers who don’t spend much time in an office need pens for jotting down grocery lists, phone numbers, and reminders. Pens are often misplaced as well, so they’re a giveaway that doesn’t get old. They’re also easy to customize and affordable for smaller budgets.

Many people don’t give their pens a second thought until they quit working, but a pen that won’t do its job can be incredibly frustrating. Ballpoint pens tend to be a favorite due to their smooth writing and reliability. But even ballpoints can have problems and understanding the mechanics and history of the ballpoint pen is actually very interesting. You’ll also want to know the best brands and designs so you can purchase promotional ballpoint pens that are sure to function well.

What is a ballpoint pen?

Ballpoint pens have a tiny ball at the tip of the pen that rolls to transfer ink from the pen’s cartridge to the paper. The ball is held in place by a socket at the tip of the pen and prevents the ink from leaking out when it’s not being used.

How does a ballpoint pen work?

The ball at the tip of the pen is held in place so it doesn’t slip out of the pen or down into the barrel, but it can freely roll. When it comes into contact with paper, friction causes the ball to roll and transfer ink from the ink cartridge to the paper. When not in use, the tiny ball keeps the ink contained in the pen.

What are the parts of a ballpoint pen?

Pen anatomy and mechanisms vary a good deal, depending on the type of pen. Ballpoint pens are actually quite complicated, and the design of the modern ballpoint took years to perfect. Most ballpoint pens include:

Ballpoint tip: the tip of the pen that holds the small metal ball. It attaches to the ink chamber.
Ink chamber: the long barrel that holds the ink.
Spring: part of the retraction mechanism in a retractable pen. It helps pop the tip in and out as necessary.
Thrust device: another part of the retraction mechanism. It moves the ink barrel into different positions and locks to hold the tip in place.
Plunge: the last part of the retraction mechanism. It’s the button on the end of the pen that connects to the ink chamber and pushes the pen tip out.
Barrel: the outside shell that holds the ink chamber, ballpoint tip, spring, thrust device, and plunge together. It usually screws together near the back of the pen. It may also have a grip for comfort and a clip to attach it to a notebook or pocket. If you’re purchasing personalized ballpoint pens, your company name or logo will be printed on the barrel.

Who invented the modern ballpoint pen?

In the late 1800s, John J. Loud came up with the idea for a ballpoint pen. He was trying to make an alternative to the fountain pen that could write on rough surfaces. However, his design didn’t work for letter-writing, making it fairly useless and unmarketable.

After the first ballpoint pen, many different designs were created that tried to solve the problems of leakage and clogging. László Bíró and his brother György experimented with different inks and came up with a thicker ink that didn’t dry out, leak, or clog. Together, they invented the first successful modern ballpoint pen.

When was the ballpoint pen invented?

The first patent for a ballpoint pen was issued in 1888 to John J. Loud, but it lapsed quickly. László Bíró issued the patent for the first successful modern ballpoint in 1938, and he began selling ballpoint pens a few years later.

What's the best ballpoint pen?

Pens have one job, but too often they fail, often mid-sentence. The good news is that there are a few name brands that sell pens you can count on. These include Uni-ball pens, known for their smooth and consistent writing. Cross pens have a distinct luxury design that’s easy to recognize as one of the best pen brands out there. Waterman is another luxury pen brand with a long history of solid writing utensils. Finally, Pilot is one of the largest pen manufacturers in the world and it’s another reliable company that’s best known for quality pens.

Best-Selling Ballpoint Pens

When you purchase ballpoint pens wholesale, you can usually tell right away if it’s a quality ballpoint. Our Impulse Pen is one of those, with a smooth design that looks and feels great. It’s also very affordable and customizable, making it a customer favorite at trade shows, expos, and other events.

Check out our other best-sellers:

Stylus Ballpoint Pens

Touchscreens are a great invention, but sometimes fingers are just too big and clumsy to select text, push tiny buttons, and so on. A stylus pen solves the problem.

Our Easy Writer Stylus Pen combines a handy stylus pen with a retractable ballpoint pen, all contained in our popular Easy Writer design. This pen makes it easy to use paper and touchscreen devices simultaneously. It can be purchased in a variety of classic colors and customized along the barrel with your company name and logo.

Here are some other customer favorites:

Smoothest Ballpoint Pens

Ballpoint pens are known for their smooth writing, but certain brands have perfected their ink-dispensing mechanisms. If you’re looking for smooth personalized ballpoint pens, our MaxGlide™ Click Pen - Corporate Colors might be the right choice. It contains hybrid ink that feels like a gel pen but dries quickly and doesn’t smudge.

Other smooth bulk ballpoint pen options include:

Ballpoint Pens That Won’t Smear and Smudge

Smudges look messy and unprofessional on a page – and this can be a big problem, especially for left-handed people.

The solution is called hybrid ink, which is a cross between oil-based and water-based inks. It dispenses smoothly and doesn’t dry out inside the pen, but once it hits the paper it dries within seconds. Our Illusion Hybrid Ink Pen features hybrid ink, along with a metallic finish, chrome accents, and a rubber grip.

Take a look at Crestline’s other quick-drying bulk ballpoint pens:

Businesses in a variety of industries find that pens make a useful giveaway for their customers and employees. They’re also quite inexpensive – but that doesn’t mean that all pens are equal. Too often companies choose the cheapest option and end up handing out stick pens that don’t work. Spend a few extra cents on quality ballpoints to give your customers a wonderful writing experience – and your custom ballpoint pen will become the one they reach for again and again.