Last updated: 16/10/2022

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Welcome to ReviewBox Brasil, your review site on the internet. Practical and ideal for everyday life, both at school and at work, the biros is one of the most reliable and popular models. As the name suggests, the great advantage of the biros is a small metallic ball at the tip, facilitating the passage of ink. This innovation allowed a much cheaper and practical product than fountain pens. Sometimes it is hard to stop to think, but pens are present in many important moments of our lives. So, to choose a beautiful model, check out our review to understand a little more about them.




Summary

  • Ballpoint pens are usually disposable products, and it is not possible to refill the ink.
  • The handles can come in different shapes and sizes, so it’s important to choose one that fits well in your hand.
  • Although blue and red are still the most common inks, today you can find ball point pens in a wide variety of colours.

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The Best Ballpoint Pens: Our Picks

Buying Guide

Considering that ballpoint pens first appeared in the 1930s, it is amazing how quickly they have become so popular that they have become indispensable items in our routine. With so much variety, check out our Buying Guide to learn a little more about them and all their benefits.

Imagem de homens de negócios segurando canetas esferográficas e documentos.

We don’t usually think about them, but pens are essential for many jobs. (Source: Aymanejed / Pixabay)

What is a biro?

Ballpoint pens are just one of several types of pens, but it differs in that it has a small rolling ball at the tip that collects the ink in the cartridge and evenly distributed over the writing surface. The great advantage of the pen is not only its ball, but also the type of oil-based ink that dries extremely fast, avoiding the smudges that were very common in the use of fountain pens. Developed from the 30’s, they became popular quickly and today are the most common type of pens, gaining different colours and shapes to please every kind of taste and style.

Did you know that the holes on the sides of some models help to equalize the atmospheric pressure inside and outside the pen, preventing it from exploding at high altitudes?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ball point pen?

The ball point pen has several advantages over other types of pens, after all they are among the cheapest models on the market, they have tips of varying thickness to obtain different types of tracing and their oil-based ink is more difficult to smear or to transfer to other pages. However, it is important to note some disadvantages. They are disposable products and it is not possible to refill the ink. If used improperly, the cartridge can burst and cause ink to leak and they are not suitable for more sophisticated calligraphy work. See the table below.

Advantages
  • Are among the cheapest models on the market
  • They have tips of varying thickness for different strokes
  • Oil-based ink is more difficult to smear or move to another page
Disadvantages
  • They are disposable products and it is not possible to refill the ink
  • The cartridge can burst and cause ink leakage
  • They are not indicated for more sophisticated calligraphy

Ball-point or water-point pen?

When you hear the name ballpoint you may wonder what the difference is between ballpoint and waterpoint. Basically the difference is in the tip of the pen, through which the ink is transferred to the paper. The ball point pen you already know, let’s check some points of the water point pen. They have felt tips, which are moistened by the ink. The famous school pens and highlighters are examples of felt tip pens. They can have tips of various thicknesses and inks of different colours. It is a type of pen most often used for finishing touches.

Purchase criteria: What to consider before buying a biro

Even with the advance of new digital technologies, it is hard to imagine that pens will disappear in the near future. Indispensable in our daily lives sometimes it is important to stop and consider which model best fits your style. To help you understand more about them and their benefits, we have separated some purchase criteria that you should observe and that will allow you to have a more informed decision about the product.

  • Handle material
  • Tip thickness
  • Ink type
  • Colour

After carefully checking each of the topics below, it will be much easier to choose a good pen to sign important documents or use for your school work.

Cable Material

The great asset in the popularisation of ball point pens was plastic, which allowed them to be mass produced and for much more affordable prices. Today, it is still the most used material, but it is possible to find other options. It is also possible to find pens with wooden, metal and even cardboard handles. It is also very common to find handles that have sections of non-slip rubberized material, which allow the use to be more comfortable and help prevent the hand from slipping during use.

Tip Thickness

The tip thickness is very important to determine the type of stroke. Nowadays it is possible to find ball point pens with tips of different thickness.

They are divided into three main categories: fine, medium and thick tips. Fine point pens range from 5 to 7 mm. Medium nibs range from 1.0 to 1.2 mm and coarse nibs from 1.4 mm to 2 mm.

So you can use pens with different tip thicknesses depending on the result you want to achieve.

Imagem de caneta esferográfica retrátil com corpo azul e estampa florida sobre agenda aberta.

The thickness of the tip determines the type of stroke you will get and how smoothly the pen slides across the paper. (Source: MabelAmber / Pixabay)

Type of ink

Another big advantage that has led ballpoint pens to replace fountain pens is the type of ink. Unlike other models that use water-based or alcohol-based ink, ballpoint pens have an oil-based ink with much faster drying. This makes them very practical, as it helps prevent the ink from smearing if you run your hand over what has already been written, as well as preventing it from sweating through the paper or smearing on other pages.

Colour

When you think of ballpoint pens, the most common colours are red, blue and black. However, nowadays it is possible to find a great variety and some brands even stand out for exclusive colours.

Imagem de porta caneta com canetas coloridas dentro.

Besides the common blue, black and red pens, it is possible to find pens in various colours, such as pink and green. (Source: StockSnap / Pixabay)

It is now very common to find pens with green ink, orange, pink, etc. This allows much more versatility, since you can use different colours for each type of annotation, highlighting some information or helping to differentiate them to facilitate studies or just to achieve more beautiful effects. (Source of the highlighted image: StartupStockPhotos / Pixabay)

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