The RollerBall Pen
The rollerball pen was introduced in the early 1980s and was designed to provide the convenience of a ballpoint pen, while providing the smooth writing wet ink used in the fountain pen. The rollerball pen utilizes a refill cartridge with a ballpoint tip and contains a water-based or gel ink. The characteristics of these types of inks allow for the ink to penetrate deeper in the paper as opposed to a regular ballpoint pen, which are oil-based inks that stay on the top of the paper. The gel ink refills for the rollerball come in a wide variety of colors and dry faster than the water-based types.