Larry in TN
Member
Why is it that all ballpoint and rollerball kits come with black ink but fountain pens come with blue ink? I am fairly new to this business, but I am sure some of you "veterans" know the answer.
Black just happens to be the most common packed with kits from the major suppliers. In fountain pens blue was the most common ink we used when I was young and we used them a lot.Why is it that all ballpoint and rollerball kits come with black ink but fountain pens come with blue ink? I am fairly new to this business, but I am sure some of you "veterans" know the answer.
I have no idea about that - I know that I've printed postage since 1991 using Pitney-Bowes, black and white printers and color printers with the printing always black.Back in the dark ages... 80s and 90s.
The USPS wanted companies like Pitney-Bowes to put the postal mark on an envelope in red. But for legal purposes, it had to be copyable. There was a lot money spent in that time frame coming up with a red "ink" that could be copied that the government would allow and approve.
Blue ink is now used on legal documents to show that they are not copies or faxes. At least that is what I have been told by the legal people.
Black just happens to be the most common packed with kits from the major suppliers. In fountain pens blue was the most common ink we used when I was young and we used them a lot.Why is it that all ballpoint and rollerball kits come with black ink but fountain pens come with blue ink? I am fairly new to this business, but I am sure some of you "veterans" know the answer.
In the early days of copying blue would not copy and so people used black ink for filling out things that needed to be run through the Xerox. I think that is how the tradition of black ballpoint got started, later on Rollerballs just seemed to stick with that even though copiers had advanced.
Just as an aside: Some later copiers wouldn't copy red - our local food pantry still clings to stamping some things in "red" so clients can't copy them. The first day I volunteered there I showed them that red can indeed be copied --- that was 3 years ago and they still tell new volunteers that red won't copy.
That might be true some places but in many instances - faxes are accepted as originals and signatures are accepted. Blue ink can be copied and appears blue on color copies - so it really doesn't show anything.Blue ink is now used on legal documents to show that they are not copies or faxes. At least that is what I have been told by the legal people.
lol-- I started school in 1943, which was a couple of years after they removed most of the ink bottles. We still had a hole in the desktop to hold the bottle and a groove to lay the pen in but only the 9th and 10th grades (my school only went to 10th grade) still had ink in the bottles. In 8th grade we still had to write some papers in ink but we had to provide our own ink and pen ... most of us used a fountain pen but some still used a dip pen. We hated it because we had to start over if we got an ink blot.....Great incentive for keeping papers short.Black just happens to be the most common packed with kits from the major suppliers. In fountain pens blue was the most common ink we used when I was young and we used them a lot.Why is it that all ballpoint and rollerball kits come with black ink but fountain pens come with blue ink? I am fairly new to this business, but I am sure some of you "veterans" know the answer.
In the early days of copying blue would not copy and so people used black ink for filling out things that needed to be run through the Xerox. I think that is how the tradition of black ballpoint got started, later on Rollerballs just seemed to stick with that even though copiers had advanced.
Just as an aside: Some later copiers wouldn't copy red - our local food pantry still clings to stamping some things in "red" so clients can't copy them. The first day I volunteered there I showed them that red can indeed be copied --- that was 3 years ago and they still tell new volunteers that red won't copy.
Smitty; When you and I used to write papers back in school, the ink was in glass bottles in holes in our desks, the pens had feathers on the ends, and blue ink was the only one thick enough to not run out of the quill. AH !! The good old days !!! Jim S
Ballpoint pens were too expensive for most of us when I was in school and the refills were not all that reliable so no body really used them very much. While I was in the service I wrote my letters home with a fountain pen - or even a pencil rather than a ballpoint.In grade school (Catholic -'60's) ballpoint pens were forbidden. Everyone used fountain pens and there was a large (gallon?) bottle of ink in the supply closet. My friends Dad worked maintenance at a hospital and we would stop after school and get used syringes to fill ink cartridges (try that today!!).
Jeff in northern Wisconsin
Why is it that all ballpoint and rollerball kits come with black ink but fountain pens come with blue ink? I am fairly new to this business, but I am sure some of you "veterans" know the answer.
While I was in the service I wrote my letters home with a fountain pen - or even a pencil rather than a ballpoint.
That might be true some places but in many instances - faxes are accepted as originals and signatures are accepted. Blue ink can be copied and appears blue on color copies - so it really doesn't show anything.Blue ink is now used on legal documents to show that they are not copies or faxes. At least that is what I have been told by the legal people.
I think that's going a little far.Actually you cannot use black ink for any legal documents.