Roller ball cartridges not working
June 5, 2023 7:17 AM Subscribe
About a year ago I bought a box of roller ball cartridges, but as I’ve used them I’ve noticed they’ve gone bad. What should I do?
I like roller ball for its thick, easy-flowing line, and I went through one rollerball cartridge a month when I got this box. I’d changed the cartridge a few days ago and the ink was patchy and scratchy, like a ballpoint pen at the end of its life. I assumed it was a bad cartridge and threw it away, only for the next cartridge to do the same thing fresh out of the box.
I’ve been keeping the box with the cartridges in it on my desk, which is not climate stable. They’re Arteza brand, which generally gets good reviews at online retailers. Is this an age or climate issue, or did I just get a bad box? Should I throw these away and start buying rollerball replacement cartridges in smaller quantities?
I like roller ball for its thick, easy-flowing line, and I went through one rollerball cartridge a month when I got this box. I’d changed the cartridge a few days ago and the ink was patchy and scratchy, like a ballpoint pen at the end of its life. I assumed it was a bad cartridge and threw it away, only for the next cartridge to do the same thing fresh out of the box.
I’ve been keeping the box with the cartridges in it on my desk, which is not climate stable. They’re Arteza brand, which generally gets good reviews at online retailers. Is this an age or climate issue, or did I just get a bad box? Should I throw these away and start buying rollerball replacement cartridges in smaller quantities?
Best answer: Here's how I get a gel pen going if it's acting crusty:
1. Warm it up to body temp for a few minutes--just stick it in the waistband of your pants or in your bra or something.
2. Dampen the ball point--a lick is good, a dab in a drop of rubbing alcohol is also good--and scribble it around a bit on thick paper while re-dampening periodically.
3. Blow on the end of the ink cartridge. Like it's a straw and you're making bubbles in your chocolate milk, except the far end is the pen nib. Do this while you're scribbling on the thick paper. Should take no more than a couple seconds.
Chances are good that there's just some dried ink gumming up the nib, and if so, this should work. If those three things don't get the ink moving smoothly, then your cartridges are a lost cause.
posted by phunniemee at 7:53 AM on June 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
1. Warm it up to body temp for a few minutes--just stick it in the waistband of your pants or in your bra or something.
2. Dampen the ball point--a lick is good, a dab in a drop of rubbing alcohol is also good--and scribble it around a bit on thick paper while re-dampening periodically.
3. Blow on the end of the ink cartridge. Like it's a straw and you're making bubbles in your chocolate milk, except the far end is the pen nib. Do this while you're scribbling on the thick paper. Should take no more than a couple seconds.
Chances are good that there's just some dried ink gumming up the nib, and if so, this should work. If those three things don't get the ink moving smoothly, then your cartridges are a lost cause.
posted by phunniemee at 7:53 AM on June 5, 2023 [5 favorites]
My brute-force goto is a quick warming of the tip in a lighter flame.
posted by achrise at 8:10 AM on June 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by achrise at 8:10 AM on June 5, 2023 [4 favorites]
Years ago I owned a centrifuge. If you put a pen in it, point down, and ran it for a few minutes, it would almost always fix the problem. Most high school science classes used to have one of these, and I imagine they still do. Everyone I told this was anxious to try it. Apparently being irritated by dead pens is a more common thing than you'd think.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 9:11 AM on June 5, 2023
posted by AugustusCrunch at 9:11 AM on June 5, 2023
Regarding centrifuges, in the pen collector community lots of us do the same thing with a Salad Spinner.
posted by mmoncur at 3:42 AM on June 9, 2023
posted by mmoncur at 3:42 AM on June 9, 2023
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It shouldn't be an age issue; I used to sell office supplies, and we'd have less-common rollerball cartridges for some specialty pens for years before they sold. We always offered to install pen refills for free, and even cartridges that were several years old were always fine. These were all name brand (Parker, Cross, Waterman, Mont Blanc, Sheaffer, etc.) though.
posted by xedrik at 7:52 AM on June 5, 2023