dice

Click to play our newest game, yahtzee!

dice

How to Use a Rotring Pen

Using Rotring technical pens
blueprint image by Dmitri MIkitenko from Fotolia.com

The Rotring Pen company manufactures Isograph technical pens, a well-known line of stylographic pens favored by architects, draftsmen, ink artists and connoisseurs of fine writing instruments. A Rotring Isograph's writing nib controls the flow of ink along a thin filament inside its metal housing. The size of the housing and the inner wire always determines the width of the inked line, which means that users can control line size with considerable precision. Nib measurements for Rotring pens conform to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for sizing.

Things You'll Need:

  • Ink Cartridge (For Cartridge Fill Pen)
  • Ink
  • Eyedropper Or Syringe
  • Tissue

Refillable Reservoir

Remove the pen cap from the pen body, unscrew the ink reservoir and nib mechanism as a single unit from the body, and set the cap and body aside.

Unscrew the reservoir housing from the nib mechanism, pull the reservoir away from the nib and set the nib aside.

A little ink goes a long way
eyedropper tube image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

Use the eyedropper to fill the reservoir with ink. The ink should fill 2/3 of the reservoir.

Reseat the nib mechanism into the reservoir, reattach the nib housing and then screw the whole unit into the pen body.

Hold the pen horizontally, wrap a tissue around the nib, and gently shake the pen a few times to load the nib mechanism with ink. It is normal for the nib to make a clicking sound.

Use slight pressure to touch the nib to the drawing or writing surface. The ink will flow through the housing onto the surface.

Cartridge Refill

Remove the pen cap, unscrew the nib housing and push the colored tab at the base of the pen body so that the cartridge is released.

Dispose of the empty cartridge.

Use a cartridge designed for the Rotring pen.
recharge d'encre image by YvesBonnet from Fotolia.com

Insert a Rotring replacement cartridge into the pen body, pushing it securely into place.

Hold the pen horizontally, wrap a tissue around the nib, and gently shake the pen a few times to load the nib mechanism with ink. It is normal for the nib to make a clicking sound.

Use slight pressure to touch the nib to the drawing or writing surface. The ink will flow through the housing onto the surface.

Tip

Periodically soak the Rotring pen nib mechanism in ink cleaning solution available from art supply stores to ensure that dried bits of ink or pigment do not interfere with the free flow of ink through the nib housing.

Always cap the pen tightly after use to prevent the ink from drying out.

Warnings:

  • Avoid pressing down hard on the nib when using a Rotring pen. Excessive pressure can damage the nib housing or even break the nib filament, ruining the nib mechanism.
Our Passtimes