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Ballpoint pens or rollerball pens; are rollerball pens allowed in exams?
If you have an exam knocking at your door and seeking a comfy pen for writing smoothly, it will be a commendable choice to get a Rollerball Pen. Yes, it is evidently allowed to be used in exams. Moreover, you are going to have unwrinkled and clear writing!
Table of Contents
Basics of a Rollerball Pen
A rollerball pen or roll pen writes using the same mechanism as a Ballpoint Pen. It uses water based ink which is better than oil based viscous pen as water based ink get saturated more deeply into the paper.
An infinitesimal ball is used as a writing point. The diameter of the ball is usually 0.3 to 0.7 mm.
The pen was developed by Ohto, which was Japanese writing implements manufacturing company.
According to the standard ISO 14145-2:1998 documentary, which was published by the International Organization for Standardization, these pens create lines that are visible when tested with water or light.
These pens are suitable as gifts as well as everyday writing pens. It is so nicely made that you could personalize it with engraving.
Are Rollerball Pens Allowed in Exams?
Yes. Rollerball Pens are allowed in exams. A big number of examinees use rollerball pens as they prefer it to the other pens. Not only that, students say that rollerball pens are better to get relief from writing strain.
The writing point of these pens makes the writing process so smooth that your writing will look even better if you use this pen.
Generally, only gel pens are not allowed in exams almost everywhere as it is likely to create a lot of ink smudges. Furthermore, to prevent scanning problems, gel pens are prohibited in exams.
Which Type of Pen Is Better for Exam?
There are so many kinds of pens but because of some advantages, certain types of pens become very popular among writers. Ballpoint pen and rollerball pen are considered to be the best options for exams.
Mostly, examinees tend to use Ballpoint Pens. But Rollerball Pens bag the second position in the list.
Rollball and Ballpoint both pens have some advantages and disadvantages over each other in this context.
- Firstly,ballpoint pens’ ink dries fasterthan that of rollerpoint pens on paper but it may arise ink blob problem that will cause a delay in writing again.
- Secondly,rollerball pens require less pressure to write than ballpoint pens.
- Thirdly, rollerball pens are a bit more expensive than ballpoint pens broadly, but prices may vary depending on quality and demand. So, these pens are almost equally worthy of being your choice.
- Lastly, as rollerball pen ink takes more time to get dried, left-handed writers may find writing with it problematic as their left hand habitually slides over the written words while writing from the left. So if you are a lefty, isn’t it prudent to skip rollerball pens?
But despite all these pros and cons, in an exam, you need speed, smoothness, and clear writing. Rollerball pens offer you all these benefits. Therefore, it will be more suitable for exams.
Now it is up to you, which pen you use between these two but both are undoubtedly better than any other pens on the market and substitutable to each other.
Do Rollerball Pens Bleed Through Paper?
Unfortunately, yes. Rollerball pens often tend to bleed through paper due to their lower viscosity.
If the paper is poorer in quality, then the chance of it happening increases. In the case of ballpoint pens, this problem is not seen. So, in terms of paper bleeding, rollerball pens are not suitable to write with when the paper quality is not so good. Although even if it does, the intensity of bleeding is negligible.
But if you are sure about the thickness of the paper, then you can use this pen and it will not bleed through the page. And as you are attending an exam, the paper is likely to be thick enough. In that case, you should not worry much about writing with a rollerball pen.
Do Rollerball Pens Leak?
A rollerball pen often leaks. It may leak when it is kept uncapped. As its ink is water based, it leaks ink more than other types of pens.
Suppose you have placed it into your pocket uncapped; it may leak and spoil your cloth. Sometimes, it may spoil your official paper if you keep them with a rollerball pen. (I, personally, have faced this problem a few times!)
Capped or retracted pens have less chance to leak ink, and even if it does, that ink will not touch any other material. That’s why caps or other mechanisms are provided with pens. So you must use it to avoid leakage problems.
In hot weather, its ink may get too liquefied to stay inside the pen. Consequently, ink comes out. But if you can keep your pen in a less heated environment, you will face no such problem due to heat.
Again, gravity may cause ink-leakage, so it is better to keep your pen vertically.
Do Rollerball Pens Dry Out Quickly?
No, rollerball pens do not dry out so quickly, especially in comparison with ballpoint pens. But it may vary depending on its tip size, exact ink, and the nature and quality of the paper you are writing on. But with a bit of knowhow, you can easily troubleshoot the problem.
- At first, check if you need a pen refill.
- If you do not and the pen is stuck, run it up and down or in a circle and check if it is unstuck.
- If the answer is still No, then try running its tip under warm water. There is a probability that the dried up ink may get unclogged.
- Another approach is just shaking it to and fro.
You can fix the problem easily by yourself.
Final Thoughts
An examination is an important event where you need to be confident about your writing utensils. So, to secure the best writing experience in the exam hall, you can pick out a rollerball pen for certainty.
Hi, I’m Andy Gary, the founder of Writers Need and a stationery enthusiast. I love to blog about anything regarding writing and have created lots of pages that I can now share with others!