Ballpoint pens can feel a little more scratchy because of the slower delivery of ink whereas rollerballs produce more ink with each stroke than the ballpoint - meaning they often run out of ink more quickly than ballpoint pens. Rollerball ink, being water-based, can be leaky if left uncapped and even dry out.
The fluidity of ink translates to a rollerball pen generally having a finer writing line, which is good for people with smaller handwriting or for detailed drawings. On the other hand, a ballpoint pen does have a more controlled action and is deemed suitable for completing official forms and documents.
Ballpoint pen ink is preferred by so many because the ink:
Dries fast. Doesn't smudge. Doesn't bleed through paper. Comes out slower so the ink cartridge lasts longer.
The oil-based ink formulas cause the ball in a ballpoint pen to be less responsive which can result in a scratchy sensation when writing. The thinner ink found in rollerball reservoirs is much thinner and results in a much smoother writing experience.
The rollerball pen require less pressure to write due to the property of its liquid ink. Wet ink is fed to the pen point which is a 0.5 or 0.7 tiny ball by air pressure and gravity. Rollerball pens come in all price points. Some rollerballs have changeable refills so you can put whatever ink you prefer in them.
Heat the ink up
If there's still ink in your refill and your pen is stored at a cool temperature, the ink may have dried up and clogged the nib. Try running the nib of your pen under some warm running water for a few seconds. Wipe the nib with a clean, dry cloth and test the pen.
Roller ball pens generally run out of ink more quickly than ballpoints because roller balls use a greater amount of ink while writing. This is especially true of liquid-ink roller balls, due to gel ink having a low absorption rate as a result of its thickness. Neither lasts as long as a ballpoint.
Rollerballs provide the smoothest writing. The free-flowing ink doesn't require a lot of pressure, so the pen glides across the page. Gel pens are best for writing precisely, and they come in a rainbow of ink colors. A subset of rollerballs, gel pens write smoothly but typically with thinner lines.
In fact, one user said the uni-ball Air Porous Point Pen is actually the “smoothest pen in the world,” without hesitation.
The Uniball Jetstream pen is one of the smoothest writing ballpoint pens.
Ballpoint pens were found to be more versatile than fountain pens, especially at high altitudes, where fountain pens were prone to leak. Bíró's patent, and other early patents on ballpoint pens, often used the term "ball-point fountain pen".
Ballpoints rarely get clogged or dried up as fountain pens can, but when they do, there is a clear advantage to ballpoint pens: they can write in any direction.
Each pen type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Rollerball pens provide more comfort and vivid writing, but they can get pricey, bleed through, and needs to be refilled more often.
The most common issues of rollerball pens are: The pen has dried out and will not write anymore, The ink of the pen skips over the paper which makes the writing look sloppy. The ink bleeds through the paper, which again doesn't look good visually.
Rollerballs write great, but the refills tend to last for only about 30 pages. Ballpoint pens can write up to 300 pages with a Parker style refill. If the pen takes a Parker style refill, it will also take a gel refill.
Austen's letters and manuscripts were all written in her own hand, using a quill pen periodically recharged with ink from an inkwell.
Ballpoint pens are one of the most common and well-known pen types. The ink used in ballpoint pens is oil based and dries faster than other types of ink. This means less smudging when you're writing. Since the ink is thick, ballpoint pens use less ink as you write, lasting longer than other pen types.
Ballpoint Pens
These pens are the most commonly used out of all the pens on this list, and can often be found in doctors' offices. This is due to the oil-based ink the pen uses that's among the fastest drying ink, which is very useful for doctors who write quick prescriptions and take notes.
Smooth operator
So if you find that your hand is aching after writing for a while, a rollerball might be the perfect pen for you. Rather than oil-based ink, rollerballs use water- or gel-based ink, which is what gives them that sweet, smooth feel on the page.
Leaking rollerball pens
It is often a water-based ink and is more similar to that used in fountain pens than ballpoint pens. This ink, combined with the nib, provides a generally smoother writing experience. However, because the ink is thinner, it is more likely than a ballpoint pen to leak when exposed to heat.
Smooth Writing Experience
Just hold your pen upright, glide it gently across your paper, and the pen writes smoothly. This means that a rollerball pen, like a fountain pen, can allow the user to write faster and may diminish hand cramps as less stress will be put into writing.