26/03/2010 by admin.

For Over 1000 Years the writing instrument promotional pens that dominated was the quill pen. Introduced around 700 A.D., the quill is a pen made from a bird feathers. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds The left wing of the bird was favored because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers and swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and much more expensive. , crow feathers were the best for  making fine lines, and then came the feathers of the  owl ,eagle, hawk and turkey.Quill pens  only lasted for only about 7 days before it was necessary to replace them. There were some disadvantages associated with their use, including a lengthy preparation time. Early  writing parchments made from animal skins, required much scraping and cleaning.  To sharpen the quill pen , the writer needed a special knife which then got it its name (pen Knife) please see site below.

http://www.printedproducts.co.uk/

Posted in A Little History on Pens | Comments Off

26/03/2010 by admin.

Some time before 1500 a large  deposit of gravite was discovered in cumbria England , The local people found that it was very useful for marking sheep. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks. (Personalised Pencils) This remains the only large scale deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form. Graphite sticks were at first wrapped in string or  sheepskin for stability. Word got out and the usefulness of these early pencils spread worldwide,  also attracting the attention of artists all over the known world. see below the great styles and colours.

please also see site

http://www.printedproducts.co.uk/categories.php?cat=126