The trusty ballpoint pen is still the most popular type of pen all around the world even though gel pens and rollerballs are growing in popularity. Due to their popularity, we constantly see people reaching out with questions about their ballpoint pens either to improve their performance or to fix problems with them.
Although we have already gone over a number of common questions about ballpoint pens, we have noticed a number of people specifically reaching out to ask for fixes when their ballpoint pen ink is not flowing correctly. Thankfully, the more common causes of inconsistent ink flow in your ballpoint pen tend to be quick and easy to fix and we have a lit of the more common fixes below.
Our hope is that we will be able to help our readers to get the ink in their ballpoint pen flowing correctly again without having to waste time or spend money. Our tips and tricks below should work for both budget-friendly, disposable ballpoint pens and luxary ballpoint pens alike without you having problems.
Why Is Your Ballpoint Pen Ink Not Flowing?
The most important thing to factor in when fixing any ink flow issues with your ballpoint pen is what is actually causing the issue. This can often be more difficult than most people initially think so we will try to explain the symptoms to look for each of our fixes below. This should help you identify the correct fix for your specific problem and get your ballpoint pens ink flowing again in no time.
Has Your Ballpoint Pen Dried Up?
A large number of people think that ballpoint ink can’t dry up due to it being oil based but even oil based ink contains a decent amount of water that can evaporate if you leave your pen in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. This is probably the most common reason that your ballpoint pen may be having issues with its ink flowing while also being the most overlooked reason.
The easiest way to check if your ballpoint pen ink is drying up is to check the ink cylinder inside of the pen. If you can see what looks like little gaps in the ink cylinder or all of the ink seems to be on one side of the cylinder, it is highly likely that this is why your ballpoint ink is not flowing. If you are using a ballpoint pen that takes ballpoint refills this can be much harder to check due to the casing of the refill so it can definitely be harder to check on higher price point pens.
We already have an article going over if ballpoint pens dry out and what to do to fix them but the short version is usually to just get a new pen if you are using a cheaper, disposable ballpoint pen or a new refill if you are using a more expensive ballpoint pen. Unlike a gel pen, it is very difficult to try and re-hydrate a ballpoint pen if it has dried out as the oil to water ratio has to be exact for the pen to work correctly.
Does your Ballpoint Have An Air Gap?
Another very common problem that we see that can cause inconsistent ink flow in your ballpoint pen is an air gap and a large number of people often overlook this too. Although we go over this in more detail in our article going over how you should store your pens, this is almost down to people storing their ballpoint pens vertically with their nibs up rather than with their nibs down.
Although the process does take time, if you do store your ballpoint in vertical storage with its nib up, the oil based ink will slowly drift downwards in the ink cylinder moving away from the writing mechanism. This then causes an air gap between the ink and the ball preventing the ink from flowing correctly when you try to write with the pen. This is often mistaken for the pen being broken too with many people simply throwing their ballpoint pen away at this stage.
Although this can be hard to identify, you can sometimes see a very small clear area on the pens ink cylinder just before the ball housing on the pen. Again though, if you are using a higher price point ballpoint pen that uses refills then this can be harder to see.
Thankfully though, although it is not a quick fix, you can easily correct the issue by putting your ballpoint pen back into your storage but ensuring that it is nib down this time. Although this can take a couple of days to take effect, if you are using a luxary ballpoint pen then this does tend to be worth it due to the higher price point of the pens and their refills.
Is Your Ballpoint Pen Clogged?
Although it is rare for a ballpoint pen to get clogged, it can happen, especially if you are using thin or lower quality paper as the paper fragments tend to flak off and build up being the pens ball. You can usually tell if this is the reason that your ballpoint pens ink is not flowing correctly due to clumps of the paper fragments coming out randomly when you write with the pen.
The easiest way to fix this issue is to simply draw figure eights on some spare paper that is not thin or low quality and just let the ball mechanism on your pen work all of the fragments out as you write. On top of this, it is very easy to avoid this issue all together by simply switching over to using some high GSM paper when writing as the higher the GSM rating of your paper, the less paper fragments it will release.
Is Your Ballpoint Pens Writing Mechanism Jammed?
This tend to only be an issue with cheaper pens with a lower quality writing mechanism but it can be common for some ballpoint pen models to have their writing mechanism seize up and jam on you. It is quick and easy to check if this is why your ink is not flowing by putting the ball on your finger and then trying to write. With a healthy pen, you can easily feel the ball rotate as required but if the mechanism has seized up then it will feel rough and you can often feel that the ball is not rotating.
Unfortunately, it is very hard to fix a ballpoint pen that has a seized writing mechanism and it is usually easier to just replace the pen or to purchase a new refill that will fit your pen. If you are using a premium price point pen then the nib meister in your local stationary store may be able to help you fix the issue but this is rare.
Is Your Ballpoint Damaged?
This one tends to be an obvious spot as you can do a quick visual inspection of your ballpoint pen and look for obvious signs of damage but this is a common reason that you may have issues with inconsistent ink flow. If you do suspect that you are having issues with your pen due to damage then it is usually better to just replace the pen, especially if you are using a disposable ballpoint pen.
Do You Actually Have Ink In Your Pen?
We know that this may sound obvious but we have seen people think that they are having issues with ink flow in their ballpoint pen when in actual fact, they have simply ran out of ink. This does tend to be with the higher-price point ballpoint pens that use a covered refill though so it is harder to check the current ink levels of the pen.
So many people do instantly overlook the current ink levels in their pen though and presume that it is something else. If you do think that this may be the issue then simply replace the refill in your pen to give it a new ink supply and your ink should start to flow as normal again.
How Do You Fix A Ballpoint Pen That Skips?
Fixing a ballpoint pen that skips tends to be much easier than most people think. If none of the suggestions above correct the issue then try to draw figure eights on some spare paper for a minute or two. This tends to build up the friction in your pens ball mechanism to get it rotating as normal and try to connect it to the ink supply to get it writing again.
Our of all of the issues that we have touched on above, simply drawing some figure eights on spare paper can often either fix or at least help to diagnose many of them. If this does not help then you will probably have to go into the more specific fixes for the common issues to try and correct the ink flow issues in the pen.
How Do You Revive An Old Ballpoint Pen?
You can often revive a ballpoint pen by shaking it in your hand to try and get the oil-based ink to connect with the writing mechanism in the pen to allow the ball to pick it up and transfer it to your paper when writing. This should usually only be used as a last resort though if none of our steps above help but this can sometimes help to clear the fault and get your ballpoint pen ink flowing correctly again.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over the more common causes that may cause your ballpoint pen ink not to flow correctly to a close. We have tried to cover at least one way to identify what cause is preventing your ink from flowing correctly as well as at least one fix to get your ink flowing again for each of the faults. We hope that we have been able to help you get your ink flowing again as quickly as possible without you having to purchase any specific tools to fix your pen.
