Slavoljub Eduard Penkala was a Croatian engineer and inventor who held over seventy patents. Slavoljub Penkala background was in chemistry, however, he is best known as the inventor of the first mechanical pencil first named the "automatic pencil", which he invented in 1906. Penkala started a factory called Penkala-Mostero for the manufacturing of his pens and pencils.

Other inventions Slavoljub Penkala was noted for was the first solid-ink fountain pen in 1907, and the first Croatian two-seat airplane in 1909. He also patented a hot water bottle, detergent, a rail-car brake, and a anode battery. One of his more controversial inventions was a tonic medicine called "Radium Vinovica" that was supposed to cure rheumatism.

Slavoljub Penkala was born in Liptowsky St. Mikulaš (now Slovakia) in 1871 and died in 1922 in Zagreb of pneumonia at the age of 51.

Writing, chalk drawing and using various solid-state colour materials has been know to man since the Paleolithic age, as is known in today’s primitive cultures. But all of these writing tools can not be considered ancestors of today’s pencil.Its true first ancestor are the sticks of melted lead which first appeared in ancient Greece, but have been forgotten, only to reappear again in the 16th century in Italy. During that time, such sticks were used mainly for drawing out lines on a writing surface. To improve the ease of holding, and to avoid smudging fingers, the stick was usually inserted in a leather cover. It was not until 1564., when a Graphite mine was discovered near Bordoval, England - county of Cumberland, that all requirements for the invention of today’s pencil were met.Soon after, the English began creating pencils which were very similar to ones we have today, since they were made from a thin graphite stick surrounded by wood, just like today’s pencils. Since that was the only known graphite mine in the world at the time, the English, being good salesman, made large sums of money, since they had a monopoly on the product with such a great demand.Afraid of overly exploiting the mine, the English government restricted its exploitation to only six weeks per year, and the extracted ore was placed under the strictest control. The penalty for anyone caught stealing graphite was death. However, as time passed, people discovered other graphite mines around the world, making the English lose this very profitable monopoly.It was not until 1790, when a French mechanic and painter Nicolas Jacques Conte (1755.-1805.) came to an idea to create a mixture of graphite dust and clay, which was later baked, to form a pencil core out of the two. This is the process used for production of pencils today. More clay in the pencil makes the pencil harder, more graphite makes the pencil softer.

Promotional products are meant to draw in potential customers, and provide a reminder of what your company has to offer. A promotional pen can do that in a variety of styles, and a wide range of prices. You can design many different styles of pens, or one particular style. Either way, you will be getting great value, and high quality products. With a creative promotional plan, and a nicely designed product, your company's promotional pens will be in every pocket and every purse in no time.
Plastic pens are a great choice for value, and variety. The myriad of colors available are sure to please any personality. There are skinny and jumbo pens, liquid and light up pens, translucent and twister pens, and even twister and funky pens. The choices are endless. The plastic pen is versatile, reliable, and just plain fun to use. You can choose how and what to display on the pen. You can display your company logo, the name of your company, or you can even list your slogan or motto. This will ensure that your promotional pen design is one in a million.
Metal pens provide elegance, professionalism, and a standard of excellence. A metal pen may cost a little more to design, but in some cases may be well worth it. If you are trying to tell a potential client that you provide exceptional service, or an unbeatable product, a metal pen may be just the thing to do it. A metal pen can exude sophistication, yet still be used to write a silly joke. There are twist action, and click pens available with classic and contemporary looks. Engraving may be available on some metal pens. Some metal pens come with a light, and even an ergonomic design.
There are exclusive brand name promotional pens available as well as multifunction pens. The brand name pens come in many styles and colors, and all produce an amazing product. You can provide a valuable product with a clean conscience when designing a recycled, eco-friendly pen. The multi-function pens are often designed with more than one color ink in them, allowing you to offer two or more pens in one. Some multifunction pens double as a stylus for the tech savvy. For the ultimate in pen products, you can design a pen set. Packaged in a stylish box, the pen sets are sure to be a hit.
For a fun and functional product, you can promote your business with a novelty pen. They are bound to draw in a crowd. There are pens in fun shapes, pens that are designed to be an accessory to a cell phone, and key chain pens. The bubble pens are a hit with children and parents alike. You can even purchase a pen that doubles as a bottle opener. These fun designs are noticeable, functional, and entertaining. That is the perfect combination. No matter which pen you choose, you are bound to have a valuable product that will promote your business to every person, without many risks.

As you can probably tell by now, there is a plethora of varieties of promotional pens that you can customize for your business. They range widely in price as well, which makes it easy to find the perfect promotional pen that fits your business and your budget. However, if you haven’t really decided what your budget is, what type of promotional pen is best for your business? The question lies within your business itself.

The type of business that you have can help to direct what type of promotional pens you should order. The products or services you order can also help you decide what type of promotional pens are best suited to you.

For example, if you are a contracting company, you could invest in tape measure pens, or if you have an interesting logo, you can have that logo transformed into being a pen topper. There are countless ideas for businesses and their promotional pens. Think a little outside the box and see if there is something you can do to increase the visibility and functionality of your promotional pens as advertising.

Plastic promotional pens are a great investment and at a low cost per pen. These are sturdy and more of an industry standard as promotional pens. These are emblazoned with your business information and perhaps your logo and slogan. You can also choose metal pens, which are a little more sturdy and elegant than a plastic promotional pen. Metal personalized promotional pens can also be engraved and add a touch of extra class to your promotion.

You also have choice between Balmain pens, Parker Pens, Prodir pens, quill pens, Senator pens, as well as highlighters, multi-functional pens, pen sets, pen stands and even pencils.

You could choose a highlighter pen to ‘highlight’ your business among the competition while choosing a novelty printed pen such as a tape measure puts you as a ‘measure’ above the rest. You can also choose the multi-functional pens and again use a play on words about the functionality and multi-functions of your products and services that you offer. You can also head to the high end pens and choose the executive pen sets or senator pens, which are quite sophisticated and make for perfect promotional items or gifts.

As you can see, there are many types of promotional pens that you can choose from – from expensive engraved silver or gold pens to less expensive plastic pens, why you could even choose a highlighter or multi-functional promotional pen. The choices are truly endless, there are so many styles to choose from, there is sure to be one that fits your company’s logo and style and your budget.

Where else can you get advertising that literally works for you without you being there for just a small investment? Check out the massive selection of promotional and engraved pens that are available from some of the leading online suppliers, just waiting for your logo to be imprinted on them. It’s great way of advertising your business, have a little fun with it and you will be glad that you made the investment.

We get a bit one dimensional with the way we promote affiliate sites at times. Sure, affiliates come in all shapes and sizes.

You've got pay per click search engine arbitrage players, coupon/rebate sites, reward/loyalty sites, search engine optimizers, comparison shopping sites, content sites, e-mailers, data-feed sites, and blogs.

But these affiliates all have one thing in common - they are all online. In order to break through the clutter and get your site noticed, you've got to embrace the dirt world and test out some old school promotional methods.

One low cost way to spread the word about your site is to get some promotional pens printed up. There are tons of vendors online that offer a variety of customized pens for under $0.49 each.

Then there is the distribution methods. Think about the places in your town where people are always looking for a spare pen... the bank, the post office, etc.

Also, if your site has a certain theme, try asking the managers of local stores that pertain to your theme, and ask if you can leave some of the pens at the counter. And, of course, leave one everytime you need to sign your name or write something in public.

The Fountain Pen

A fountain pen is a pen that has a reservoir of water-based ink. Like something forbidden, has the thought of owning a fountain pen left you feeling like you were out of your league? Captivated by the art of writing, the type of pencil or pen you use makes a tremendous impact on your penmanship. Are you intrigued by the classic elegance of artistic, well engineered fountain pens that can seduce, as well as intimidate you at the same time?

Today the fountain pen is not used as much anymore with the creation of the Bic pen and the pens that come with ink in them and when they run out, you simply throw them away and use another. It was not until the early 1920s that fountain pen improvements not only gained in popularity but also in reliability.

The first mention of fountain pen can be traced to the Egyptians. If you take good care of your fountain pen, it will last you a lifetime.

There are two techniques that allowed fountain pens to be self-sufficient: The lever filler and the button filler. If travelling by plane, it is a general rule to follow with fountain pens to fill or empty them completely and keep them stored in vertical position with the point upward.

When not using the pen, keep it stored vertically with point upward to prevent ink from settling in and clogging the feed. When ink doesn’t flow properly, the gap between the tines should be checked and cleaned with a razor blade. Pen cases are available in the shape of an easel, upright-standing frames, cheroot box-like cases with transparent glass tops, cups and many more.

Pen cases are made of wood, leather, metal and glass with detailed attention to aesthetics. Fountain Pen innovators created filling systems that gave optimum performance in their reservoir designs. International cartridges of all makes can be used in some fountain pens, while others accept only cartridges of their own brand.

The progression of writing apparatuses has taken a profound leap of success since the quill pen. The eyedropper filler ink pens have the maximum capacity to hold ink, with the least capacity attributed to the piston refills pens.