T&T Pen-ink Chamber (Images courtesy Han Chi-hoon, Kim Yeon-soo, Park Byong-gon & Kim Sung-geun)
By Andrew Liszewski

A lot of people think the electric car hasn’t really come to fruition because the big oil companies don’t want vehicles that aren’t dependent on fossil fuels. We’ll refer to them as crazy. However, I’m sure similar theories will come forth regarding whether or not BIC, and other disposable pen manufacturers, would be willing to adopt this clever spiral refill design created by Han Chi-hoon, Kim Yeon-soo, Park Byong-gon and Kim Sung-geun.

By using a spiral shape the chamber can hold at least twice as much ink as the standard ‘straight as an arrow’ design while still fitting inside a regular disposable pen. It’s not completely eco-friendly as the refill is still disposable, but it should at least last twice as long. But is this an idea that BIC and other companies would even entertain? Or are their profits heavily dependent on refills the same way inkjet printer manufacturers rake in the dough with exorbitantly priced cartridges? (And I realize that other factors may make this unfeasible, like higher manufacturing and shipping costs.)

[ Yanko Design – Spiral Makes a Difference ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]

6 COMMENTS

  1. This would be even less eco friendly to me. I always lose these pens my pens or something else happens to them. I don’t think I’ve ever had one run out of ink on me before. Also, the kind of pen I use has a much better solution; it just has a thicker ink cartridge. This is just over-complicating the issue really.

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