There are many types of rapidographs (technical pens) that are specifically designed to handle various writing technical drawing and drafting needs. The size of the rapidograph pen's tip determines the thickness of the line that appears on paper. But did you know that these are precision materials that need constant care and attention?
Yes they will serve you for quite some time if you are able to take care of them. If you don't take good care of them, you'd better be prepared to replace every now and then.
Before heading out and grabbing your very first set, it is important that you remember a couple of things first. Things like:
A set or a piece: Unless you are looking to start your very own pen collection it would be best that you start with a singular pen first unless otherwise that it's really necessary. Rapidograph pen sets come in various nib (point) sizes namely; 0.13, 0.18, 0.25, 0.35, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm each with their own color code, and you will have to choose one that will best serve your purpose. If you are in need of several points then it would be best that you buy just the individual pens that you need and not the entire set.
Brand: There are various brands for rapidographs and each one carries company specific constructions and features embedded in them. Rotring, Steadler, Koh-I-Noor, and Chartpak for example manufactures various sets each year, some with very simple constructions allowing for easy cleaning while others have complicated constructions that are not really advisable for those who are starting out.
Pricing: Prices of the rapidograph also vary ranging from moderately priced to those that are somewhat unexplainably expensive (mostly special edition pens). If you are on the lookout for slightly cheaper pens then you can check your local store for them or you can also find them online. There are many auction sites as well as shopping sites that offer various selections of pens. A word of caution though, remember when buying a pen, it would be best to stick to "brand new" as compared to "slightly used" because you will never be able to tell if a pen is damaged just by looking from the outside.
Ink: the ink that you use will determine the quality of your drawing. There are many branded inks out there today and it would be best that you stick to those that are slightly more popular as there are some inks that tend to dry out quicker as compared to others. Remember India Ink is not meant for your rapidograph, only use it when you no longer care about your pen or you are planning to turn your pen into a disposable one.
The last tips you can take away for Rapidograph Pens is cleaning and storage. When storing your pen, remember to store it with the point upwards as this will prevent ink from staying in the pen's mechanism and drying out. In cleaning you can either use cleaning solutions that pen companies sell. They're cheap and easy to find. With that said, it's up to you to determine which rapidograph pen is right for you.