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| Formerly | Tintenkuli Handels GmbH (1928) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private (1928–98) Subsidiary (1998–) |
| Industry | Stationery |
| Founded | 1928; 98 years ago (1928) |
| Headquarters | Hamburg,Germany (closed) |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Technical pens,fountain pens,mechanical pencils,inks |
| Owner | Newell Brands[1] |
| Parent | Sanford L.P.[2] |
| Website | rotring.com |
Rotring (stylizedrOtring) is amanufacturer oftechnical drawing tools andwriting implements. Established in Germany in 1928 as afountain pen manufacturer, Rotring went on to be acquired byNewell Brands in 1998.[3][1] The name "Rotring" directly translates to "red ring", which refers to the company's signature: a red band placed around the barrel of the pen. The company's name was changed to Rotring in the early 1970s to match the trademark.
Since the Rotring factory and headquarters inHamburg were shut down, production has been handled and distributed byJapanese manufacturer Holbein and other manufacturers.[4]
The company was established in 1928 as "Tintenkuli Handels GmbH".[2] The company's first product was the "Tintenkuli", a type ofpen with a narrow steel tube instead of a conventionalnib. Whilefountain pens were already common in America, they had not been previously marketed in Europe.
In 1934, Rotring launched the "Multipen", amechanical pencil that allowed the variation of colors, with four of them contained on each pencil. Although stylographs never overtook fountain pens for use in writing, by 1953 the Rotring "Rapidograph" model became the prototypicaltechnical pen of its age, establishing the Rapidograph Inc. in theUnited States one year later. Its technology virtually replaced theruling pen and greatly simplified technical drawing.[2]
A second generation of technical pens, the "Variant" and "Varioscript" models, were launched in 1958, with commercial success. In 1967, the company introduced its first drawing set, that consisted ofcompass, technical pens, templates, inks,scale ruler and other tools. One year later, the "Micronorm" was added to the technical pens line. In 1971, Rotring acquired writing instrument manufacturer Adolf Waldmann KG ofPforzheim.[2]
Rotring expanded operations, establishing branches in Europe and the United States, in 1974. The "Isograph" technical pen was launched in 1976. That same year Rotring launched its firstdrawing board, and the "Tikky" mechanical pencil was released in 1979. The "Art Pen", a fountain pen suitable forcalligraphy, was launched in 1984. During the decade, Rotring set new subsidiaries in other European countries, while the "600" mechanical pencil was introduced in 1989. New releases came in 1995 with the "Xonox", a variation of the Tikky model in form of amarker pen with a needlepoint tip.[2]
The advent in the 1990s ofcomputer-aided design (CAD) saw the partial demise of the technical drawing pen. To combat this, Rotring diversified its range of graphic pens, pencils and markers.
In 1998 Rotring was taken over bySanford, an American company specialising in graphic products and part ofNewell Rubbermaid (currently,Newell Brands) since 1992.[5]
During the first decade of the 2000s Rotring released some lines of fountain and ballpoint pens, the "Skynn" (2003) and the "Newton" (2005). In 2014, the brand introduced the "800+", ahybrid mechanical pencil that could be used on both mediums, paper andtouchscreens. It was advertised with the slogan "Think on paper + Think on digital".[2][6] The Rotring 600 ballpoint pen was re-introduced in 2018 alongside the Rotring 800 ballpoint, which was the re-release of the 600 Gold ballpoint pen.[7]
| Brand | Range of Products |
|---|---|
| Rapidograph, Isograph | Technical pens, refillinks |
| Art Pen | Calligraphyfountain pens, refill inks |
| Rapid Pro | Mechanical pencils, leads |
| 300, 400, 500, 600, 800, 800+ | Draftingmechanical pencils |
| 600, 800 | Ballpoint Pens |
| Tikky | Ballpoint pens,markers, mechanical pencils, leads, refills,erasers |
| Precision | Compasses,geometry squares,lettering and circlestencils,protractors,rulers |
Rotring's Rapidograph and Isograph are visually very similar. The primary difference between these models is the ink reservoir. Whereas the Isograph has a refillable reservoir, the Rapidograph can be loaded with disposable capillary ink cartridges (which are themselves capable of being refilled).
The Rapidograph nibs were manufactured in several versions:
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