Ballpoints date to the early Twentieth Century. Moving from at the time the 'inconvenience' of a fountain pen to a pen which could be clicked to begin writing in just about any environment was seen as a huge breakthrough. Hence, the beginning of the demise of a fountain pen for common daily tasks and the widespread introduction of the ballpoint pen. From a cheap little jotter to a fine quality instrument, ballpoints assumed their place as the most common writing technology. Typically, a ballpoint refill will have a little crown at the top. This is the standard named, "Parker Style' (not the brand). 98% of ballpoints are Parker Style.

The downside of ballpoints today is the very same reason they first became popular; a wax based ink which had tremendous writeout (the total length of a line that can be expected from a single refill) capabilities. Unfortunately, this attribute also means an ink which must be pushed from the refill by exerting a fair amount of pressure on the tip. Many people find this to be tiring on the hand and discover the ease allowed by roller ball writing to be vastly superior.

However, some people find these attributes to be admired. People who write on multi-part forms or those which require an ink that will write in challenging environments like the Fisher Space Pen's upside down or in space ability.