Bic Cristal: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:03-BICcristal2008-03-26.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A blue Bic Cristal with iconic streamlined cap]] |
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The '''Bic Cristal''' (also known as the '''Bic pen''') is an inexpensive disposable [[ballpoint pen]] mass-produced and sold by ''[[Société Bic]]'' of [[Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine]], [[France]]. |
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==Background== |
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In 1945 after the Second World War, [[Marcel Bich]] and Edouard Buffard founded ''Société PPA'' (the French acronym standing for "pens, mechanical pencils and accessories") in Clichy, a suburb north of Paris. During the war Bich had seen a ballpoint pen manufactured in Argentina by [[László Bíró]] and between [[1949]] and [[1950]] the Bic Cristal was designed by the ''Décolletage Plastique'' design team at ''Société PPA'' (later ''[[Société Bic]]'').<ref name="Phaidon">''Phaidon Design Classics- Volume 2'', 2006 Phaidon Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7148-4399-7</ref><ref name="Humble">[http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2004/pdfs/humble_checklist.pdf''Humble Masterpieces''] - [[The Museum of Modern Art]] New York, April 8–September 27, 2004.</ref> Bich invested in Swiss technology capable of cutting and shaping metal down to a hundredth of a millimeter, with the outcome a stainless steel, one millimeter sphere which allowed ink to flow freely. After many tries Bich found a thickness of ink which neither leaked nor clogged and under a license from Bíró launched the Cristal in 1950.<ref name="Phaidon"/> |
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Bich invested heavily in advertising, hiring poster designer [[Raymond Savignac]]. In [[1953]] advertising executive Pierre Guichenné advised Bich to shorten his family name to [[Bic]] as an easy-to-remember, globally adaptable tradename for the pen, which fit in with product branding trends of the post-war era.<ref name="Phaidon"/> Called the "Atomic pen" in France, throughout the 1950s and 1960s the Bic Cristal's ballpoint writing tip and ergonomic design helped change the worldwide market for [[fountain pens]] to one of mostly ballpoints. |
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In [[1959]] Bich brought the pen to the American market, which was highly fragmented with no single low-priced product selling across all channels of distribution. Although sold at a higher price at first, the Bic pen was soon selling at 19 cents with the slogan "writes first time, every time." In [[1965]] the French ministry of education began allowing the use of ballpoint pens in classrooms. |
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The Bic Cristal is the most widely sold pen in the world and as of [[2004]] one hundred billion had been manufactured. |
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==Design== |
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The Bic Cristal's [[industrial design]] has been acknowledged by the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in [[New York City]] as part of the museum's permanent collection.<ref name="Humble"/><ref>[http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=82141 Bic Cristal in MoMA collection]</ref> Its hexagonal shape was taken from the wooden [[pencil]] and yields an economical use of plastic along with strength and three grip points giving high writing stability. The pen's transparent [[polystyrene]] barrel shows the ink-level. A tiny hole drilled in the barrel's body keeps the same air pressure both inside and outside the pen. The thick ink is pulled down by gravity from a tube inside the barrel to feed a ball bearing which spins freely within a [[brass]]/[[nickel]] [[silver]] tip. In 1961 the [[stainless steel]] ball was replaced with much harder [[tungsten carbide]] which is vitrified by heat, then ground down and milled to an accuracy of one tenth of a micron between spinning plates coated with [[Diamond#Industrial_uses|industrial diamond]] abrasives. Since 1991 the pen's iconic streamlined [[polypropylene]] cap clip has had a small hole to prevent children from sucking it into the throat.<ref name="Phaidon"/><ref>[http://www.bicworld.com/inter_en/stationery/faq/index.asp Stationery FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about Stationery Products<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal|Design}} |
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* [[Société Bic]] |
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==References== |
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<div style="font-size:85%"> |
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<references /> |
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* [http://www.bicworld.com/index_en.asp Bic] web site. Also [http://asia.bicworld.com/productcategory.cfm?categoryrefno=21&productrefno=5 here] and [http://www.bicworld.com/inter_en/pdf/2005/stationery_presentation_jul_05.pdf here] |
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* [http://www.bicpromopens.com BIC Promotional Pens ] |
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</div> |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.bicworld.com/inter_en/bdd/product_writing.asp?product_id=41 Bic Cristal] web page |
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* [http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=82141 Bic Cristal] at MoMA and from [http://www.bicworld.com/inter_en/art_gallery/index.asp# Bic's web site] |
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* ''[http://revista.consumer.es/web/es/20070901/actualidad/analisis2/71826_3.php Bolígrafos de tinta azul: Muy diferentes en precio y duración]''. The Spanish ''Consumer [[Eroski]]'' magazine reviews eight blue-ink ballpens in September 2007 and concludes that Bic Cristal has the best quality-price ratio and is the lightest and least resistant to crushing. Bic Cristal Gel is the most expensive, and least durable. |
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*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonliebigstuff/3173256590/ Photo of Bic Banana package] |
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[[Category:Writing instruments]] |
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[[Category:Pens]] |
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[[Category:1950 introductions]] |
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[[Category:French inventions]] |
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[[pt:Bic Cristal]] |
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Revision as of 20:08, 23 November 2010
BIC can go suck my thing between the legs