The History of the 4-Colour Pen

Though it is not quite frequently used these days, the 4-colour pen was introduced by BIC in 1970 and was quite famous back then. BIC pens were French inventions and became quite popular worldwide with it’s products. Not everyone understands the concept behind using the four colours, because it generally seems like these are just different coloured refills accommodated in one pen for convenience.

The idea of having four refills in one pen was quite a concept and those who found them useful were grateful for the invention. For people who work with multiple colours at work, this pen makes a lot of sense. The four colours in a pen was rather a great time saver for them.

Back in the late 50s and early 60s, unlike the fountain pens that allowed you to replace the ink whenever you wanted, ball point pens didn’t give that convenience. You either needed to have a bunch of colourful refills or pens handy.

If you are wondering why four colours, let us explain how these colours were usually segregated for different use.

• Reds were generally used in accounting for financial mark-ups. It also worked great for editors and proof-readers. However, red is a strong color and represents either danger or aggressive nature of remark, it is most dreaded by students in school, therefore, a lot of schools have banned the use of Red for checking papers.
• Green is mostly used by managers especially in civil services, for signatures or audits. Green seemed to give a sense of authority and was also used for writing comments or requirements in such professions.
• Blue or Black, both are used commonly. However, blue is often considered mandatory for signatures to make sure they are not duplicates or photocopies. Even authors, for that matter, use blue to sign their books so that it stands out in a black and white book.
• Black is again another general color, but specifically used for autographs on objects. Blue ink is proven to fade with the passing of years, therefore, using black is much preferred in documents as well.

There are many ways of utilizing these four colours, but irrespective of the initial designated purpose, these colours can be used however one wants. By far, having four colours in one pen has been the best invention for people who still love to put pen to paper.