(stylized as uniball) and are

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

s of

pen PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

s and

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

s, made by the of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The brand was introduced in 1979 as a rollerball pen model, then expanding to the rest of Mitsubishi Pencil products. Mitsubishi Pencil Company distributes over 3,000 core products in over 100 countries through subsidiaries, such as Mitsubishi Pencil Company UK. Distribution in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

is by Uni-ball's North American Corporation in Wheaton, Illinois. In Germany they are sold by

Faber-Castell Faber-Castell AG is a German privately-held multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer of pens, pencils, other office supplies (e.g., staplers, slide rules, erasers, rulers)Faber-Castell InternationalOffice Products and art supplies,Fa ...

, in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and the

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by Hoshan Pan Gulf, in India by Linc Pen and Plastics Limited (LPPL), and in the Philippines by Lupel Corporation. Despite its naming and the nearly identical logomarks, Mitsubishi Pencil Company is unrelated to the

Mitsubishi Group The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 1946 ...

, and has never been a part of their

keiretsu A is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings that dominated the Japanese economy in the second half of the 20th century. In the legal sense, it is a type of business group that is in a loosely organized al ...

. The logo itself is a family crest, or kamon.

History

The Mitsubishi Pencil company was founded in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

by Niroku Masaki in 1887Who we are
on Uni-ball UK as the "Masaki Pencil Manufacturing Company". After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was renamed "The Mitsubishi Pencil Company". Masaki Pencil started to export its products, first to

in 1927, then expanding to other markets including

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. At the end of

, the company introduced the "9800" pencil. In 1959, Mitsubishi released its first

ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...

, while its first

mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil or clutch pencil is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The pencil lead, lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and the user can mechanically e ...

was launched in 1961.About us
on Uni Mitsubishi Pencil Vietnam In 1966, they began creating performance pens and by 1979 they developed the first "Uniball" rollerball pen, which was the first ballpen with water-based ink and metallic tip. This pen would be a great success in Japan and North America. One year later, the company launched the "Paint", an oil-based marker. While mainly focused on making pens, in 2008 they developed a new

that rotated the graphite lead every time it is lifted from the page to sharpen it into an even cone shape. This line of pencils is named as ''Kuru Toga''. The name ''Kuru Toga'' is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the two Japanese words 'kuru' (turning) and 'togaru' (to be sharpened). In August 2020, Uni-ball announced a partnership with Starline. Beginning in January 2021, Starline became the exclusive supplier of the Uni-ball brand for the promotional products industry. In February 2024, the company announced it was acquiring German fountain and ball point pen company Lamy.

Products

Although Mitsubishi Pencil started as a wooden pencil manufacturer, the company is no longer specialized in that product, focusing on

s instead. Uni-ball's

writing implement A writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Writing consists of different figures, lines, and or forms. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, ...

s brands include ''Jetstream'' (hybrid-ink

s); ''Air'', ''Eye'' (marketed as ''Vision'' in the U.S.A.) rollerball pens, ''Signo'' (pigment ink gel pens); ''Onyx'', ''Kuru Toga'' (

s); ''Paint'', ''Posca'' (marker pens), ''Chalk'', and ''Prockey'' (

marker pen A marker pen, fine liner, marking pen, felt-tip pen, felt pen, flow marker, sign pen (in South Korea), vivid (in New Zealand), flomaster (in East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic countries), texta (in Australia), sketch pen (in South ...

s). Wood-cased pencil brands include ''Hi-Uni'', ''Uni'' and ''Mitsu-Bishi''. Some other pen lines (mainly intended for the Japanese market) under the Uni brand are ''Power Tank'' (pressurised ink-cartridge ballpoint pen), ''R:E'' (erasable ink pens), ''Laknock'', ''Clifter'' (ballpoints), ''α(Alpha)-GEL'' (various types of pens with soft gel-like grips), ''Style Fit'' (multi-pen system), ''Shift'', ''M-552'' (mechanical pencils), and ''Propus'' (highlighters). Product lines under the Uni-ball brand are ''One'', and ''Zento'' ( gel pens). Often listed best or one of the best pens in gel pen rankings Uni-ball's range of products include:

References

External links

*
Corporate website
of the Mitsubishi Pencil Company {{Portal bar, Companies, Japan Office supply companies of Japan Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Manufacturing companies established in 1887 1887 establishments in Japan Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Shinagawa Pen manufacturers Japanese brands Japanese stationery Pencil manufacturers