Kuretake is a Japanese
manufacturing company
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...
of
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. The firm began its activities manufacturing ink and brushes and then expanded its range of products, producing mainly
pen
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
s.
Current range of products manufactured by Kuretake includes
markers,
brush pen
A , also known as a brush pen, is a cartridge-based writing implement used in East Asian calligraphy; it is, in essence, an ink brush analogue to a fountain pen.
Overview
The Japanese manufacturing company Kuretake was the first to launch a br ...
s,
ink
Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...
s,
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s.
History
Founded under the name of "Kuretake Sumi" in 1902, the company originally started by producing brushes, a brush similar in style to certain
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
brushes,
[ sharing a generally thick wooden or bamboo handle, and a broad soft hair brush that when wetted form a fine tip. The brushes produced by Kuretake Sumi were designed for , or inkwash painting.
In 1965, Kuretake Industries Co., Ltd. was established as a plant specializing in the production of writing instruments while Tokyo office was established.][ In 1986, a subsidiary, "Kuretake U.K. Ltd." was established in the West Midlands, ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.[ In 2014 another subsidiary, "Kuretake ZIG Corporation" was established in Sacramento, ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Products
Kuretake (and its subsidiary brand, "Zig") manufactures a wide variety of markers, such as highlighter
A highlighter is a type of writing device used to mark attention to sections of text by marking them with a vivid, translucent colour.
A typical highlighter is fluorescent yellow, colored with pyranine. Different compounds, such as rhodamines ( ...
s and watercolor markers.
The firm also gained reputation for its "brush pen
A , also known as a brush pen, is a cartridge-based writing implement used in East Asian calligraphy; it is, in essence, an ink brush analogue to a fountain pen.
Overview
The Japanese manufacturing company Kuretake was the first to launch a br ...
", similar to a 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), texta (in Australia), sketch pen (in South Asia) or koki (in South Africa), is a pen which has its own ink source a ...
with a brush-shapered flexible tip but refillable, using replaceable ink cartridges like fountain pen
A fountain pen is a writing instrument which uses a metal nib to apply a water-based ink to paper. It is distinguished from earlier dip pens by using an internal reservoir to hold ink, eliminating the need to repeatedly dip the pen in an inkw ...
s do. The brush pen by Kuretake was the first using cartridges (although Pentel
is a privately-held Japanese manufacturing company of stationery products. The name is a combination of the English words ''pen'' and ''tell'' (as in, telling a story). Pentel is also the inventor of non-permanent marker technology. Most Pente ...
would later launch a brush model that used cartridges also).
Through its brand "ScrapBooking", Kuretake produces other stationery items such as papers, templates, corner punches, color selectors, and photo tapes.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuretake (Art Products)
Companies based in Nara Prefecture
Manufacturing companies established in 1902
Japanese brands
Japanese stationery
Art materials brands
Ink brands
Pulp and paper companies of Japan
Design companies established in 1902