is a Japanese manufacturer of

writing instruments 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, ...

, established in 1914 by Tokumatsu Ishikawa.History
on Zebra, 19 Aug 2020 The company sells a wide range of writing implements through retail stores, wholesalers and mail order. Zebra offers a line of writing instruments that include

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

ballpoint A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...

brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

and

gel A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

pens, markers,

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 ( R ...

s and

mechanical pencil A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...

History

Tokumatsu Ishikawa had begun to produce home-made nibs in 1897, until he established its own business in 1914, registering the name "Zebra" as a trademark. Ishikawa thought ''Zebra'' was an appropriate name because his goal was to build a business culture that resembled a family and

zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

have a strong herding instinct. Zebra stripes resembling calligraphic pen strokes may also have been a reason for the name. In 1945, the Zebra facilities were destroyed during a bomb attack in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but those would be reconstructed during the 1950s. In 1959 Zebra launched its first

ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...

manufactured. Four years later, the company renamed "Zebra Co., Ltd", with Hideaki Ishikawa becoming president of the firm. During the 1970s, Zebra marketed its first lines of markers, including brush-tip models, opening a new factory in Tokyo (1979). Zebra opened a subsidiary in the United States (1982). The 1990s and 2000s decade came with new subsidiaries in Canada, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Products

Zebra's line of pens and pencils include "The Original" F-301 and the M-301, which have

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

barrels and textured grips. Other product lines include ''Blen'', ''Surari'', ''Filare'' (emulsion ink ballpoint pens); ''Airfit'', ''Z-Grip'' (ballpoint pen); ''Sarasa'', ''Sarasa Dry'' (gel pens); ''Sharbo'' (multi-pens); ''CLiCKART'' (water-based coloring markers); ''DelGuard'', ''Tect 2Way'' (mechanical pencils); ''Zensations'' (art products), ''Mildliner'' (double ended creative markers), ''Zebrite'' (double ended highlighters), and ''Zazzle'' (liquid highlighters). Zebra products are available across the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Singapore, Korea, and Japan.

Z-Grip

In 2017, the ''Z-Grip'' line of retractable gel pens was transitioned to low viscosity ink, aka advanced ink. The benefits of the new formula, in addition to a smoother writing experience, was more vibrant colors and an option to create more nuanced hues.

Steel

The ''Steel'' line of pens follows a good, better, best hierarchy; 3-series, 4-series, and 7-series respectively. The 301 series is characterized by stainless steel shafts and hardened plastic grips. The 401 has the same stainless steel shaft with a rubber grip. Finally, the flagship pen, the 701 has a

knurled Knurling is a manufacturing process, typically conducted on a lathe, whereby a pattern of straight, angled or crossed lines is rolled into the material. Etymology The terms ''knurl'' and ''knurled'' are from an earlier ''knur'' ‘knot in wo ...

grip and is completely stainless steel. A cross section of these barrel styles reflect different ink types. For example, the 3-series barrel is available in ballpoint, gel, mechanical pencil, fountain pen, highlighter, and rollerball pen. All Zebra stainless steel products are refillable, including leads and mechanical pencil erasers.

Sarasa Dry

The company transitioned all their plastic gel pens from different brands and consolidated under one name, ''Sarasa Dry''. All the former products were reformulated to feature Zebra's award-winning Rapid Dry Ink technology, which was third party laboratory, tested and proven to be as fast or faster drying than the competition on a variety of surfaces and dries in less than a second on most surfaces. The assortment, X1, X10, X20, and X30, reflect different barrel styles to accommodate most consumer preferences.

Surari

Range of "emulsion-ink" hybrid ink oil-based ballpoint pens, similar to Uni's ''Jetstream'', Pentel's ''Vicuna'' and Pilot's ''Acroball''.

Zensations

Zebra entered the art and activity space with the launch of their ''Zensations'' brand of products, geared towards new and amateur artists looking for a slightly higher quality than products solely created for children. The brand encompasses technical pens and pencils, refillable colored mechanical pencils, fineliner markers, calligraphy pens, brush pens (black and colors), and more. Line extensions are developed periodically to refresh the line.

DelGuard

A mechanism employed in the ''DelGuard'' system developed by Zebra, causes the lead sleeve in a mechanical pencil to extend outward when excessive pressure is applied at an angle. When excess vertical pressure is applied on the lead, the lead is automatically retracted inwards. Thus, the lead is protected (within certain limits) in both cases. In Japan, 0.3 and 0.7 versions of the DelGuard is available alongside the 0.5 version, whereas in the US, only the 0.5 version is available.

Sharbo

''Sharbo'' is a line of multifunction pens. A pen may contain one or more ink refills plus a mechanical pencil component. Examples are ''Sharbo X'' and ''SK-Sharbo+1''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zebra (Pen Manufacturer) Fountain pen and ink manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Japanese brands Japanese stationery