Ohto

OHTO CO., LTD. (オート株式会社）is a Japanese pen manufacturing company selling the OHTO brand. The company was established in 1929 as a manufacturer of dyes and ink. In 1949, the company became a pen manufacturer after they manufactured the world's first ball point pen with a chrome ball. This was also Japan's first ballpoint pen.

Since then, the company have introduced writing instruments such as the rollerball pen, ceramic rollerball pen, single blocked strong needle tip, and needle tipped soft ink rollerball pen, ceramic refill (C-300 series), soft ink rollerball pen, free ink rollerball pen, and Promecha drafting pencil.

History of OHTO

• 1929: Established in Tokyo, Japan, as a manufacturer of dyes and ink
• 1949: Manufactured the world's first pencil-shaped ballpoint pen with chrome ball. This was also the first "Made in Japan" ball point pen.
• 1960: Developed a non-smudging ballpoint pen ink with resistance to fading.
• 1963: Manufactured the world's first water-based ball point pen (present-day Rollerball).
• 1963: Manufactured ballpoint pens with tungsten carbide balls using polymide resin, first in the world.
• 1977: Introduced the rubber grippered pen, first in the world.
• 1981: Introduced world's first ceramic ball roller pen.
• 1991: Developed pigment ink waterproof/fadeproof roller pens.
• 2000: Introduced single blocked strong needle tip, first in the world.
• 2006: Started using ceramic ball in gel pen, to give longer shelf life to gel pens, named CERA-GEL technology.

External links

• OHTO CO., LTD.