Not all pens are created equal...

I did a little research on notebook ink today, and I was very surprised by what I found.  One researcher tested a large number of pens in a variety of hostile environments, including hot ovens and acetone baths.  One of the worst was the Pilot G2, which is my personal favorite!  Here is an image of the test results:

So, do you need to change pens?  Short answer, no.  Ball point pens are still out (they used to be the preferred pen, by the way), but the rollerball ones I handed out  will be just fine.  Stay away from acetone baths or hot ovens, though.

Oh, and black OR blue ink is allowed, no other color.  In my OPINION, black just looks better and is easier to read.

Feel free to look at the original article.  It's not notebook gospel, but the author makes many good points.