If you have been exploring the world of affordable pens in the past few years there is a good chance that you’ve landed on Linc pens. While the company is not a household name in the United States, they have been growing and becoming more of a presence.
So, who is Linc and what’s the deal with their pens?
Background
Linc Pens, officially Linc Pen & Plastics Limited, is a company based in India. The company is specifically located in Kolkata, a city in the east of India, near Bangladesh. In addition to making their own pens, Linc has the license to manufacturer and distribute some pen brands to the Indian market, including Uni-ball and Lamy.
The company was founded in 1976 by Surajmal Jalan. The company is currently the third largest pen manufacturer/distributor in India, with sales in the area of $50MM per year (366.94 crore in 2018-2019 fiscal year, or about $51.7MM)
Linc Pen’s Products
Linc resells a number of products, but we’re specifically interested in what they manufacturer within their own brand.One important thing to note is that Linc differentiates between the products the company sells in the Indian (domestic) market versus that they sell in the over 50 countries where they sell pens.
Some of the more interesting domestic models include the Pentonic, Signetta Supertip, Meeting G1, Best Grip, Tweeter, and Tycoon, among the many the make. Some of these are also sold internationally but many are not. The international products tend to be a bit higher end, with more metal component and more intricate designs.
Within the US Linc pens are not particularly common. Some of the models that you can find online are:
Many of the newer and more popular models are not sold in the US and are difficult to find via normal channels. This includes the new Pentonic pen.
Very few products from Linc are available via distributors like Staples and Office Depot. Some models can be purchased through Amazon, but Ebay seems like the best place to buy Linc pens in the US right now.
The Linc Pentonic
Most of the company’s 2019 social media and online efforts seem to be surrounding the Pentonic pen. This is a modern ballpoint with a matte black extra and a rather cool styling. The pen is often described as being a “Rs 10” pen, which means it sells for 10 rupees, or about 14 cents in USD, but the pen is usually sold in large packs (up to 50 pens per pack).
The Pentonic is sold in black, blue, and red in 0.7 mm and 1.0 mm tip sizes.