Pentel

Pentel Co., Ltd. (ぺんてる株式会社, Penteru Kabushiki Kaisha) is a privately held Japanese manufacturing company of stationery products. The company name was derived from the trademark used for one of their first widely known products, a portmanteau of the English words painting and pastel, but has since been interpreted as a combination of the words pen and tell (as in telling a story). Pentel is also the inventor of non-permanent marker technology. Most Pentel products are manufactured in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and France. The company is regarded as the inventor of the fibre-tipped (felt-tip) pen in 1962. Included in its innovations was its success in adapting traditional Japanese practice to industrial production. Nowadays, Pentel produces a wide range of products that include writing implements, art materials and office goods.