What is the difference between "plastic" and "resin" or "celluloid"

[BladeArcher]

I have often wondered if "resin" or "celluloid" is just a marketing euphemism for "plastic". What, if anything, is the difference between pen bodies made with these materials?

 

Thanks,

Blade

 

[MDI]

Plastic is the largest, most generic group. Celluloid is a very specific reference to a concrete material. It belongs to the subgroup of plastics. The logic goes like this: a celluloid is a plastic, but a plastic isn't necessarily celluloid. (Salmon is a fish, but...).

 

Resin is an unclear term. It could mean plastic, or it could mean "material that hardens when components are mixed and react together." Or it could mean tree sap. Or it could be a (misplaced) synonym for plastic.

[BladeArcher]

Plastic is the largest, most generic group. Celluloid is a very specific reference to a concrete material. It belongs to the subgroup of plastics. The logic goes like this: a celluloid is a plastic, but a plastic isn't necessarily celluloid. (Salmon is a fish, but...).

 

Resin is an unclear term. It could mean plastic, or it could mean "material that hardens when components are mixed and react together." Or it could mean tree sap. Or it could be a (misplaced) synonym for plastic.

 

What then is "celluloid" material, and how is it different from the plastic used to make, say, a ballpoint pen?

 

Regards,

Blade

 

[pen2paper]

Hi-here is a great link which has lots of info.. including how to care for plastics.

http://www.plastiquarian.com/

.."never mind" RosanneRosannaDanna:)

p2p

Edited April 1, 2009 by pen2paper

[MDI]

Think ping-pong balls. It's a first plastic from the late 1800s. Wikipedia gives its chemical composition here if you care about that sort of thing.

 

It's not used now because it's flammable and otherwise inferior to modern plastics.

[BladeArcher]

Hi-here is a great link which has lots of info.. including how to care for plastics.

http://www.plastiquarian.com/

also, on the forum page try using the search feature to look up earlier threads on specific topics:)

p2p

 

I find forum "search" on any Forum to be just about useless, unless you are looking for a term like Aardvark or Rumplestilskin.

 

Regards,

Blade

 

[Inka]

Richard Binder has an excellent resource/Glossary for these and other definitions on his Website RichardsPens.com, found by clicking here.

[MDI]

Pens are not advertised in a consistent manner whereby you could apply facts learned from materials science to determine how they are made. Terms like resin make composition a complete unknown. Sometimes the term acrylic is used. You could google these, but what's the use? Do you really care exactly what kind of subgroup of plastic material a particular pen is made of?

 

Generally speaking, the term plastic here implies that it's not metal, and both terms say very little of the actual materials used.

[Inka]

I would also like to see a clear Demonstrator pen made with Polycarbonate, the same stuff used in bulletproof "*glass" [*not a glass at all but a thermoplastic polymer and not bulletproof but more bullet-resistant].

Polycarbonate is also used in impact-resistant eyeglass lenses, motorcycle faring/windshields, even some new headlights, because it resists breakage when hit by a rock or other hard objects traveling at high speeds.

Although extremely hard to break, Polycarbonate is easy to scratch unless treated with a hardener/scratch-resistant coating.

DVDs and CDs are usually made from Polycarbonate and if you'd ever tried to bend and break one you'll know how tough this stuff is.

 

[BladeArcher]

Do you really care exactly what kind of subgroup of plastic material a particular pen is made of?

 

I do. I want to know if I'm being snookered by some marketing flim-flam when the ads boast of some material the pen is made of.

 

Regards,

Blade

 

[MYU]

There are pens made from polycarbonate. MUJI sells them. Unfortunately, no fountain pens. And the material is translucent, not transparent.

[Dimitri]

Problem with so called "plastics" and a company listing what "type" of plastic something is made of is difficult.

 

Many so called "plastics" can be made differently batch to batch, mixing different polymers together in the extruders to make their own "special" blend. Because of this anything more then a generalization of the subgroup of plastic will only serve to confuse most, and not really say much about the plastic other then allow others to copy it.

 

2 Plastics being extruded in the same line at different times made of virtually identical components but slightly different quantities will result in 2 very different acting plastics.

 

Dimitri

[Inka]

My daily-writer, a large Levenger Plumpster has a gorgeous resin body with Mother-of-Pearl-like blues, caramels, plus some swirls of what I'd might describe as Expresso & cream or maybe chocolate.

Levenger doesn't give the exact specs for what resin is used, only that it is resin, but I still love it's large size and the looks; plus the resin is extremely thick compared to other resin pens I've owned.

This is by no means a "small" pen, measuring @ 5-1/2" x 7/8" diameter capped and weighing in at nearly 2 ounces, it's a monster fountain pen by many peoples' standards.

Yet it's the perfect size & weight for me!

When posted, the inside of the cap is so thick that nothing ever touches the internal cap-threads, fits tightly with just slight pressure and won't pop off the back end while I'm writing.

The threads, while somewhat fine, hold the cap on snugly with little effort and won't come unscrewed in my shirt pockets or inside a cheap single-pen leather pen pouch I have it in at times.

 

One day I'd love to find a thick single-pen leather case/pouch for it, since the one I have is paper-thin leather and doesn't offer much protection at all in a briefcase, or should it be accidentally dropped.

I've seen a 2-pen thick brown leather case on this forum somewhere but can no longer find the thread where I'd seen it; looked almost like a 2-cigar case made of thick leather with heavy stitching.

 

Here's a couple of pics of my daily-writer Plumpster, the only pen that has ever felt as comfortable in my big 'ol' bear paws.

I can write with it for hours on end, without the near instant cramping and pain felt while using thinner/smaller pens...

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L-PFNibPosted_6.jpg

 

http://i633.photobucket.com/albums/uu56/InkaFX/L-PFNibPosted_1.jpg

 

I absolutely love this pen for daily writing; would love even more to get a nice, thick, leather sheath for it some day if only I could find one that's not too expensive.

Since it is a resin pen, I'm concerned about scratches, bumps in a briefcase and drops that can happen regardless of how careful I always try to be with it.

Having done some work with leather in the past, even worked for Tandy Corporation decades ago, I may just have to make my own leather case/pouch.

If I can find my leather-working tools, packed away deep inside @ 100 storage boxes, a nearby craft store sells some nice soft/thick Tandy scraps that looked perfect for the project.

[jar]

Do you really care exactly what kind of subgroup of plastic material a particular pen is made of?

 

I do. I want to know if I'm being snookered by some marketing flim-flam when the ads boast of some material the pen is made of.

 

Regards,

Blade

 

Why?

 

If you like it and it works, then what does it matter if it is plastic or resin or bubblegum?

 

 

[AndyH]

I have some curiosity, but for the most part, I don't care that much.

 

Plastic is the most inclusive noun - including both natural (celulose, vegetative in more recent marketspeak) resins, and artifcial (polycarbonates, "lucite") ones. "Precious" resin is simply a Montblanc trademark for a specific formula for a plastic that many find durable and attractive.

 

Again, I wouldn't get too concerned with the specifics - they're all "plastics". Choose those that feel substantial and right in your own hand and don't worry about its origins.

[BladeArcher]

Do you really care exactly what kind of subgroup of plastic material a particular pen is made of?

 

I do. I want to know if I'm being snookered by some marketing flim-flam when the ads boast of some material the pen is made of.

 

Regards,

Blade

 

Why?

 

If you like it and it works, then what does it matter if it is plastic or resin or bubblegum?

 

If it didn't matter, why wouldn't they just call it "plastic" and be done with it?

 

regards,

Blade

 

[Anne-Sophie]

Because it would not justify the added zero that some makers insist on putting in their price tag.

 

:ltcapd:

 

Think about it. A plastic Safari or Vista works perfectly well, sells almost itself and is very very durable.

 

But if one put a dandy logo on the pen or has a custom made house brand design and call it plastic, how are they going to justify the price?

 

It is much better to call the pen material precious resin.

[hari317]

I have often wondered if "resin" or "celluloid" is just a marketing euphemism for "plastic". What, if anything, is the difference between pen bodies made with these materials?

 

Blade,

 

As others have said, plastic is a broad term. Celluloid is also a type of plastic. Celluloid is of two types: Cellulose Nitrate and Cellulose Acetate, the former is the material used in the manufacture of Gorgeous vintage pens which have a nice layered translucence but is higly inflammable, the latter is more stable (used in Modern pelikan souverans and Aurora Aurolide(?)) Platinium Japan makes some nice Cellulose Nitrate pens in the 3776 series.

 

Most of the resin pens are usually made of a material called PMMA (Poly methyl methacrylate).

 

Best,

Hari

 

[eric47]

I have often wondered if "resin" or "celluloid" is just a marketing euphemism for "plastic". What, if anything, is the difference between pen bodies made with these materials?

As others have said, plastic is a broad term. Celluloid is also a type of plastic. Celluloid is of two types: Cellulose Nitrate and Cellulose Acetate, the former is the material used in the manufacture of Gorgeous vintage pens which have a nice layered translucence but is higly inflammable, the latter is more stable (used in Modern pelikan souverans and Aurora Aurolide(?)) Platinium Japan makes some nice Cellulose Nitrate pens in the 3776 series.

 

Most of the resin pens are usually made of a material called PMMA (Poly methyl methacrylate).

 

Best,

Hari

Well summarized Hari.

 

Even if we can call them all plastics, that isn't to say that plastics don't have different characteristics. In a way it's similar to wood. Depending on the context, saying something's made of wood doesn't tell me a whole lot, e.g. I prefer a desk to be made of oak rather than balsa.

 

It's [celluloid's] not used now because it's flammable and otherwise inferior to modern plastics.

Celluloid (as in the flammable cellulose nitrate variety) is still being used today by Visconti and Omas. The former I believe makes the stuff they use in the current pens.

 

Some of the early Viscontis were made from vintage celluloid from the 30s (and probably +/- a decade). When that ran out they started producing their own.

 

There are some threads in the Italian section about celluloid, how to tell cellulose nitrate apart, who still uses it, etc.

[GeeTee]

"Precious" resin is simply a Montblanc trademark for a specific formula for a plastic that many find durable and attractive.

 

It's the sort of formula they discover in the marketing department.