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Fountain Pen Use At Work In The Digital Age


EmilyB613

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I'm going to put this out there (my apologies in advance):

 

I'm a millennial who uses fountain pens.

 

Not a bad thing, of course, except everyone who is over 40 at work wonders why I use them, since I'm "young". Anyway, I am also heavily into technology (as one does at my age - for the most part). Has anyone (no matter what your age) experimented with using fountain pens and technology?

 

For example, I have an app called Notability on my iPad. If I'm taking notes in a meeting, I use my trusty Pilot Metropolitan. Then I scan and upload the paper into the app. It is a lot of work, but I really love technology and FPs so I want to use both. Also, you never know if your notes end up in the recycle bin :D

 

Has anyone done this? Or am I completely out of my mind? (Don't answer that - please, please don't answer that. It's rhetorical.) ;)

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It's all about using the right tool for the job. The fountain pen when you truly want to enjoy writing (eg when you're writing in your jounral at home).

The ballpoint for making quick notes here and there at work/home when you grab the nearest pen.

Technology when you need to store info and where copy and paste will be likely carried out, or when it's simply more convenient to whip out the phone than stuff a pocket notebook and pen in one's already stuffed pockets.

 

I would think in your case that using your metro was a waste, and it's much better done on the app.

Edited by Bluey
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I'm going to put this out there (my apologies in advance):

 

... I have an app called Notability on my iPad. If I'm taking notes in a meeting, I use my trusty Pilot Metropolitan. Then I scan and upload the paper into the app. It is a lot of work, but I really love technology and FPs so I want to use both. Also, you never know if your notes end up in the recycle bin :D

 

Has anyone done this? Or am I completely out of my mind? (Don't answer that - please, please don't answer that. It's rhetorical.) ;)

 

Ok, I'm curious what method of scanning you use and how much memory on the device gets consumed. Any way to search for words within those notes? Thanks for starting this interesting thread.

Edited by AndrewPracticing
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Years ago, in the dark ages of the 1990s, a GIS person had a drawing pad with a stylus, and he made notes on the drawing pad, printed them out, scanned them, read the images into some program we had, and converted it into a Word document. This was more work, but stuff could be done even then. In a city government. .

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Ok, I'm curious what method of scanning you use and how much memory on the device gets consumed. Any way to search for words within those notes? Thanks for starting this interesting thread.

 

Yes, I search my notes easily. I use ScannerPro by Readlle (sp?) to scan my handwritten notes and it uploads automatically into Notability. Most of my notes are in the cloud so I don't have a problem with memory. I have a 32GB iPad 4th generation.

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It's all about using the right tool for the job. The fountain pen when you truly want to enjoy writing (eg when you're writing in your jounral at home).

The ballpoint for making quick notes here and there at work/home when you grab the nearest pen.

Technology when you need to store info and where copy and paste will be likely carried out, or when it's simply more convenient to whip out the phone than stuff a pocket notebook and pen in one's already stuffed pockets.

 

I would think in your case that using your metro was a waste, and it's much better done on the app.

Thanks for your opinion! You've given me something to think about :)

Edited by EmilyB613
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Years ago, in the dark ages of the 1990s, a GIS person had a drawing pad with a stylus, and he made notes on the drawing pad, printed them out, scanned them, read the images into some program we had, and converted it into a Word document. This was more work, but stuff could be done even then. In a city government. .

Ha! The 1990s...dial-up was a thing that I remember! Anyway, it all depends on how much work I want to put into using both FP and iPad. I haven't had a problem, but I wanted to know if others do something similar.

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My boss draws with his fountain pens at every spare moment, and I recently sold him an exceptional dip pen. It may result in the look of a new show, which makes all this tax-deductible.

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Despite people using laptops or tablets in meetings, I prefer pen and paper.

 

Some/many meetings are mostly words, which is easy for the people with computers.

But what do they do when someone draws a diagram/chart/graph/etc. on the white board?

On the laptop, they cannot do a sketch in WORD. So they ask the person next to them for a piece of paper and a pen, or try to copy the drawn diagram in PAINT or similar program.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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... heavily into technology...

... Has anyone ... ...experimented with using fountain pens and technology?...

... app called Notability on my iPad. If I'm taking notes in a meeting...

... use my trusty Pilot Metropolitan...

... Then I scan and upload the paper into the app...

... It is a lot of work, but I really love technology and FPs...

... so I want to use both...

 

... Has anyone done this? ...

Yes!

Have you seen This? Paper + App that basically does exactly what you're doing now, but in a single step.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/316409-whitelines-paper-back-in-the-usa/

 

See the photo's in the discussion above. Smooth, fountainpen friendly paper, now manufactured in the US so prices compete with basic brick and mortar office supply paper. A plus for FPN is we have the first small business with an account, whose prices can't be beat. (FPN's DaveT of ADPENWORX, < no association- just a happy customer).

Edited by pen2paper
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It's all about using the right tool for the job. ...

 

I would think in your case that using your metro was a waste, and it's much better done on the app.

 

I've yet to find a device that matches the feel of writing on paper. And using something like Notability to ingest my written notes at a later, more convenient time sounds pretty good to me.

 

But then, after nearly 40 years work as a technical writer/editor, getting away from devices and keyboards for a while is awfully tempting.

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I right there with you Emily. I sell medical software and use Go To Meeting regularly. All notes of those meetings start as ink on paper from a fountain pen. After the meeting those notes are distilled and entered into salesforce. The handwritten notes remain in my notebook and are never thrown out. Old notebooks go in the drawer as new ones are started. A perfect blend of new and old technologies in a functionally efficient way.

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I think MHBru is getting the most bang for his/her buck. I have come across at least one study that said info retention in students was higher with handwritten notes compared to no notes as well as typing notes on a computer. I think it's not necessarily the handwriting part directly; rather the need to synthesize what you're writing down as notes rather than copying more directly (since many people can type faster than they can write). Plus, when you transfer the notes over you're further impressing into your brain what you took notes on, as well as potentially adding a round of important editing.

 

 

I right there with you Emily. I sell medical software and use Go To Meeting regularly. All notes of those meetings start as ink on paper from a fountain pen. After the meeting those notes are distilled and entered into salesforce. The handwritten notes remain in my notebook and are never thrown out. Old notebooks go in the drawer as new ones are started. A perfect blend of new and old technologies in a functionally efficient way.

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Emily -- I'm another Notability user, although not as a primary weapon.

 

I'm an intentional note taker at meetings, partially because the act of writing helps me remember, partly, in my daytime role as an executive to make a private record of commitments made, partly to give me something to do when I'm only listening enough to stay but not bored enough to leave (which I do a lot) and partly an excuse to use my pens. Not whole paragraphs, but quick notes. My weapon of choice is the Apica CD15 notebook, and I go through 2 a year x 15 years of using them.

However, I'm in academia, where the use of technology has not completely taken over, so there are times when I'm adding notes to a pre-printed agenda, and then I scan and upload to my still living on the slow side first gen Mini iPad. I bring all scans like it down into Readdle's Documents.

I agree that using tech and fountain pens together are a great combo.

 

Tim

Edited by tmenyc

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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Despite people using laptops or tablets in meetings, I prefer pen and paper.

 

Some/many meetings are mostly words, which is easy for the people with computers.

But what do they do when someone draws a diagram/chart/graph/etc. on the white board?

On the laptop, they cannot do a sketch in WORD. So they ask the person next to them for a piece of paper and a pen, or try to copy the drawn diagram in PAINT or similar program.

I would think most folks would just take a photo of a diagram as we all have a camera in our pocket nowadays.

 

I still use paper and fountain pen for all my notes. It is faster for me and less restricted. I dot have to share notes, but if I do I type them up. It gives me a chance to be more economical and identify key points clearly.

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Same as you! I love fountain pens and technology as well. Working as a Software Engineer and still love using fountain pens. But there are times when I use my Surface Pro to draw or write. Still pen and paper gave me the best experience.

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I am an old curmudgeon who uses fountain pens because I like fountain pens. While I might re-write my handwritten notes, into my computer, for keeping, I have never taken a photograph of my handwritten notes. I HAVE, however, gone in the other direction.

 

Sometimes, the message is important and sensitive, so I compose on my laptop, and copy by hand. Such was the case, when I composed, carefully, a note of condolence to my friend Terry. His father elected to cease all cancer treatment, and enter hospice care. I drafted and edited the note six or eight times, before hand-copying the final letter.

 

Consider this: The (1884 patent) feed system of a fountain pen, turns the ink flow "on" and "off", as needed, for smooth writing, without moving parts. How's that for technology ?

 

I hereby declare that any Millennial shall be permitted to write with a fountain pen, at any time, with fear of judgement or reprisal. :rolleyes:

Edited by Sasha Royale

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

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I would think most folks would just take a photo of a diagram as we all have a camera in our pocket nowadays.

 

Yes if it is a P&S with a zoom lens.

hmmm, not a bad idea.

 

With a cell phone camera, only if you are close enough to the whiteboard. Otherwise most of the pix is of people in the room.

Though I don't know how much a phone camera pix can be cropped into, and details like writing still be readable.

When the phone camera has a zoom, it would work better than the fixed lens phone camera.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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for years at work I have photographed my large white board, then sent the picture to people in the meeting...one day the tech director said that he had been offered a digital whiteboard, did I want it? Before I could respond, four people at the table emphatically said that they preferred getting my images in email.

 

Tim

Tim

 timsvintagepens.com and @timsvintagepens

 

 

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