Speedball is an American company that manufactures art materials and other stationery items. The company, first famous by its dip pens, has expanded its range of products to other art areas such us painting, sculpture and printing press. [1]
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Stationery |
| Predecessor | C. Howard Hunt |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder(s) | Walt Glazer |
| Headquarters | Statesville, North Carolina, US |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Walt Glazer (CEO) [2] |
| Products | Art materials |
| Revenue | $20 to $50 million [3] |
| Website | www.speedballart.com |
Contents |
In 1899 C. Howard Hunt formed his own company and established it in Camden, New Jersey. [4] The "Speedball" pen was developed and patented by sign letterer Ross F. George of Seattle. This pen had a square-tipped pen could make broad and thin lines. George took the patent to the C. Howard Hunt Pen Company in 1915.
A new chapter to the history of Speedball began November 14, 1997 when CEO Walt Glazer led a buyout of the Speedball division during Hunt Corporation’s restructuring. [5] Subsequently, Hunt pens are currently commercialized under the "Speedball" brand. [6]
The following is a list with the Speedball’s and other brands products commercialize by the firm: [7]
| Brand/s | Products |
|---|---|
| Speedball | Screen Printing[8], Block Printing[9], Acrylics, Mediums, Calligraphy Nibs, Inks, pen holders, ceramic glazes, pottery tools and accessories, Palletes, Glass Markers, Empty Containers |
| Artista | Pottery wheels |
| Athena | Brushes |
| Bienfang | Papers, Young Artist Paper line |
| Boss | Pottery wheels |
| Elegant Writers | Markers |
| Mona Lisa | metal leaf, Adhesives, Sealants, Paint thinner, Brush Cleaners, art boards |
| Printmaster | woodblock printing Inks, Printing Presses |
| Pink Soap | Brush Cleaner and Conditioner |
Speedball makes nibs for dip pens in a variety of sizes. The sizes for their C-series flat-tipped pens (such as for Italic writing) are given below:
| Nib size | Width of nib |
|---|---|
| C-0 | 5mm |
| C-1 | 4mm |
| C-2 | 3mm |
| C-3 | 2mm |
| C-4 | 1.5mm |
| C-5 | 1mm |
| C-6 | 0.5mm |
Speedball and Hunt pens have been widely used by a legion of comic book artists to ink their pages. Hunt pens were the choice of Walt Simonson, Dale Keown, Bob McLeod, Kevin Nowlan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Sinnott and Andy Lanning (#102 model), George Pérez (#100), Mike DeCarlo (#103), Drew Geraci (#22), and Joe Rubinstein (#100, 103) [11]. Carl Barks used a Speedball A-5 or B-6 for lettering the dialogues although he was an Esterbrook enthusiastic. [12]