Rotring Rapidograph vs Isograph 

Two years ago my father gave me his set of Isograph Rotrings as a gift which he bought in the seventies (of the last century lol) and used it for about 10 years... I cleaned them all and used them for a while and I absolutely adore them. but I must say... dear God the company never even changed anything in the pen. Not even the colour

I've been using those since late nineties and they still work. One advice though: don't dismantle isographs smaller than .35 completely, because the needle is REALLY thin. I had to buy another .18 isograph just because I couldn't thread the needle back in.

I like the Isograph, although I prefer the simpler Micronorm and Variant pens. If you find an old Isograph that is full of dried ink, be aware that Rotring does not recommend removal of the Isograph's inner needle for cleaning. However, after a bit of soaking, the inner needle should come out and go back in easily if the pen is 0.35mm or bigger. But it's nearly impossible to replace the needle on a 0.13mm pen, it will probably break or bend rather go back into the tiny metal tube that forms the tip of the pen.

As a former architectural student, I found these pens very frustratingly fussy to deal with. They jam easily and require cleaning, which is very messy. You cannot use them with any rapidity, paradoxically. They should never be used on soft paper, as the steel tip will cut into the paper, ruining the drawing and jamming the pen. On the plus side, they make a perfect, even, black line, and can be used with straight edges and compasses. And they tolerate permanent ink ok, though it adds to the need for constant cleaning. When my friend the architect was using these, decades ago, he never left ink in them for more than a week, then drained and cleaned them and stored them empty. This is a great idea; and if you have to use them, highly recommended. Personally I can't deal with pens at all; I draw with graphite in a mechanical pencil, or charcoal, usually "Nero" charcoal, which has oil embedded in it to greatly reduce the production of dust all the hell over the place. Were I to use a pen again, it would be a micron. Teoh, do you have a video that explains why you draw with a fountain pen? I find them more trouble than they are worth, so I wonder why you like them. Thanks, CXC

Thanks to your video I managed to fix my old Rotring Isograph (0.3) that I thought was beyond repair. I didn’t know I could take out the inner needle; it just needed some cleaning up. Thank you so much!

NO WAAAY! I have my isographs for more than 10 years and i didn't know they can be fully dismantled. This would have spared me soo much trouble cleaning them, and certainly will from now on. thx

Thanks ,Teoh! And Happy New Year!

In-depth and informative review. It helped me in my buying decision. Thank you so much.

I remember having that different brand one years ago rapidgoraph I know they must be cleaned when not in use, thanks for the review Teoh,

Thank you. Many questions: can you draw on any rough paper? Can you hold at any angle or you need to hold vertically? Can you use normal ink ? Thank you

I'm a Korean viewer. It was a great help. Thank you.

Thank you, you answered all of my questions

Tip from long time artist, buy yourself a little ultrasonic cleaner, it will clean even very congested pens, {it cleans your jewellery also lol}

this was super informative!

You always have such helpful and thorough videos! Thank you for creating & sharing them. I have a question though. How long can it sit before clogging and is there a difference between frequency of clogs between the isograph and rapidograph inks? I have read/watched different sources say that anything over a week and there could be a clog. A source said that the finer nibs should be cleaned after every use. Another source said that rapidographs (because its a capillary cartridge) can sit around longer than isographs without clogging. Ahhh! there just seems to be so much information for a pen. I guess that I'm also worried about having to draw with the pen vertical and the finer point catching on any surface that isn't hot-press/vellum.

Awesome review, thank you so much.

Thank you for this very helpful video!!!!!

Helpful video, thank you

Very helpful! Thanks a lot!

Thank you Teoh!

Amazing tools

Hi, Teoh I cannot find the link to the blunt needle and syringe and need to refill my pens. BTW your utube presentations on how to clean the rapidograph pens and identifying the difference between rapidograph and isograph are of very high quality. thank you very much.

Happy New Year, Teoh! It's 5 minutes past midnight, January 1, in Los Angeles.

I have rotring rapidographs and they work pretty well for me. And are quite cheap in my coutry too.

Hello sir..i just want to ask if staedler ink can be put to rotring tech pen..plss ans. Thank u

Happy new year! right now in my country is 12:18AM.

Has any one had luck using Koh-I-Noor's in size 0.18 and 0.13? I bought them and returned them because one barely worked, and the other one didn't at all. Im guessing the cleaning pump tool could suck them working again. But I use Rotring Rapidiograph 0.18 and 0.13 as a replacement for these sizes. They work better because the ink that Rapidographs use isn't really waterproof and is less clogging. Also Radiograph lines are a bit thicker then Koh-I-Noor, Isograph lines are thicker then Rapidograph I heard. I like Koh-I-Noors the most, but I have only tried one size of the Isograph.

Hola necesito ayuda urgente Quiero comprarme los rotring rapidograph pero quiero saber si los recargo con tinta y jeringa como lo haces tú quiero saber si voy a tener problemas con el funcionamiento ya que los rapidograph están diseñados para el cartucho y no para el rellenado de tinta

I do not see the link you referred to for the syringe you are using. Can you please update your description section to include said link, please? Thanks!

Many thaaaanks!

been using staedtler mars-matic iso pen

Please make a video showing the INNER NEEDLE BEING PUT BACK IN WITHOUT BENDING IT ALL TO PIECIES!

HI Teoh, great video as always. I'd like to know if the Isograph tip and section fits on the Rapidograph body? Thanks

The debt offering can be similar, but with faber castell please?

Thanks !

Cool man!

Hello Teoh, I'm thinking in re-use my old Isograph. Is it possible to refill it with fountain pen ink? what about Platinum Carbon ink? Do you think it would work? Thank you

Thanks for explanation. I have rotering pens .

I'm using Staedtler Marsmatic technical pens (less well-known than Iso/Rapidographs, but worth checking out, I really enjoy them, they're simpler in construction than Rotrings). I do use them with Rotring ink, but in my experience that ink isn't waterproof on most papers... though it should be. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good ink that's nice and black and fully waterproof?

Hello Teoh, Could you tell me what the difference is between these Rotring pens and Faber Castell Pitt pens or Sakura Microns? Thanks and a happy new year!

this question sounds stupid, but, do you have to refill isographs with the ink that rotring makes? or can you use other types of ink to refill it?

I prefer Isograph, it might help shake the needle so as not to dry the ink

do they can swap their pen nibs? i can find pen nibs for rapidograph in my country, but not isograph. but i also heard that isograph is more easily refillable, so i want to know if they can replace with other’s pen nib.

Hi What type of inks should be use in the isograph pen? Or do the makers recomend a certain brand? Thanks for this informative video. Cheers frm Australia.:)

Well we need to see how your other pen does work by the same brand (the one in the box). a nice drawing comparison using the 3 pens. this one was a nice video explanation. thank you Teoh as always. I like your videos a lot, I'm older than you btw.

Jesus this is the the modern fountain pen I dream of... ^_^

at 5:13 - not only a hole for ink, but also a slot for a screw-driver to remove the needle-shaker!

Hi. Which is best: Rotring vs. Staedtler vs. Faber Castell technical pens? Thank you. God bless, Proverbs 31

HI Teoh, I have been using an isograph pen since high school (for drawing & writing) and I always use the Rotring ink for it. can we use other type of ink in it (ie, India ink, Fountain pen ink, etc), I mean that I have never tried anything other than the Rotring ink. thanks

koh i noor vs rotring. Which company would you pick and why? Thank you.

Thank you for this information. Question, is the rapidograph easier to maintain than the isograph?

Whats better, Koh-I-Noors or Rotring Isographs?

Thanks as always, Teoh. So why would you use this type of pen as opposed to a Micron of the same size? Is it the consistency of the thickness of the line?

I loved my rapidograph, until it stopped working, i had the 0.25mm version and would use it for illustrations. However it always took a while to get the ink flowing and one time after not using it for 3 days or so i could not get it to start at all. I put it in water to maybe soak the ink out as this had worked before, but no luck. Next i even bought the rotring cleaning fluid and even this didn't work. Somehow i've got a bad feeling that there is dry ink stuck in the needle which is almost impossible to get out. I feel like these pens are very high maintenance, and mine only lasted 6 months because i cant get it to work again, which is very disappointing. But i can say that no other pens i've used compare to the quality and detail these will give you... even so that i would risk buying another, with maybe a larger nib to make cleaning easier.

Whait, isnt kohinoor the one who makes centrifuges?

can i use a isograph nib in a rapidograph body?

4:13 i never knew that...clearly the school have never thought me that. now i feel bad on my pens for misplacing them. and they're hard to find in the house,plus they're pricey :(

At 4:47 you could have gone further - unscrewed the black plastic nib-holder. Yep! It does come out!

Gud 🥰 but no any test write 🤕

Good pen but not for cursive copperplate. I already have 0.1, 0,2 and 0.5mm from 1990. And it's still work.

Writing / drawing is not the same - rapidograph nibs are softer more suitable for drawing and sketching ( they wear out ) , isograph nibs are much harder more suited to drafting paper / hard smooth paper, not suited for sketching on cartridge type papers or even Bristol boards as the hardness of the nib seriously rips softer paper and the lines are very scratchy

Hi, Teoh. Can i use this pens on watercolor paper?

So we can say that Koh-i-noor rapidograph are rotring's isograph pen

These pens look so technical and scary. I will never buy them until I see someone else talking about it. Might consider though it still looks troublesome.

You can actually buy ink cartridges for the isographs.

I have rotring 2000 isograph

and isograph have many ink colour varieties ;)

The main issue I have with the isograph is that I fear that the cartridge could fall off while keeping the pen in a pocket or carrying it around, for example. It just doesn't seem to have a safe grip to me.

I had a Koh I Noor rapidograph... what a nightmare. Used it for a few weeks 3 years ago and it has worked since after numerous cleaning attempts. Tech pens aren't for the younger crowd, I stick to the micron and staedtler pens. Same results without all the time wasted on cleaning and ink splashed all over the place lol smh

I clean my rapidos with mentholated spirits

Microns for life........