Long back before pens were introduced, pencils were the only form of writing instruments used by men and rather effectively too. Before coloring with crayons and paints, every child first learns the ways of using pencils in not only in writing but also in creating drawings.
The first ever pencil may have been the ancient Roman stylus, which was a thin metal stick, made of lead and made use of for scratching on papyrus, a form of early paper. The word 'pencil', it is said has been derived from the Latin word 'Pencillus' which means 'little tail'. Things have changed since those days and modern day men have developed and introduced pencils in attractive and innovative forms and also has packaged it modernly and although with the quality of pens made in the market is setting benchmarks, pencils are still preferred not only by school children but also by many corporate professionals when it comes down to noting down important points of a board meeting. An artist makes use of pencils to draw his ideas on paper. For him, a pencil is the most essential art material. His efforts in his art work will always be incomplete without a pencil. There are many instances in an artist's life when an idea for an art just crops up. In these situations, it is a pencil which comes in handy. There are a wide range of pencils available in the market and you can always buy the type of pencil that best suits your requirement.
Also, for children, pencils are the best writing or drawing instruments as they are user friendly and at the same time accurate and attractive. The popular pencils which have a small eraser at their tail end are very famous with the kids.
Types of pencils
The old-style pencil, consisting of graphite and wood produce the most readable work and create the least distractions. These are made of a mixture of clay and graphite and their darkness can vary from light grey to black. Charcoal pencils are some other types of pencils. As the name itself suggests, these are made of charcoal and provide fuller blacks than graphite pencils, but tend to smudge easily and are more abrasive in contrary to graphite. Grease pencils, also known as China markers write on virtually any surface including glass, metal and on photographs. The most commonly found grease pencils are encased in paper, but they can also be encased in wood. Coloured pencils are the most demanded ones, more so by the academic segment. There are three main types of coloured pencils available. These include wax-based pencils, which are the plain colored pencils. There are also oil-based pencils, which are often used in various crafts. The last type, gaining popularity among the rubber-stamp community, is the watercolor pencil. Mechanical pencils are the type of pencils that come in many styles. In mechanical pencils, the lead of the pencil is encased between an engineered case. This engineered case is made of metal, plastic or both instead of wood. In these cases the lead is pressed forward through an external gadget.
The eco-friendly Neem pencils are sheer pieces of artistic beauties having the essential merits of neem wood. These pencils are very classy and are in vogue with the latest writing instruments. These pencils are 100% eco-friendly, anti-bacterial, non-toxic and are made of neem twig mostly obtained from northern India. These pencils are also popularly referred to as herbal pencils. These are available in both the colour as well as the normal category. Apart from the neem pencils, there are a host of other eco-friendly pencils which have been introduced for children's safety apart from protecting mother earth. 'Navneet' has been at the forefront of introducing such types of pencils. The technology used to manufacture these pencils is popular abroad. Althouygh it still has to be explored deeply in the Indian industry. The eco-friendly pencils are usually available in stripes and metallic. Attractively packaged, the costs of the eco-friendly pencils hover around Rs.30/- for the stripes and Rs.40/- for the metallic ones. 
Issues with modern pencils
Modern pencils, though very useful for adults can be dangerous for children. The type of pencils that takes thin leads into a plastic or metal body, are particularly worrisome. Children in particular should be discouraged from using them, more so because the writing that they produce is very faint. Such little pressure is required to avoid breaking the lead that it renders the writing virtually invisible. In addition, the constant breaking of leads and refilling of the contraption are some other major hindrances for children.
Hardness Matters
The pencils can have the exterior of chassis or cane made with wood or plastic, being generally the first ones of smaller quality and addressed to a younger consumers. Besides the wrapping material, their external form can also be selected, which can be either round or hexagonal. The rounded ones can be more difficult to sharpen as they slid among the fingers when applied with pressure. Also, round pencils are usually very unstable on the drawing table. The hexagonal pencils are more convenient ones. The selection of the hardness of the pencils depends on the purpose of the usage. For meticulous or accurate drawing as well as for lineal drawing, hard refills conserve the fine line and they don't stain the paper. They can produce very clean results. If our objective is to carry out artistic works, soft refills will provide bigger expressivity and flexibility to the artist.
Industry Overview
The pencil manufacturing is as interesting as it is note-worthy. They are manufactured industrially by assimilating finely ground graphite and clay powders, adding water, forming long spaghetti-like strings, and firing them in thermally insulated chambers. The final strings are put in oil or molten wax, which seeps into the tiny holes of the material, resulting in smoother writing. An incense-cedar plank with several long parallel grooves is cut to make a slat, and the graphite or clay strings are inserted into the grooves. Another grooved plank is glued on top, and the whole thing is then cut into individual pencils, which are then varnished or painted. In India, the core is sourced mostly from units in Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, whereas the outer wood, made up of timber is sourced from the Western Ghats or incense cedar from the US.
The industry of pencils went through a phase of consolidation in the early period of 2000, with the giant companies eating into the business of the smaller manufacturers and the multinationals setting up manufacturing facilities overseas. But as the time has gone by, many small manufacturers have carved a niche for themselves in the industry. Also, many manufacturers have also changed their preferences as many units have started manufacturing various different types of pencils such as the mechanical ones because of growing pressure from the various International brands. Since the per capita income of people is always on the rise, people's demands for branded pencils and other stationery products have increased and hence smaller domestic units have to improvise. Small units now go for high-value products such as drawing pencils, glass markers and cosmetic pencils, besides making made-to-order pencils. In India, Maharashtra and Delhi consists of the two biggest industries when it comes to manufacturing pencils. While Maharashtra accounts for 75 per cent of the pencils manufactured in the country, Delhi makes about 15 per cent. As of 2006, the market for pencils was worth approximately Rs. 200 crore.
Using pencils as promotional tools is the latest trend used more so by various renowned brands, thus increasing the value and importance of pencils. Most of the corporate sector order for pencils with their logo or company name. The peak demand for pencils begins in June since major manufacturing season lasts from January to April. Thus, the products are in transit in May and in the shops by June. The industry is thus expected to grow on a large scale in the future, driven by demand from an increasing population and growing literacy.
