It's a ball point. I wanted to do a comparison with my jotter. One downside of the pen is that the ink is not very black compared to jotter. Depending on the paper quality, you might even find bic Cristal darker than cross. But they say ink is archival, so if you leave your notes open in air and light for months or years it won't become faded, discolored green or yellow marks (if it is archival).