Rotring Rapidograph Cleaning/Unclogging

I use technical pens for my designs and when I don't use them for a while the ink dries and clogs my pen nibs. For ink cartridge style Rotring Rapidographs this has never been a problem and cleaning is a simple process so try it before you toss them out.

Stupidly, I forgot to turn on my microphone in the footage I shot after 11 hours of soaking my nibs so I deleted that footage and I just explain what I did with the nibs after I got them working again and reconstructed.

I hope this comes in handy for anyone with these pens that comes across this dried ink situation. I find cleaning this brand to be an easy process but with some other brands, I found that I couldn't always resurrect them post-clogging.

I've been using this brand/line of pens since 1985 or so and am a professional illustrator. There's other processes one can employ but these simple measures have always worked just fine for me. I haven't needed solutions or cleaners but you might which could depend on how well their inks go back into solution when soaked in water. Some have noted in the comments section that they've used hot water to soak their nibs in and that's been effective, so if you try the room temp water and that doesn't work, maybe try heating up some water and soaking your nibs in that.

Rotring Rapidograph Technical Drawing Pen College Set, 4 Pens with Line Widths of 0.25mm to 0.7mm: https://amzn.to/2Qx9t67

3 pack black ink cartridges: https://amzn.to/3cBq0OP

NOTE: I get comments by people mentioning the screw threads in the barrel base as what you use to insert and remove the nib into the cartridges. I assumed people would know that as the title of this video isn't "general usage" but "cleaning/unclogging". If you use the threads on a dried up nib that's practically fused to the cartridge, you risk stripping those plastic threads. They aren't fragile but it could happen which would render them useless. If you have reasonable hand skills it's easy to take a pair of pliers and use the required pressure to not absolutely crush a nib which those mentioning something about it seem to think as maybe they can't use a tool without applying vice grip pressure on it? If so, these aren't the pens for them probably as they'll completely bend the finer nibs for tech pens. Microns/disposables would probably be better.