My pen list

You've seen this post several times in various forms. Here's a May 2009 UPDATE to my pen list-

Oh, how I love my pens. Here's a little blurb I wrote about my favorite pens-you know, the ones that work and really write on acrylic paint and what not...

Just so you know, my first criteria in using anything in a class is that I must *buy* it for myself. I must buy it, try it and LOVE it.

Another criteria for a pen to be "good" for me is that it *must* write on (obviously, dried) acrylic paint without skipping, jumping or getting all gunked up!

My final criteria for a pen to be "good" is that it's non toxic or doesn't have an odor to it. I can NOT use a pen that smells in any way. Regular sharpies-NO! (Besides they leave a halo effect on your pages over time). Anything oil based-NO! Anything with xylene-NO! Anything with a bad, scary warning label-NO! I might sound like a pain in the ass, but really, it's what works for me. My boy only has one kidney and I'd like to keep both of mine in case he needs one-or both ;)-one day.

You should also know that I work for ME. I am not sponsored nor do I represent ANY company. I buy my pens from a variety of sources-

the stores I teach at-see the links to the right of this page...all of those stores carry at least some of my favorite pens. I know that Debbie at Frenzy Stamper has LOTS of the sharpie poster paint pens in stock and she also carries the best selection of sakura pens. Yes, she will mail order.

When I want a pen fix, I go to Jetpens. They are one of my most favorite places on the planet to buy pens. I LOVE them. They have free shipping over $25 and they are FAST. Seriously. I LOVE this company. It's a small mom and pop company, too-yay for mom and pops! Get on their email list, too. I LOVEEEEEEEEEE their pens. They're the ones who sold me my latest pen case that I LOVE...it holds a shitload of pens.

Soooo in no particular order, here are my favorite pens:

Gelly Roll Glaze and the Gelly Roll Souffle Pens both from Sakura-

Glaze pens
Souffle pens

All gel pens are NOT alike! The Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze and Souffle are the *only* gel pens that I have found to work 100% and NOT skip. I go through the black and the white pens though a lot (I use them a lot though!!)

The difference between the Glaze and the Souffle is the glaze are a "gloss" finish. The souffle are a "matte" finish. They write on most surfaces (including glass, but I don't care about that, I just want to use them in my journals!) The Souffle will write and actually show up on virtually any background-I love them. Keep in mind though, with all of the pens, how they "look" on a page, depends on the background color and the pen color you are using. That means if you are using a red pen on a red (or pink or orange) background, the color will not pop or be as vibrant as if you were using a green pen, for example...

Another thing you need to know, the Glaze pens-there is a white pen and a clear pen. The clear pen is a "resist" pen -think of it like invisible ink, write with it, let it dry and then use a brush marker over it, voila! The white pen is a real white pen (the following is true for both the Glaze version and the Souffle version): it will write clear but dry white! It is a REAL white pen. It is the BEST white pen on the market, IMO. It's $2 of easy love.

Also another plus, you can paint over these pens! YAY!! They are permanent.

One thing: the slower you write the more "raised or embossed" the pens become. You have to write reallllly slow for them to be really embossed. I don't care about this feature of the pens. I just love the pens!!

The only thing I don't like about the pens: they don't label the damn pens. To find out which of the pens is clear vs. white, I have to hold the pens side by side to figure out that the cap that is the most opaque is the real white pen.

The other thing that I don't like about the pens: there aren't any new colors. C'mon, it's May 2009. WHERE are the new pens?!?! I'll never forget asking one of the "suit men" at CHA a couple of years ago if they were coming out with new colors. He looked at me strangely and said "Aren't the 20-something colors we have enough?" Um. Are you frickin' serious? No. Come on. Get off your lazy ass and come out with some new colors. NOW. please.

I *LOVE* these pens. If you only buy one kind of pen, I would strongly suggest either of the glaze or Souffle! I've used other Sakura pens and other gel pens but they are not the same as the Glaze and Souffle. Trust me on this one.

Uniball Signo white gel pen- I started using these several years ago when they first came to the U.S. I loved how vibrant and crisp the pens were and cheap, too. About $2 a pen. I recommended them to everyone I came across. They were a great pen. The bad thing is: they dry out/run out very very quickly. Also, they are NOT permanent. Once Sakura came out with white pens in the glaze and souffle, I tend to lean towards those instead.

Uniball Signo DX 151-I LOVE this pen. It's tiny tiny tiny. I love it for all of my tiny writing. Waterproof, too! It doesn't always work well on acrylic paint, but so what-I LOVE this pen. I almost always have one with me.Uniball Signo Broad UM 153 Black-Another favorite pen. Unlike the white uniball signo, this one doesn't tend to skip as much. It's another fave that I usually have with me.

Sharpie Poster Paint Pen (waterbased)- I love these pens. LOVE them. They are cheap too. They run about $3 each. They come in several different "nib" sizes. The only nib size I do NOT like is the one that looks like a big, fat bingo marker and costs about $7. That is the only one I do NOT like.

I LOVE the extra fine pen. I Love all of the different tip size options. I love the colors-oh wow, wow WOW. My favorites are the Black, White and Flourescent pink. I have them in every color but those are the colors I use the most. I wish they'd make one in Paynes grey...
One thing, if you buy them, make sure you get the WATERBASED and NOT the oil based. I don't like using anything oil based. Nope, not for me at all.

Another great thing, unlike most sharpies, these don't smell!!!

When you first buy them, put them upright, and press down once on the nib. It's called "burping the pen". It will help with the air that is inside the pen and makes them last longer. Then shake and pump the pen like the directions say...

I loveeeeeeee these pens. You do need to try the different tip sizes-they rock!!

Update-The water-based poster paint pens have been discontinued by Sanford. There is NO substitute. I've been asking people to call Sanford and tell them that WE want the pens. They will tell you that they are still available-yes, but they are no longer making them. The pens were never easy to find. They weren't well marketed, hence that's why no one really knew about them.

Another substitute (same ink, similar tip, same Sanford company) is the Uni Posca Paint pen. I've only found one distributor for it in the U.S. so I've been keeping kind of quiet on the pen. They are readily available in the U.K.-
http://www.durablesupply.com/pospainmar.html

Latte

Sweets

First up, the lattes and the sweets which are similar to the Sakura Glaze and Souffle pens. What I love about the Lattes and Sweets is the TIP. SKINNY. Also, the colors are different! I never leave home without at least one pack of these! Oh yes, the whites both write clear and dry white. The pens are also a matte finish. I LOVE these pens!!! LOVE! Finally, they do last a LONG time. I'm still using my original set.

The Pentel Pocket Brush Pen-
I love the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. You can write on dried paint with it (some times. It can be temperamental on paint. I'll write and then write over it on top 'til it comes out) and paper (obviously). I LOVE the brush pen. Expensive. Hard to find. But, I love it. Find it here.

Sakura Micron Pens-a huge favorite with illustrators. Again like the other pens, they come in nine million colors but I love BLACK. I do like these pens but the tiny nibs give me a hard time on acrylic paint so watch the nib sizes. I love how the pens are permanent, crisp and intense with color. I love how they are also waterproof that I can paint over them or use my Neo Art crayons on them. Watch the nib size though on acrylic paint...tiny nibs tend to skip and gunk up on the paint...the bigger the nib size the fewer problems you should have...

Pitt Pens from Faber Castell- Black.
I have bought these in every color but I only really use the black. They are a nice crisp, permanent, vibrant black. My preferred tip is the "brush" pen. Love how you can paint over them once dry, too. They now come in a big fat size, too which is fun! It also comes in paynes grey-love!!!!

Zig writer and vellum pens-Zig makes a damn good pen. Their Vellum Pens are AWESOME. Not only permanent and waterproof but you can write on acrylic painted pages AND photographs! Yes, photos! AND they don't come off!! The writer and vellum pens come in nine million colors but BLACK is my favorite. I don't like a lot of the nibs other than the "writer" pens which are a bullet shape.

*****

My disclaimer: all of the info above is written and compiled by ME via a trial and error process. If you are ever not sure of if a pen will work or not, bring your journal to the store with you and test out a page on a painted page! That's what I do!

Also, KEEP THE CAPS ON THE PENS when not in use. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I bring my pens to classes and then sometimes people forget to put the pens on them, they dry up very quickly if you don't recap them so just watch out for this.

Keep the pens flat-like they are laying on a desk. This is the best way for most pens to be stored... I know they look pretty in your special cup with the caps up facing you, but be forewarned, over time the ink will drop to the bottom of the pen and you can kiss it goodbye. How do I know this? It happened to me. Nine gazillion dollars worth of pens that I could just toss in the trash. Keep 'em flat. Keep the covers on 'em. Use 'em up! Love 'em!

Questions? You can leave a comment here in the post or email me at EGorey99 (at) sbcglobal.net

(take the at out and put a @ in it's place..it's to block spam bots ;P)

What's your favorite, must have pen?