Pens that Make Your Work Easier: Truth or Fiction?
by Diana L. Martin
I’m a geek when it comes to writing instruments. I love to try new pens, markers, highlighters, etc. - especially if they supposedly do something great or unusual. Today I’m featuring three pens, each of which claim to help you in one way or another.
Let’s get started. First up is the uni-ball One Gel pen.
The marketing campaign for this pen says that the pen “features "One" ink for supremely smooth, ultra-vivid results. Super Ink technology protects against water, fading and fraud to ensure your writing stays visible and safe. Revolutionary vibrant pigment ink makes dark inks look darker and bright inks look brighter. Delivers clear and bold writing without smearing or bleeding. A strong, wide-opening wire clip provides easy attachment to folders or notebooks. Color indicator at the top of the pen makes it easy to identify ink color.”
So, is this truth or fiction? Well, as you can see, most of the claims are just general, inconsequential features - marketing mumbo jumbo. Yes, the ink color shows up well on the paper. Yes, the clip opens wide, making it easy to clip onto something and yes, the color is indicated on the top of the pen, but I don’t count these as significant accomplishments. The major claims here are that it protects against water and fading, thereby preventing fraud and that it doesn’t smear or bleed.
Of course I put it to the test - I wrote with it, then purposely spilled water on it. The results? See for yourself:
You can see clearly exactly where I spilled the water. The paper is puckered, the ink is faded and smeared. Does it smear when I write with it normally and don’t spill water on it? No.
The verdict? For me, it’s Fiction. All the minor qualities they tout are insignificant and there are a whole lot of pens out there that don’t smear or bleed, so the one feature that would make this pen stand out from the crowd and entice me to buy it is the one at which it failed miserably. Also, I don’t like the way it feels in my hand. I give it 3 paperclips.
The next pen I want to show you is the Integra Retractable Quick-Dry Gel Pen.
Its claim to fame is that it dries quickly, is smudge resistant (which would make it good for lefties) and writes extra smoothly. Now none of these are transformational features and, like the uni-ball pen, there are multiple pens on the market that make those same claims. So why am I showing you this one?
Because if it lives up to its claim, it will save you a lot of money. Integra offers a lot of different pens and their pricing is generally $8-$10 per dozen less than the name brands you probably buy now. If you need to cut costs, this would be one good way.
Here was my test. I wrote this and then immediately ran my hand over it to try to smear it.
Truth or Fiction? There are a few small smears at the end of each sentence - mostly where I put my periods - and there is one on the tail of the Y also. That’s really not bad. The rest of the text is smudge-free. The pen doesn’t claim to be smudge-proof, just smudge-resistant and I think it lives up to that claim. It does write very smoothly - in fact, it writes more smoothly than the uni-ball pen above that claimed to have the super smooth ink.
I also like the design style of this pen, the feel of the barrel in my hand and the visible ink feature. And the price is a major plus!
It measures up to its claim nicely - I give it Truth and 5 paperclips!
Lastly, I want to briefly mention a new pen by BIC. It’s called the Revolution Ocean Ballpoint.
I included this one in the article because it helps solve a different type of problem - being environmentally friendly. This pen is made of at least 50% recycled plastic, so if you’re looking for that type of product, this is a good option.
I like the style of the pen and the visible ink feature. Also, in keeping with the eco-friendliness, this pen is refillable, which I like. What I don’t like is that to use the pen you push down on the clicker on the top of the pen, but to retract it you push on a button on the side of the pen. That’s an awkward setup and I keep trying to retract it by clicking the button on top like I did to open it in the first place. Having two mechanisms makes no sense to me. The grooves at the bottom of the pen make an attractive, stylish grip, but if I wrote with it for a long time they started to hurt my fingers, so that’s a negative for me since I use the same pen all day long.
This gets Truth considering that its claim is being eco-friendly and overall I give it 4 paperclips.
