Posts filed under Gel

Uni-ball R:E Erasable Gel Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Uni-ball R:E Erasable Gel Pen seems to be aiming to create some competition for the Pilot FriXion with this new line of erasable gel pens. There are a lot of similarities between the two. Uni improves the body design in some ways, I think, but hasn't improved on the overall ink quality. The FriXion pens have been fairly popular, and fans of Uni-ball may like these as well--but I have a lot of issues with them.

The feel of the pens is great. It's a sturdy, good build and doesn't feel like it's too delicate or flimsy. It has a nice rubber grip, decent clip, and a satisfying click mechanism. The eraser is located under a clear plastic cap on the click button. Uni has devised a special system that prevents the pen from clicking when it's inverted, so you can erase without retracting the tip. I noticed it sometimes takes an extra shake to disengage the lock mechanism. It also means that if you're in the habit (like me) of flipping your pen to click it against your leg or the desk, you'll have to adjust. The clear plastic cap that covers the eraser also has a short life expectancy. Being tiny and clear, if it rolls away, it may be difficult to find.

The ink is where my real issues with the pen come in. It's very unsaturated, as all of the erasable gel inks I've tried are. The black is really grey, and all the colors have a muted look to them. Uni accounts for this by calling the color "Off-Black", but I think that's marketing speak for "as close to black as we can get it". The muted tones are pretty, if you're expecting muted tones. I don't dislike the colors--I even love the orange in this set--but I'd love to see some more vibrant tones in the line.

Like the FriXion pens, the ink is heat-reactive. It's the heat from the friction of the plastic eraser that causes it to disappear. The eraser never wears down and doesn't leave a messy residue or dust. It does an okay job at erasing. It doesn't leave totally clean paper, but it's close. However, after about ten seconds, some of the ink begins to reappear. The pink and red did this the most--after about ten minutes a large portion of the erased area had reappeared, even at room temperature.

Because the ink disappears at temperatures over 140 degrees, and reappears at temperatures under 14 degrees, it's not recommended for important documents, signatures, or addressing envelopes. With ink that might disappear at any time, I can't think what it might be good for except for magic tricks and espionage. Every time I try to write with an erasable gel pen, I end up putting it back because of this volatile trait. I can't help but think of it as unreliable ink.

It's totally fun, though. As an experiment, I wrote a test page, and then I held it over a warm toaster. The ink vanished in seconds--though when I held the paper at an angle to the light, I could still see the texture of it on the page. Then I stuck it in the freezer. All the ink returned in less than three minutes, though even more muted than it had been before. It's a cool trick, but I wouldn't want it happening to my class notes or journal pages. While you can always freeze your page if your ink disappears in a hot car, if you've erased your work and then written over the same area--and then your page gets cold--you may have trouble reading the text. It can't be un-reappeared.

If you love erasable gel pens, and you love the Pilot FriXion, you might want to give these a try. They're a great version of a product that a lot of people enjoy. But the unreliability of the ink is a deal-breaker for me. It might be because I live somewhere that spends a good portion of the year below 14 degrees, but it all sounds too risky. I'd only use them to write something fleeting and unimportant, but I don't need 8 colors for that. Would be swell if I had black, though.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 1, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Uni-Ball, Erasable, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Sakura Decorese Gel Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

It was the pretty pastel color palettes that drew me to the Sailor Decorese Gel Pens. With the Floral and Fruity sets combined, there's a great variety of spring colors.

I was surprised when I first wrote with them. I'd definitely say these fit more into the realm of art supplies rather than writing tools. The ink wasn't quite what I expected from something called a gel pen--they remind me more of pigment or paint pens. The ink is thick and coats the paper, maintaining a glossy, raised surface even after drying. Drying takes quite a long time. When I used it to fill in areas in my journal, it wasn't a sit-and-wait-for-dry-time ink, but a get-up-and-do-something-else-while-you-wait dry time. The ink also can dry out on the tip of the pen, and sometimes requires wiping away, so it doesn't clog the flow or drag on the page. When the pens are left uncapped or set aside for a length of time they can require some priming to get started again. I also ran into issues when I tried to go back and write over the ink when it was partially dry. The tip would scrape away the old lines and make a general mess of things. But as long as the lines were totally dry, they could be layered safely.

Once I adjusted my expectations of these pens, I really enjoyed working with them. The flow is good, the ink has great coverage, and they write on a number of surfaces, like plastic, glass, metal, photos, or dark paper. They work great for drawing highlights or writing overtop of other media like watercolors or color washes.

The pen bodies are very well constructed. They're a sturdy white plastic with a flared snap cap. The cap helps stop the pen from rolling and also has an easy-to-see ink color swatch at the top. It also snaps to post securely. The body is decorated with a clear plastic wrap that's printed with the branding, a gold filigree pattern, and a floral mark that also indicates the ink color.

There isn't a grip section. They have a long conical tip in the same white plastic as the body, and a metal rollerball point. It feels fine to hold the pen back on the body, but I'd definitely prefer a defined grip section. Still, the pens are clearly not designed for long writing sessions, so grip comfort isn't a huge consideration.

Ultimately, I was disappointed to not have a standard gel ink in these lovely color sets. I do still use them fairly often, but the dry time is a bit of a deal-breaker when it comes to everyday use. They are very pleasant as paint pens, but the product name is misleading. There's nothing wrong with the product itself--it's just another reminder of how product names shape users' expectations--and how a good product can bum you out if it's not what you were looking for.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on May 25, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Sakura, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Zebra Super Marble Gel Pens Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Zebra Super Marble Gel Pens have a neat marbled ink effect. The colors are swirly with a metallic sheen. They're a fun throwback to classic 90s gel pens and a reminder of how awesome my school notes used to look.

In the set of four pens, one swirls with blue, pink, and purple; one is purple, green, and blue; one is pink, green, and blue; and one would not write at all, but it would be yellow, pink, and blue. Obviously, the one that would not write is a bit of a disappointment. I noticed that pen had a significantly lower ink level in the package, so I wonder if there was an issue with the pressure in the cartridge. No amount of coaxing got any ink to flow. But the other three write very smoothly, so I think I just got a lemon. My expectations of Zebra are pretty high, though, thanks to the quality of their other products, so I hope this is a rare fluke. Especially because the charm of these pens is all in the ink.

The bodies are lightweight clear plastic. It's cool to see the marbled ink in the cartridge, but the plastic does feel quite brittle and I wonder if they'll show stress fractures over time, or if the clips will break off. They did survive an afternoon with my toddler, so maybe they're made of stronger stuff than they appear.

The cap secures with a click. It clicks to post as well, though in both positions is spins freely and rattles a bit when agitated. Writing with it posted gets a bit irritating.

There aren't many pens out there with this cool effect--so if you want some swirly, colorful writing, it's easy to forgive a few flaws. The color effect can be a bit sporadic--depending on how the ink flows, you might get consistent marbling, or you might get stuck on one color for a few paragraphs before the ink shifts again. And sometimes you might see all three colors in the space of a single character. The randomness is part of the fun, I think. These are pens of whimsy.

I love that they write on different colors of paper. I think they will be great for addressing colorful envelopes, scrapbooking, or planner decoration. The ink is acid-free and archival, so it should stand the test of time. They could add neat effects to coloring books as well.

I can't say I fully recommend them until I see if others have the same quality control issues I had. I don't think I'd buy more, when these run out, but I do think they'll add a bit of pizzazz to my holiday cards this year.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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