Mark's Maste Washi Tape Basic Visible Neon Giveaway

I love washi tape. Bright, vibrant, fun, washi tape. I use it in, and on, my notebooks, on electrical cords, and on a whole host of random items that you wouldn’t think would be served by washi tape.

I picked up the Basic Visible Neon set by Mark’s in a recent JetPens sponsorship lot, and these colors check all of my boxes. How fun is this group? So fun, that I have a tough time deciding which one to grab out of the stack.

You may have a tough time too if you win this giveaway. I’m giving away one set to one winner, so read the rules below and enter away!

Mark's Maste Washi Tape Basic Visible Neon Giveaway

Mark's Writable Maste Washi Tape Review

I never thought I needed washi tape. Now I can’t live without it. What is it about these little strips of awesomeness that makes them so great?

My latest discovery is Mark's Writable Maste Washi Tape, which, when I saw it came in a grid pattern, jumped at the chance to get. I had already been a fan of traditional washi tapes for years, so adding another cool one to the collection that I could write on was an easy choice.

Now let’s be clear about a few things up front. First off, you don’t neeeeeed washi tape. Any regular tape will do for most normal uses, and will likely do a better job at actually sticking things together. Secondly, you can write on many tapes, both standard and of the washi variety, with ballpoint pens, permanent markers, and pencils. And third, they can be expensive, especially when compared to the basics.

So, why washi tape? For the same reason you buy that purple gel ink pen, or that shimmer ink, or that eleventh notebook. They are fun, and allow you to make your stationery personal. What you put on the page is an expression of yourself, and washi tape fits right in with all of it.

My main use for washi tape is to embellish my visual journal. I’ve discussed my process before, and adding this writable washi tape to my kit gives me something else fun to play with. Couldn’t I just write on the page itself? Of course! But why not have even more fun with the process than I normally do?

Writing on this tape actually works. It is designed to be used with water-based inks, which standard tapes can’t handle. Anything I threw at it - from gel, to roller, to pencil, to fountain, and more - worked. The wettest inks, such as the Schmidt P8127 rollerball refill and the Montblanc JFK fountain pen ink, did take a long time to dry. Over 30 seconds for each in fact, so you don’t want to drag your hand over them immediately or close your notebook until you are sure they are dry.

Despite that, I was still impressed with how well this tape performed. I could write on it with ease, and pull and it restick as needed, just like any other washi tape.

One of the best parts of the stationery hobby is discovering fun and interesting ways to use the products I have. Sure, I’d get by with a basic pen and notebook just fine, but this is way more fun, and it is way more me. And I plan on experimenting and discovering for the rest of my life.

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

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Mark's HiBi Weekly Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Mark's HiBi Weekly notebook is a small spiral notebook that spreads your entire week on a single page, making it easy to plan events and tasks for each day. Unlike a lot of weekly or daily planners, this one features a wide landscape orientation, and also sports a back cover that allows the notebook to stand up on its own so you can easily reference the planner on your desk.

At 8.3 x 4.6 inches, it's a familiar size. It's a bit smaller than an A5 notebook, which makes it easy to store and transport, but also allowing enough room on the page for an entire week. While it's great that the full week is available on every page, that's where this notebook causes me trouble. Due to the small size, I've had trouble using the notebook since I don't normally write super small. Even if I do write incredibly small, there still isn't much room for me to add meetings, appointments, and tasks for each day without everything feeling incredibly cramped. At first glance, it looked like a great format. After using it for a week, I was a bit disappointed.

For me, the functionality was a flop, but what about the build quality? The notebook features a top-bound twin spiral ring that seems rugged, but can be difficult to turn pages without getting stuck. The chipboard that makes up the front and back covers are incredibly strong, and I have no doubt they'll stand up to a great deal of abuse. The kickstand on the back cover is a novel idea, but it does add bulk to the notebook when it's closed and laying flat. If you're using it to stand up the notebook, it works great.

Once you get to the paper, the build quality starts to decline. The paper has a smooth feel that's pleasant to write on, and it's thin without feeling fragile. I also haven't seen any feathering when using different pens on this paper, which is a good sign. However, the show-through on the opposite page is significant. Even with a micro-tip gel pen, there's almost too much show-through to use the back page. And since every page has a front and a back, that poses a significant problem. The Schmidt P8126 and fountain pen inks caused the most show-through, but the only option that hasn't caused some sort of show-through is pencil. I was disappointed by this attribute of the paper, because it's pleasant to use if you discount the show-through property.

Unfortunately, this notebook didn't mesh with my daily routine or writing style. It could potentially be fixed by removing a lot of the lines that create the feeling of cramped writing space, but fitting seven days of information on a single sheet is always a tall order. This might work great for some people with specific use cases, but it just didn't hold up for me. That, together with the paper quality and problematic spiral binding, ultimately makes this notebook difficult to recommend unless you can think of specific uses that will suite your needs.

The model used in this review is orange, but that color isn't currently available on JetPens. Today, they offer blue, pink, and yellow, and each notebook is just under $10.

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

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!