Review: Uni-Ball Signo Scents Bubblegum Pink

I have had a very busy and stressful start to 2011 at work, so how about a scented pink pen to brighten things up?  The Uni-Ball Signo Scents Bubblegum Pink isn't a pen I even remotely thought I would like, much less use regularly, but this is a really good pen, and it smells great to boot!

So what would posses me to purchase such a pen?  Insanity?  That's a fair response, and one I have certainly considered.  Nostalgia?  That's more like it.  Who doesn't remember the scented markers from middle school?  Licorice?  Ewww!  Seeing these pens on JetPens made me think about those times, so I figured let's see if the Scents live up to their name.  Plus, who can pass up colors such as Cherryade Red, Coconut Brown, and Orangey Orange?

As we have all come to expect now from a pen labelled "Signo", it writes great.  The thing that surprises me the most about the Bubblegum Pink is how solid the line is.  A lot of the craft style pens I have used (like the white gel ink Signo) have a bit of streaking or white space in their line.  You almost expect it, but this line is as solid as can be.  And the scent?  It is very noticeable - even more than I imagined it would be.  The only real negative I can see is that the drying time for the ink on the page is extreme, so lefties beware.  As I noted in the written review, the dry time lagged nearly a line behind.

Is there any real practical use for this pen for me personally?  Not really, but it was a fun, scent-filled trip down memory lane.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Signo 207 Micro Needle Tip

vaporware - Anything (usually software, but can be anything) that is promoted and marketed without ever actually being produced.  (via Urban Dictionary)

I had only heard of this pen once previously.  A Pen Addict reader mentioned some time after my Uni-Ball Signo 207 0.7mm Needle Tip review last year that they had a Micro Needle Tip, and thus my search began.  It wasn't listed on the Uni-Ball site, but the 0.7mm version which some stores carry wasn't either.  I got no response via Tweet to Uni-Ball, but I imagine that can get lost in the shuffle.  Every time I made it to an office supply store, I'd flip through all of the Signo 207 packages just to see if a Micro Needle snuck in there.

At least I can admit I have a problem.  That is the first step, right?

At this point, I'm thinking this pen is vaporware, but a couple of months back, a reader generously offered to send me some Muji Gel pen refills.  Included in the package - much to my surprise - were two of the Micro Needle Tip 207s, one in blue, one in black.  That was about as excited as I have been to get new pens in a long time.

I put them to good use right away, especially the black one.  The blue one, which is the one I chose to review above, isn't as great.  One issue I always had with the original, conical Micro tip 207 is the blue did not write as well as the black, and I am finding that is the case with the needle tip.  The blue ink writes drier and thinner, making it a little more scratchy as it moves across the page.  I am all in on the black ink model though - it is a great writing pen.

Has anyone else been able to find these exact pens on the store shelf?  They are available on Amazon.com (I found out that is where mine came from), but I have never seen or heard of them in a store.  I'd be interested to know.

Click here for the XL review.

(*NOTE: I have added an affiliate link to Amazon.  I have never really done that before, so 1. I wanted to make everyone aware, and 2. I want to know everyones opinions on affiliate links and if they are an issue for you.)

Brown Pen Battle

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

 It can be hard to find a good brown pen for sketching.  While there are a lot of beautiful brown fountain pen inks, they aren't waterproof (with perhaps one or two rare exceptions).  When buying a disposable brown pen, it can be hard to predict the color - they range from rusty orange to ashy sepia, and the color on the label or even the pen cap is often no clue to the tone of the ink.

While my collection is by no means exhaustive, this examination includes several of the most common and most recommended brown pen options.  

The Candidates

• Pilot Hi-Tec-C .03 Brown


• Uni-Ball Signo DX Brown Black


• Zebra Sarasa Clip Tea Brown


• Copic Multiliner Sepia


• Pigma Micron Brown 05 (product site) 


• Pigma Micron Sepia 05 (see above)
  

Visual Comparison

In the line tests above, I pressed harder for the bottom three lines - you can see it clearly in the case of the Pigma Micron 05 Sepia.  Note that some pens showed no variation based on pressure.

Like many Pen Addict readers, I'm a big fan of the Pilot Hi-Tec-C despite it seeming to be waterproof only on certain papers.  At least when it runs, it runs in an attractive way which is usable for art.  Note that the almost purplish hue of the Hi-Tec-C brown turns to something like burnt sienna when wet. I love these colors, though of course since it isn't waterproof I often don't choose it for sketching.  Also see Pen Addict's Hi-Tec-C review for a writing sample in blue-black.

The Zebra Sarasa had some conspicuous problems while I was making the comparison chart above - it wasn't giving a consistent line.  Since Pen Addict's reviews show good consistency with this pen,  it may have been a rare glitch.  I went through several test pages before it worked itself out, but now that it has I like this pen a lot and it allows for more line variation than most of the other options.  I drew the more distant towers here lightly to imply distance - it's subtle but you can see the difference.

  

The Zebra Sarasa also does very well with water - I'd say it's totally waterproof. The "tea brown" color is nice and rich. All in all, a very good pen for sketching.

The Uni-Ball Signo DX in Brown Black is very consistent, has good ink flow, and is also almost but not entirely waterproof.  On some papers, a little surface ink can pick up when the ink is still relatively fresh; you can see a slight cast here as I went over it with a waterbrush.  The line isn't pressure sensitive at all, but like I said... consistent.  I really like this one as a writing pen, actually.  Without pressure sensitivity or a particularly rich tone it's not my favorite for sketching but is a fine pen albeit with some body issues (I agree with Pen Addict's assessment).

I had trouble with the Copic Multiliner in sepia.  It's very pale, and the tone isn't strong or beautiful enough for me to want to use it for adding color.  I really want to like it, since the Copic Multiliner is built to last - metal body, replacable tip, refillable - what's not to love? The Pen Addict agrees.   This sepia (which is far from what I would call sepia) is the weak link in their collection, and I look forward to reviewing some of their other colors here soon - I've enjoyed those much more.

The Pigma Micron in brown performed very well though I've only found it in their 05 size, which is larger than I'd like, and I prefer less of a yellow cast. Still, totally waterproof and a good pen.

The Pigma Micron in sepia is much darker, but it's a tone I found very visually pleasant.  It's a shame that once again I only had a larger tip (05) available for testing.  See Pen Addict's thoughts on the smaller 03 size.  

The Final Verdict

If it were even halfway waterproof, the Hi-Tec-C would have made it to the top due to its lovely purple-leaning tone and versatile line.  Instead it is relegated to "special use" but can't be a primary tool. The Pigma Micron in sepia serves well as a warmer substitute to a black line.  As a truly brown pen, the nice rich tone of the tea brown Zarasa won me over - that's the pen I'm grabbing when I'm laying down a brown line with some watercolors and want the line to sing.