Sharpie Fine Marker

I finally got around to picking up a pack of the re-designed Sharpie fine markers, and love the new look. I also am glad that Sharpie put the elusive purple, orange, and green markers in one package, so I can have my favorite colors all together rather than mixed in with the black and blue and red ones (kind of like buying M&Ms for the green ones).

The new design is very attractive and user-friendly, the grip doesn't cramp the hand and the curves of the plastic mold make this more contemporary and less hard-edged than the original fine markers. Silver and black is one of my favorite color combinations, so I'm pleased to see it used in a nicely-designed Sharpie everyday marker.

The Sharpie fine markers don't bleed through the paper, so they are great to use instead of an ordinary gel ink pen. The green marker is a bit light, but the orange and purple are bright and engaging on the paper. Sharpie fine markers are a great addition to their product line up, and the silver and black design makes it an even better choice.

Sharpie Liquid Pencil

After reading the reviews of the Sharpie Liquid Pencil, most notably OfficeSupplyGeek, I was ready to pass on trying these out. But every time I went near the office supply section of a store I'd check to see if the Sharpie Liquid Pencil was available, only to spend several weeks without seeing one and wondering if there was a shortage. Finally, at Target I found a two-pack of liquid pencils and spent some time testing them out.

On the whole the Sharpie Liquid Pencil reminds me of the Pilot Frixion, which is interesting as the latter is an erasable ink while this is supposed to be liquid graphite. The feel of the two on paper is exactly the same, at least for me: a kind of skipping and oiliness that reminds me of silicone. Both the ink and the graphite seem fragile, although the Sharpie Liquid Pencil is supposed to become permanent within 24 hours. So the graphite must have some sort of setting component to it, making it more than a mere pencil but less than a ballpen.

I definitely like the idea of a liquid graphite pencil, but I'm not sure version 1.0 of anything is ever reliable or a good purchase. The future versions hopefully will be better, with greater flow and different hardness levels.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I haven't done any reviews on either the Sharpie Fine Point pen or Doane Paper as there are already great reviews available, such as those at OfficeSupplyGeek or The Pen Addict. So this is basically a fan appreciation post.

Start with the Sharpie Fine Point pen. Whoever thought of this deserves a raise. The Sharpie pen was always great to write with, on any surface. But it was thick and stubby and the point was too wide for fine writing. Along came the Fine Point and changed all that. A permanent marking pen in a sleek design that fits easily into purse or pocket, with rich black ink that doesn't soak through the paper.

Then there is Doane Paper, the ultimate Grid + Lines experience. I've had a number of people in my office flip over my pads, idea journals, and stoplight series. They love this paper, and have chipped in on orders to get to the $40 free shipping limit. I don't know what it is, but I've discovered that a few of the crowd I work with are paper fanatics and are now seriously in love with Chad Doane (especially one colleague who recently emailed him with a question--she could not believe he emailed her back! I told her so, lol). We've been poring over the new Flap Jacket wire bound pad, and debating on punching holes for adding to three-ring binders (I'm neutral, others are pro especially after we tried an experiment involving a notepad and an industrial grade three-hole punch in my office that didn't work out too well). I'm now used to people coming into my office and gasping, then pointing to my desk at my Doane Paper small notepads. Or the commotion I can make when I go to a staff meeting and pull out my Idea Journal to take notes.

One or the other, a Sharpie Fine Point or a Doane Paper pad, would be wonderful. The two together are heaven, and a few of my favorite things.

Pentel Handy-Lines and Sharpie Accents

While hunting through the office supplies section at Rite Aid I came across a pack of Pentel Ultra Slim Handy-Lines, a retractable permanent marker that's also refillable. I like both ideas but especially the latter, as I really would rather not throw plastic things away. Billed as a fine point, the Handy-Lines marker is made from 55% post consumer recycled plastic and is part of the Pentel "recycology" campaign. The marker has a broad stroke, and the bleed through is spectacularly impressive--two sheets of Doane Paper were sacrificed, something I've never seen with any other marker I've tested before. Definitely a great marker for writing on CDs or DVDs or for other projects, but not for general note writing on paper.

The other two-pack that caught my eye was a set of Sharpie Accent retractable highlighters in yellow and pink. The feature Smear Guard technology, which resists smearing of many pen and marker inks. The pic to the left doesn't really capture how bright the colors are, but you can definitely see there was no smearing. I used it over the Handy-Lines marker, and almost no black ink was picked up on the highlighter tip (a yellow highlighter with black ink on the tip annoys me to no end). These will be tested against some gel and ballpoint inks, but the Sharpie Accents seems to be a great find for me as I want to highlight notes I make as well as books and magazines.