A Test Of Four

While viewing blog Toying with Light, where Ruby did a short review on 8 blue gel pens, I got the idea to do the same thing with the 4 black ink 0.5mm RT gel pens that I have. I shamelessly copied her technique as I thought it a good one for a short quick test. I only hope that she is more honored that I copied her than she is miffed at me. We are members of the same pen forum so maybe she will forgive me.

Anyway... The 4 gel pens I used for this test were the four that I had on hand: The Mistubishi uni-ball Signo 207 Micro (top); the Pilot G-2 Extra Fine 05(second from top); the Pilot Precise V5 RT (third from top) and the Pilot V Ball RT Extra Fine (bottom). The V5 has a needle point with the other 3 having conical points. All the pens are supposed to be 0.5mm pens. But since different manufacturers label their pen nibs differently it's hard to tell just what size the balls in the points really are. The Signo 207 Micro is touted as having a 0.5mm ball but that it writes a 0.38mm line. I have read that to determine the size of line a particular size ball should make is to divide the diameter of the ball by 2. If that is the case then all four pens should make a 0.25mm line! But we already know that's not true in this case just by looking at the pic, not all the pens produced the same size lines. More on that later.

The paper that I used was common notebook paper 0.003" (0.076mm) thick. There was 1/4 of a loose leaf package under the top page. I wrote the first half of the holoalphabetic sentence, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", followed by a short line then a dot. The dot was where I held the pen in place for 10 seconds with moderate pressure. After the ink had dried for a minute I used a drop of water on the end of my finger and placed it on the line. I did not attempt to smudge the line, I simply let the water do it's thing. After the water had dried up I began to examine the results of my test.

Though my aging eyes are just that, aging, I do wear corrective lenses (called glasses) and when I have to see something up close I add on a pair of reading glasses. with the reading glasses on I made the following observations: The finest line width was the Pilot G-2, followed by the Signo 207, then the Pilot V Ball and finally the Pilot Precise V5. I must say that I was a little surprised by the results that I got. I expected that the 207 would have produced the finest line not the G-2. And I expected the V5 to have produced a finer line than the V Ball. So much for preconceptions. The 207 has the lightest ink of the four with the Pilots all having the same shade. This was no surprise at all as I had noticed this before.

The results of the dot test was that all four pens bled through the first layer of paper onto the next. The G-2's bleed through was barely noticeable though while the 207's was a bit more so though their respective spots on the top sheet were about the same size. The V Ball's was 3 times that of the G-2 and the V5's 4 times as great. Both of the latter bled through to the third page. While the ink in the 207 is pigmented (meaning it penetrates the papers fibers instead of staining them) I was only able to find out that the Pilot's ink was "water resistant and smudge proof". Which brings us to the third part of the test, the water drop test.

With a single drop of water placed on each of the 4 lines the results are obvious. The Signo ink was the only one not to bleed through the paper and feather out. This leads me to believe that the Pilot ink is dye ink, not pigmented. Though all four pens passed the smudge teat, a test that I performed by drawing a line with one pen at a time then immediately rubbing my finger across it. The result was unanimous: all 4 inks did bot smudge. I half expected the Pilot inks to smudge in I did not think that they dried as quickly as the Signo ink. Again, so much for preconceptions.

The V5 wrote the smoothest of all four, not surprising as it was the broadest, with the other three tying for 2nd place. All four have thin rubber grip sleeves over the plastic barrels which offers a non-slip grip without being squishy, which is something I like in a rubber grip, firmness. All four pens are about the same length, the differences being to small to mention. All are attractive pens: the Signo with its stylish chrome and black pocket clip and chrome end cap; the G-2 with it's clear and black body; TheV5 with it's silver, chrome and black body and the V Ball with it's chrome, white and black body would all make stylish accessories on a desk top.

You May Be Obsessed With Pens... Part 4

You may be obsessed with pens if:
74) You love the smell of ink in the morning.
75) You refill your non-refillable ink pens.
76) People know what you've been doing when they see all the different colored inks on your fingers.
77) When you buy a new pen you savor the moment... for several hours.
78) When you meet new people, and they pull out photos of their kids, you pull out photos of your favorite pens.
79) When people scoff and call you a 'penaholic' you take it as a compliment.
80) You keep your 'traveling pens' in a pocket protector and you use it. You double up when your shirt has two breast pockets.
81) You belong to every Pen Society on the Net.
82) You subscribe to every pen magazine available.
83) Every time you hear the mail truck stop at your house you rush out to see if the latest issue one of your pen magazines has arrived. You are chest fallen when it' not there.
84) You know that one day you will have bought at least one of every pen out there and you live in fear of the day there are no more new pens to buy.
85) When pens go on sale at the local department or pen store you go buy some, even thought you have some already, because it's such a good deal.
86) You give away some of your excess pens just so you can go buy more.
87) You give away your excess pens so you'll have room to store the new pens you just bought.
88) You search the Net for just the right pen display box/case to store your 'babies'.
89) You think that making an executive decision is deciding which pen to use.
90) You know that you have an addition to pens and or pencils and you just don't care.
91) When someone jokingly says that there is a cure for your addiction you get paranoid.
92) You begin to think of the people behind the store counter as your 'supplier'.
93) When you go to a doctor's/lawyer's/dentist's office and they have 'give-away' pens you can't just take one.
94) You think that one of those pens on a loop of cord is actually a necklace, and you wear it as such.
95) In case of fire you have a contingency plan: Each family member is assigned a different lot of pens to save.
96) You don't like a particular pens color/shape/nib/etc., but you buy it anyway because it's part of the set.
97) All the neighborhood kids know you as the 'Pen Man/Lady".
98) You think that a personal sacrifice is giving up one of your pen shopping days to spend time with the family.
99) You don't mind walking the dog because the walk takes you buy your favorite office supply store.
100) A day without a new pen is like a day without sunshine.
010) When you lose a favorite pen you cry... and cry... and cry...
102) The only thing that can console you when you lose a favorite pen is to buy two more of the same pen.
103) You have a night light in the room where you store your pens so your 'babies' wont get scared at night when you're not there.
104) You now realize that your obsession/addiction is boarding on mania and you still don't care.
105) Your significant other wants you to see a psychiatrist about your "problem' and you think they're crazy.

You May Be Obsessed With Pens...Part 3

You may be obsessed with pens if:
47) You check out a few pen shops every week, even though you've been to them one week or a few days ago.
48) You plot which non-stationery shop to visit, just in case it sells that elusive 'perfect pen'.
49) You squirm and feel generally disgusted when you use a pen that falls below your 'standards.'
50) You compulsively search the net for more blogs on pens. You mentally will the usual bloggers to post new articles.
51) You use a search engine or comparison shopping website to read reviews about pens.
52) You poke around the house for 'unowned' pens to adopt, even though you would never dream of taking other people's things.
53) You think the greatest love is shown by giving or receiving a pen or voucher for stationery shop.
54) You spend hours testing pens at the shop and are surprised by how fast and pleasantly the time has passed.
55) You pick up every abandoned pen you find, no matter how many you have or how crappy it is.
56) You save used up pens for spare parts to make repairs on your working pens "just in case." Of course, you rarely have to do this, since you take such good care of your pens anyway.
57) You have so many pens that you shouldn't buy anymore for yourself , so you buy pens for your friends ! You spend hours thinking about which pen is best for each person.
58) When your pen (or your friend's!) stops working you drop whatever you're doing to spend the next ten minutes using every trick you know to fix it.
59) You get a job at a doctor's office just for the pens.
60) You can name every major pen manufacturer by heart.
61) You notice when people in your classes use different pens than usual.
62) When you go on a journey, you agonize over how many pens to bring, and then which ones. Not being able to bring liquid ink pens on planes breaks your heart.
63) When you reread something you wrote a year or two (or more!) ago, you know exactly which make of pen you used.
64) You keep the shell of the empty non-refillable pen because it was your favorite.
65) You keep an old worn out empty pen in a special case in a place of reverence because it was your first.
66) You keep looking for that perfect pen or pencil.
67) You take a day off of work to go to a job fair so you can collect all the different companies cheepie freebie logo pens.
68) You take apart your pens to reassemble into the perfect franken-pen with best tip, ink, grip, weight and barrel.
69) You contemplate working in a stationery shop so that you can play with pens all day.
70) You spend hours testing which pen to use for exams. You end up bringing too many because they're all quite good or your mood might dictate which to use.
71) You loan only the more 'inferior' pens in your possession in case your friend or colleague 'soils' or loses them.
72) You can't go to the department store without wandering by the pens and pencils.
73) You can't even go to the dollar store without wandering by the pens and pencils.

Thanks to holgalee and Metternich from the JetPens Fourm for most of these.

Dye Ink vs Pibmented Ink & Ballpoint vs Gel vs Rollerball

Dye ink will stain the paper in color, thus changing the color of the fibers. The dye ink can be removed by bleaching or washing the paper back to its natural color.

Pigmented ink doesn’t stain the color of the paper; it changes the paper itself. By weaving their way into the paper fibers, pigment globules embed themselves into the heart of the paper, making it impenetrable to many washing and bleaching techniques. Pigmented inks have vibrant colors and excellent fade and water resistance without sacrificing performance. Using pens with pigmented inks is one more step to help protect your identity.

BALLPOINT
The ink is closest to a solid. Think molasses. Ballpoints represent the old standard choice for consistent, dependable writing. SMOOTH and sure-footed.

GEL
The ink is thicker at rest and more fluid-like when agitated. Think ketchup. Gels offer consumers a smooth writing experience like a roller with the durability of a ballpoint. SMOOTHER.

ROLLERBALL
The ink is most like a fluid. Think water. Rollers are for consumers who demand the smoothest writing experience. The SMOOTHEST.

From the Mitisubishi uni website.

You May Be Obsessed With Pens... Part 2

You may be obsessed with pens if:
24) You take family vacations to places that have a pen store that you have yet to visit.*
25) Your swimming pool is filled with Light Blue ink instead of water.
26) You wear the ink stain on your shirt pocket as a badge of honor.
27) You are on a first name basis with every employee in every pen and stationary store in a 100-mile radius of your house.
28) The mail person wants to know if you own stock in JetPens.
29) You have the local stationary and office supply stores phone numbers on speed dial.
30) Your wedding registry was at JetPens.
31) You have a photo of your favorite pen on your desk instead of your family.
32) Your idea of a good time is watching ink dry.
33) When you prick your finger you bleed red ink.
34) You can tell what pen someone is using from across the room.
35) Your Flickr Photostream consists entirely of pics of your favorite pens and pencils.
36) Your Facebook photos consist entirely of pics of your favorite pens and pencils.
37) You talk the receptionist at the doctors/dentists office out of their pen because you don’t have one with that particular drug manufacturer’s logo.
38) Your ‘ship came in’ but you missed it because you were at your favorite pen store.
39) You think that the perfect wedding gift is a matching pen and pencil set.
40) You have separate ‘His’ and ‘Hers’ pens.
41) You have more pens than your children have toys.
42) The dog chewed up your favorite pen, you buried it in a pencil box in the back yard, held a wake and mourned for 7 days.
43) For last Halloween you dressed your children as your favorite pens and it brought tears to your eyes.
44) All the Christmas ornaments on your Christmas tree are all your empty non-refillable pens.
45) When someone invites you to a ‘bring your own’ party you show up with all your favorite pens.
46) The shipper at JetPens knows your address by heart.

* Thanks, Seth

Help JetPen Help Others

Help JetPens.com make this Christmas absolutely Pentastic! For every new person that joins the JetPens.com Facebook group from now until December 15, JetPens will ship a pen to children in Africa through Pens for Kids (http://www.pensforkids.com), a US-based nonprofit organization.

In many African countries, the cost of uniforms and school supplies can be huge obstacles to overcome for children who dream of attending school. For families with an average income of $2/ day, pens that dry quickly under the intense sun can be costly purchases. Now you can help put a pen in a child's hand!

Pentel Graphlet 500, Part 2

Let me be the first one to admit that I was wrong about the grip on the Pentel Graflet 500, well mostly wrong anyway. The upper part of the grip is striated but the lower portion is knurled in a square pattern. This knurled portion provides a very good grip surface. The division between upper and lower portions is not equal, the knurled lower portion being slightly less than 1/2 the upper. I tend to hold my pens and pencils a little higher up on the grip than most so I miss the knurled part of the grip. However for most other users I'm sure that the knurled portion of the grip is correctly situated. I only wish that the entire grip was knurled like the lower portion. Until Pentel comes out with an all knurled replacement grip the clear heat shrink will stay on my Graflet 500.

(Photo courtesy of JetPens.com)