Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Review: Pentel Arts Sign Pen

Well hello there! It's been a while since I've posted - work and school starting up have really hindered my schedule (and unfortunately, my time to love on pens). Pentel recently sent me a five pack of the Sign Pens to review, and I was pretty excited about it.

At my job I am in charge of stationary and have been stocking Pentel Arts pens for a few weeks, always with a longing look.

Okay, to be honest, most of the pens in the pen aisle (and some pencils too) get longing looks from me, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway.



So, the Sign Pens.  They sport a thick fiber tip which makes some seriously bold lines.  I received a black ink Sign Pen before I became a Pen-fessional, and it was promptly stolen by someone who shall remain nameless because of the thick lines you can make with these pens. This same person might have hovered around me when I opened this package from Pentel, and might have (I'm not confirming nor denying) actually clapped her hands with glee when she saw the multi-colored pen pack. The black pen mysteriously disappeared not long after they were set upon my desk, and for this review I had to go looking for it, which was nestled in someone's pen cup. Not that I am accusing, mind you, but the evidence speaks for itself.  (Note: the black pen has since vanished again during the writing of this review, so...)

Here's a writing sample of the pens:

While I wouldn't use these pens for every day writing because I like my lines crisp (and very, very thin), they were great for doodling and filling in color on doodles/drawings made with other pens. The colors are vibrant and pop off the page, although the yellow shows up much better in the photo above than it did on the page itself.  The ink flowed smoothly, with no gaps or skips as I drew with it.  It was easy to fill in with color, and tilting the pen as I held it allowed me to control how thick or thin the lines I made came out.

Some doodles:
(Doodle bugs. Get it?)

And a skull, because what's a review from me without a skull doodle:

I really enjoyed these pens. They were fun to doodle with and I would recommend them to anyone looking to put a little color in their life. They are much more "adult" than say, a package of Crayola markers, which are awesome, but who wants huge fat markers in their pen cup? Not I, friends. Not I.  Although they aren't refillable, they are reasonably priced for the quality you are getting.  They're available singly, in a two pack, in the five pack, and in a twelve pack . How cool is that?

Other tech specs:  The caps snapped down tight, which means you're not going to pick up this pen after not using it for a while (but why wouldn't you be using it?) only to find it dry and gone.  They are part of the Recycology line at Pentel, which means they are made of 80% recycled plastic and that's good for everyone. The ink is water based and dries super fast.

Final thoughts - really great color pens for anyone who is looking for an adult marker, either as a serious artist or someone who just likes to doodle (or write!) in bright, vibrant colors.

(Disclaimer: I am a Pen-fessional with Pentel of America, and I received these pens for free to review. My opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any other entity. Your mileage may vary, but I am super picky about pens so if I like it, you probably will too.)

2 comments:

  1. Blue and/or purple please!

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  2. Thanks for the review. I want these. The pen thief part of your review made me laugh.

    ReplyDelete