1. I must try it and must LOVE it.
2. it *must* write on (obviously, dried) acrylic paint without skipping, jumping or getting all gunked up!
3. it's non toxic or doesn't have an odor to it. I can NOT use a pen that smells in any way. Regular sharpies-NO! (Besides they leave a halo effect on your pages over time). Anything oil based-NO! Anything with xylene-NO! Anything with a bad, scary warning label-NO! I might sound like a pain in the ass, but really, it's what works for me. My boy only has one kidney and I'd like to keep both of mine in case he needs one-or both ;)-one day.
When I want a pen fix, I go to Jetpens. They are one of my most favorite places on the planet to buy pens. I LOVE them. They have free shipping over $25 and they are FAST. Seriously. I LOVE this company. It's a small mom and pop company, too-yay for mom and pops! Get on their email list, too. I LOVEEEEEEEEEE their pens. They're the ones who sold me my latest pen case that I LOVE...it holds a shitload of pens.
Gelly Roll Glaze and the Gelly Roll Souffle Pens both from Sakura-
All gel pens are NOT alike! The Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze and Souffle are the *only* gel pens that I have found to work 100% and NOT skip. I go through the black and the white pens though a lot (I use them a lot though!!)
The difference between the Glaze and the Souffle is the glaze are a "gloss" finish. The souffle are a "matte" finish. They write on most surfaces (including glass, but I don't care about that, I just want to use them in my journals!) The Souffle will write and actually show up on virtually any background-I love them. Keep in mind though, with all of the pens, how they "look" on a page, depends on the background color and the pen color you are using. That means if you are using a red pen on a red (or pink or orange) background, the color will not pop or be as vibrant as if you were using a green pen, for example...
Another thing you need to know, the Glaze pens-there is a white pen and a clear pen. The clear pen is a "resist" pen -think of it like invisible ink, write with it, let it dry and then use a brush marker over it, voila! The white pen is a real white pen (the following is true for both the Glaze version and the Souffle version): it will write clear but dry white! It is a REAL white pen. It is the BEST white pen on the market, IMO. It's $2 of easy love.
Also another plus, you can paint over these pens! YAY!! They are permanent.
One thing: the slower you write the more "raised or embossed" the pens become. You have to write reallllly slow for them to be really embossed. I don't care about this feature of the pens. I just love the pens!!
The only thing I don't like about the pens: they don't label the damn pens. To find out which of the pens is clear vs. white, I have to hold the pens side by side to figure out that the cap that is the most opaque is the real white pen.
The other thing that I don't like about the pens: there aren't any new colors. C'mon, it's May 2009. WHERE are the new pens?!?! I'll never forget asking one of the "suit men" at CHA a couple of years ago if they were coming out with new colors. He looked at me strangely and said "Aren't the 20-something colors we have enough?" Um. Are you frickin' serious? No. Come on. Get off your lazy ass and come out with some new colors. NOW. please.
I *LOVE* these pens. If you only buy one kind of pen, I would strongly suggest either of the glaze or Souffle! I've used other Sakura pens and other gel pens but they are not the same as the Glaze and Souffle. Trust me on this one.
Uniball Signo white gel pen- I started using these several years ago when they first came to the U.S. I loved how vibrant and crisp the pens were and cheap, too. About $2 a pen. I recommended them to everyone I came across. They were a great pen. The bad thing is: they dry out/run out very very quickly. Also, they are NOT permanent. Once Sakura came out with white pens in the glaze and souffle, I tend to lean towards those instead.
Uniball Signo DX 151-I LOVE this pen. It's tiny tiny tiny. I love it for all of my tiny writing. Waterproof, too! It doesn't always work well on acrylic paint, but so what-I LOVE this pen. I almost always have one with me.
Uniball Signo Broad UM 153 Black-Another favorite pen. Unlike the white uniball signo, this one doesn't tend to skip as much. It's another fave that I usually have with me.
Sharpie Poster Paint Pen (waterbased)- I love these pens. LOVE them. They are cheap too. They run about $3 each. They come in several different "nib" sizes. The only nib size I do NOT like is the one that looks like a big, fat bingo marker and costs about $7. That is the only one I do NOT like. I LOVE the extra fine pen. I Love all of the different tip size options. I love the colors-oh wow, wow WOW. My favorites are the Black, White and Flourescent pink. I have them in every color but those are the colors I use the most. I wish they'd make one in Paynes grey...
One thing, if you buy them, make sure you get the WATERBASED and NOT the oil based. I don't like using anything oil based. Nope, not for me at all.
Another great thing, unlike most sharpies, these don't smell!!!
When you first buy them, put them upright, and press down once on the nib. It's called "burping the pen". It will help with the air that is inside the pen and makes them last longer. Then shake and pump the pen like the directions say...
I loveeeeeeee these pens. You do need to try the different tip sizes-they rock!!
Update-The water-based poster paint pens have been discontinued by Sanford. There is NO substitute. I've been asking people to call Sanford and tell them that WE want the pens. They will tell you that they are still available-yes, but they are no longer making them. The pens were never easy to find. They weren't well marketed, hence that's why no one really knew about them.
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