Various types of pens have come and gone in my office.  I’ve gotten hold of some really good pens, but for some time now the secretary has been ordering Integra Retractable Roller Gel Pens.  Due to a budget crisis, long gone are the days of snazzy, gliding pens.  We are now stuck with these average Integra pens.     

Price and Packaging

The secretary orders the Integra pens in boxes of 12 for a little more than half what is paid for the good pens.  The pens are available at most office supply stores and online.  I’ve seen these listed for as little as $5 a dozen.  The pens themselves have blue ends with a clear tube.  This particular pen is the .07 mm blue pen.       

Usage

After using the Pilot G2 pens, it was hard to switch to these lower class pens even though they look quite similar.  I love trying different pens, but this is not one of my favorites.  It is a gel pen, but it writes more like a ballpoint pen.  It is not smear-proof.  I have smeared this ink on paper and ended up wearing it on the side of my hand.  The pen is supposed to be water resistant.  The ink won’t rub off completely when met with water, but it will smear.  On the pen box it states that the pens provide smooth and effortless writing.  The ink tip moves around the barrel when writing, so there’s actually no flow when writing.  In fact, I find it difficult to keep flowing across the page.  The .07 is comparable to other pens the same size, but this pen skips when you first begin writing.  I use the blue color for work, but it comes in other colors.  The pen is retractable, which is good for me because I’m terrible about losing pen caps.  There is also a rubber grip at the bottom for comfort.   

Overall  

The Integra Retractable Gel Pen is not one of the best pens I've ever used.  I have to do a lot of writing for work, and if I used this pen for all my writing needs, I feel like I would never get the job done.  The pen is decent, but I much prefer a pen that glides across the paper without smearing and skipping.  My biggest issue with this pen is how unsteady it is.  I don’t like how the ink cartridge moves around in the barrel.  Integra makes some classier pens, but I would prefer to shell out a few more cents and get a nicer pen like the Pilot G2.   
 

Recommended: No