A Mini-Rainbow of Highlighter Color
Written: Aug 31 '04 (Updated Sep 01 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: assortment of colors, chisel point, does not bleed through 20-pound copy paper, non-toxic
Cons: does not highlight some types of writing inks – barrel is wide
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line likes highlighting text with this rainbow assortment of colors.
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| dlstewart's Full Review: SANFORD Major Accent??? Highlighters 25053 |
Our office thrives on highlighters, and an assortment of colors is sometimes necessary. My favorite color highlighter is yellow. However, there are situations where a dash of different colors are important to differentiate information. For those colorful occasions, our office uses the Sanford Major Accent Highlighter Assortment -- Model 25053.
Description
Each highlighter barrel is the color of the ink, and the diameter of the barrel is 3/4". Shaped like a magic marker, each highlighter is 4 3/4" long. When the cap is removed, the tip of the cap fits into the back end of the highlighter.
The chisel tip 1/4" at its longest point. This slanted tip allows the writer to draw narrow or wide lines. Depending upon how much pressure is applied when using the highlighter, determines how fast the ink dries. As a rule, with medium pressure, the ink dries quickly. Even using heavy pressure, when the ink dries, there is no blotching. The ink dries evenly with a uniform color.
Sanford is a member of the Art and Creative Materials Institute, and as a member has certified that these highlighters are non-toxic. These highlighters are composed of water, diethylene glycol, dyes and additives. The highlighters have almost no odor and definitely no smell when the ink has dried.
I have seen the five colors of these highlighters assorted in the package, and have also seen this assortment with a sixth darker pink color and the highlighters unevenly distributed with more yellow and pink markers in the box.
The Colors
Yellow
This is an eye-catching fluorescent yellow. Print is easy to see through it.
Pink
A bright pink that shows color without being a wishy-washy shade. Print is easy to view through it.
Orange
A happy Halloween orange color. Even though this is called a fluorescent orange, it doesn’t have the glow that I associate with a fluorescent color. This color is the hardest to see print through, but the print is still legible.
Blue
This light-blue marker is the softest color in the assortment. When overlapping highlighter lines this color most easily shows where the highlighted lines are covering each other. Print is easily visible through this color.
Green
A bright fluorescent green color ... like a light lime shade. Print is easy to read through it.
My Experiences
I have used all of the above colors ... mostly on 20-pound copy paper. The paper either has been run through a laser jet printer, fax machine or photocopier. The highlighter ink is easy to see, and the print does not smudge when using them.
Highlighting copy produced by an ink jet printer is a different matter. The ink smears when highlighted. It does not matter which color highlighter is used, though the green highlighter does the best job with fewest smudges.
When lifting the highlighter from the end of drawing a line, sometimes the ink is a bit darker as the highlighter pauses and lifts from the paper. This is most noticeable when using the light blue color. Best yet, these highlighters do not bleed through the paper.
The ink in these highlighters lasts a long time. I mostly use the yellow color, and even the yellow highlighters stay on my desk for months before running out of ink.
I have been able to draw up to a 1/4" wide line with these highlighters. The barrel is a bit thick for a completely comfortable hold, but it’s not so uncomfortable that I hate to use the marker. I would not want to use this Sanford marker for prolonged periods of time. If I were a consistent highlighter user, then I would want a highlighter with a narrower barrel ... something slimmer like a pen.
I ran a few experiments to see how these highlighters reacted to highlighting different color inks from various writing utensils.
Ballpoint Pen – Excellent – I highlighted blue, red and black ink. None of the colors smeared or discolored the pen ink. However, the pink and orange highlighters make the red pen a bit more difficult to read.
Sharpie Permanent Markers – Excellent – I highlighted black and red Sharpie markers (medium point). All the highlighters worked great and the text was easy to read.
Marks-A-Lot Marker – Excellent – Highlighting black and red Marks-A-Lot markers worked just as well as when highlighting the Sharpie marker text.
Pencil – Good – The yellow, blue and green highlighters worked best on pencil writing. The pink and orange highlighted text is harder to read as the highlighter ink overpowers the gray pencil words.
Flair Markers – Poor – Currently I have a purple and red Flair marker in my desk drawer. The only color that did not smear the Flair ink was the orange highlighter. The purple Flair writing bled the worst, but the red writing is also smeared.
Gel Pen Ink – Poor – I tested the highlighter inks using a Uni-ball refill for the Gel Impact RT pen. Since I don’t have a gel pen, this was the best I could do in the gel ink department. The highlighters smeared the gel ink -- a lot. Even after letting the ink set a few minutes, the highlighters still made a mess of the ink.
Purchasing
The 12-pack comes with twelve assorted markers in a cardboard box. Staples sells them for $6.19, Office Depot for $6.08, and OfficeMax for $5.99.
Summary
The Sanford Major Accent Highlighter Assortment is a good buy. They get the job done so long as one is not highlighting material written with a gel pen or Flair marker. If I were buying highlighters for my personal use, I would choose the Avery Pen Style Highlighter. I prefer a slimmer barrel that fits more comfortably in the hand.
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Additional Information
Sanford (USA)
Toll-free Phone # 800-323-0749
Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST
Sanford (CANADA)
Toll-free Phone # 800-668-4575 x242
Monday - Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST
Please read my other reviews:
Avery Hi-Liter Pen Style Highlighers
Sharpie Permanent Marker
Avery Marks-A-Lot Permanent Marker
Paper Mate Flair Felt-Tip Markers
Sanford Peel-Off China Markers
Tombow White Correction Tape in Dispenser
Panasonic Portable Battery Pencil Sharpener
Stanley Contemporary Electric Pencil Sharpener
Scotch Double-Coated Tape
Swingline Tot Stapler with Standard Staples
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Duo
Curtis Radio/CD Portable Boom Box
Copyright 2004 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
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