Write In Style, Erase With Ease - Sanford’s Erasable Gel Pen Makes This Freak Smile!
Written: Aug 03 '05 (Updated Dec 05 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Erasable ink, nice color and ink flow, inexpensive.
Cons: Not for use on thin paper if you think you’ll need to erase something.
The Bottom Line: An erasable gel pen? I never though it possible until I stumbled upon the Signo!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Sanford uniball Signo Erasable Gel Pen Purple Ink |
Being someone who is a self professed pen junkie it was a complete mistake that I picked up the Signo from Sanford. I was hunting for a purple gel pen and picked this up accidentally; the shape, design and hue are almost identical to one that I had been using but the ink ran out. When I got this home and started using it on a tattoo design it dawned on me that this wasn’t the same gel marker I had been using. The pigments matched up almost identical to the one I had been using so the colors weren’t an issue. If I had used the eraser on the design I was working on there was a chance that it might smudge some of the other ink so I waited until writing a letter to test this out to see if it really and truly was an erasable ink. If you have ever used a pen that has erasable ink you will know that while the pen works and the ink hits the page, it just doesn’t have the same look to it. Sometimes the ink is lighter or looks washed out - that certainly isn’t the case with this gel pen!
Sanford UniBall Signo Erasable Gel Pen - Purple Ink
As the name of this might suggest, it’s a purple gel pen. Now, there are several different shades of purple in this series - everything from a light color to a violet - so if this pen sounds like something that you might want to check out, there are tons of color options available. This is a straight purple color - no sparkles or shimmering effects to the ink but I did see something on one of the message boards that Sanford was planning to make another line with these effects to the ink. This writes just as smoothly as a regular gel pen but the ink can be erased if need be. I don’t suggest using this on thin paper if you expect to be needing to erase things - there is a chance that you will rip the paper in the process or that it will wear the paper too thin to write on without it being evident that you erased a spot. But that is the downfall of all pens that are erasable, if you don’t go lightly and take your time you can remove some of the paper in the process. Likewise, if you press hard and create an indentation in the paper it makes it that much harder to get the ink off the page.
Some gel pens leak or have ink that flows a little too freely, this isn’t the case with the Signo. You get a smooth ink flow that doesn’t pool up if you stop writing for a second or two and unless you are using air mail paper or something extremely thin, there’s almost no chance of it bleeding through. The ink is acid free so you can use it for adding color to scrapbook pages without having to worry about it harming things it comes into contact with. Since there are several shades of purple that you can purchase you might want to check and see the different options available before you buy one. I found this at my local office supply store for $1.49 and didn’t take notice of the name of it on the package - it looked like the one I’d been using and my mistake really paid off. It might have taken me a long time to come across these if I hadn’t purchased one accidentally. As far as uses is concerned; I tried this out on a variety of papers and found that it works best on something that is of a thicker nature like 20 pound copy paper or card stock but you can use this on almost anything except slick surfaces. The ink takes a long time to dry and there is always a chance that it could smudge.
I am not sure if the eraser is a special type or not, when I tried to erase the ink with a standard eraser it did come off the page but not as well as when I used the one that is attached to the pen. Seeing as how they sell refills for the eraser it makes sense to stick with what works best. The ink itself isn’t refillable but since these are so inexpensive, it isn’t really an issue. Chance are, unless you are doing artwork or are a poor speller, the eraser will last the lifetime of the pen and you won’t have to invest in the refill erasers. In a pinch a standard pencil eraser [not those made for ink] can be used but you might not get the best results. The ink doesn’t come off the page unless it is erased so if that is one of your worries about this gel pen, rest easy and start writing!
The Bottom Line
There’s no doubt that I will pick up more of the gel pens from the Signo line but I want to hold off and see if they release a set of them before I start buying them individually. After playing around with this one I found, through trial and error, which papers I can use it on, which markers, pens and inks work best with it and how to avoid ruining a design by using the eraser as lightly as possible. Even though I use this mostly for designs, I do use it for writing letters or just doodling on paper while I am on the phone. This thing must have some supernatural ink supply because I have been using this for a while now and the ink supply is still in great shape. If you are someone that gets into pens then you owe it to yourself to check out the Signo line. Hard core gel pen users might not like the idea of an erasable version but once they give it a try I am sure they’ll warm up to the idea.
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^V^ © 2009 Freak369 ^V^
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Recommended:
Yes
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