What About Dry Erase Pens???

Are all dry erase pens equal??

.
The answer is no. Even though the vast majority of pens have been made by one company, even those are not made to only one specification. As far as I can find out there is no standard specification for dry erase pens. Instead there are all kinds of variables.

The quantity of ink varies providing more or way less life for the pen.

The tip varies from very small and sharp to a "bullet" tip and finally the standard chisel tip. All of these in a variety of sizes. In addition to size some tips keep their shape and others don't.

A good cap snaps shut and keeps the pen from drying out, and a not so good cap doesn't.

Am I making all of this up for the purpose of making your life complicated? No I'm not, but these products are exactly like every other product. You get what you pay for most of the time. We are seeing very inexpensive dry erase pens coming from off shore that are almost useless - but cheap! We see other brands that are less well known that are really good quality. The solution is simple - buy ONE of each color you want to use and try it out on the board you are going to use it on. Many of the pens that you don't want will start to skip before you've written more than a dozen 6 letter words. Others won't erase without smearing. Others still will bead up on the board and just make a mess.

If you are buying a dry erase board, consider buying the pens from them as well. If they make a good board, chances are they will supply a good pen to go with it. In addition, different dry erase surfaces do better with one pen or another.

Finally, there is color. Based on my experience, black ink erases the best MOST of the time. Blue is usually good as well, and green is OK. Most of the time, red ink is more likely to smear or ghost. We know you like pens in different colors - that's why we supply them. You may, however, need to use a proper cleaner with some colors more often than others. It is always true that the longer the ink has been on the board, the more likely that it will need the assistance of some cleaner to get the board spotless. When Miss Smith writes her name on the board in September, it will need some cleaner when everyone goes home in June.

As you can probably guess, I can go on, but it's time to stop. Low odor pens, different eraser types and how to clean - all for another time.