pen 133: tul rollerball -rb1

i honestly do not believe that i can overstate my fondness for this brand. i simply love them and have yet to be disappointed in purchasing one.

the tul rollerball rb1 is a great pen for activities like writing, sketching, and inking. the ink is super saturated, there is no range of value, all or nothing. the ink dries quickly, and is extremely clean. the flow is a little heavy, it puts a lot of ink on the paper in a very short amount of time and is good for inking over pencil lines. the bold lines and good bite make this pen a favorite of mine, and the pen is a little bit more durable than pens like the Z+.

overall, it's a tul, buy one with no and rest assured that the money you paid was well spent.

pricing:
officemax.com: $9.99+s/h (four pens)

websites:
www.tul.com
www.officemax.com

what they say:

tul.com

• Quick-drying ink reduces smearing
• Ergonomic design gives optimal balance and writing precision
• Rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control
• Needle point provides precision writing
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and notebooks

officemax.com

Offers Exceptionally Smooth Ink Flow. Quick-drying ink reduces smearing. Ergonomic design gives optimal balance and writing precision.

Quick-drying ink reduces smearing

• Free Ink System
• Rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and notebooks
• Medium, 0.7mm

pen 132: tul gel-gl3

the tul gel-gl3 is another fine example of the quality of product that tul produces.

the overall design is very sleek, it's a good looking, black, thin, ballpoint gel pen with a retractable tip. the pen is made of a single plastic body with a metal tip cap, has a metal clip and a rubberized grip that spans half the length of its body.

the gl3's ink is dark, there really isn't any range of value, all or nothing, has a good flow that doesn't skip or stutter, has a good bite, dries almost instantly and is a very clean pen to use. as a person that is not the greatest fan of gel ink pen i would recommend any of the tul product line to like minded individuals, i am fairly confident that, even if they don't fall head over heals for the pen, they probably won't hate it either.

pricing:
office max (retail): approx. $3-$4
officemax.com: $6.49+s/h

website:
www.tul.com
www.officemax.com

what they say:

tul.com

• Offers smooth, skip-free writing
• Extra-long, rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control
• Ergonomic design gives optimal balance and writing precision
• Retractable tip protects from unintentional marking
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and notebooks
• Needle point provides precision writing

officemax.com

Delivers Bold, Vibrant Color. Offers smooth, skip-free writing. Extra-long, rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control.
Extra-long, rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control

• Retractable tip protects from unintentional marking
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and ebooks
• Medium, 0.7mm

pen 68: tul gel gl1

today's pen is the tul gl-1, a retractable ballpoint, or "clicky" pen, is the last of the four models of the tul product line that i have bought and used as of the time of this post. looking up its "stats"on their website, you can see that the following bullet points kind of mirror the highlights mentioned for yesterday's post, it makes me wonder how much they pay someone for lackluster marketing points when here i am, not getting paid and giving these pens the attention i think that they deserve, i may not be universally correct when it comes to my observations, but it seems like i'm putting more effort into this...

whatever, i digress.

website: www.tul.com/

what they say:

• Offers smooth, skip-free writing
• Ergonomic design gives optimal balance and writing precision
• Rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control
• Retractable tip protects from unintentional marking
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and notebooks
• Needle point provides precision writing

so, to address the above statements.

the tul gl-1 has poor glide, it drags as you move it around the paper, this may not be a bad thing, i have mentioned a few times that i personally like a bit of drag, that there is something to too smooth, this pen falls on the outer edge of what i look for in pen/paper interaction. the tip is metal, which is durable and good for detail, but since it doesn't really move  smoothly there have been times where i have pressed too hard in one place and have torn the paper, which sucks. a lot.

the ink flows conservatively, it dries fast and doesn't smudge, and works best with slow patient pen strokes, i wouldn't do gestural drawings or anything that requires fast sketchy movements with this pen, the ink flow will skip and stutter and requre multiple passed that increase the risk of tearing the paper. again, that sucks, a lot.

the ergonomic thing, i don't buy it, rubber grip and balance be damned, it just isn't the most comfortable pen i've ever held i cant imaging that something as light as a pen would have any difference no matter how it is balance, i'm not an ergonomist so take that for whatever it's worth.

the pen does retract, no lie, and it can be nice to not have to worry about losing a cap or whatever, is it groundbreaking? meh, no. (*pssst* clicky pens have been around at least as long as i've been alive... it's kinda like bragging that your brand new car as an interior dome light, or a radio...)

the needle tip point is pretty good for detail and stabbing unruly children at café s (edit: don't stab children at cafés; unruly or not) and for some reason reminds me a little bit of tetanus or tuberculous vaccine shots... not sure why that is, but it does. the stainless steel clip is also a stupid choice for a selling point but whatever, yes, it's there, yes it clips and if you're going to include that on your sales pitch you might want to brag that your pen has ink in it as well....

i'm sorry, it's getting late and i sometimes get cranky. its been a loooooooong day. 

wrapping things up i believe that these pens go for around $2-$3 for individuals on amazon ti saw a four pack of $5 and around $18 for a dozen at officemax's website. these pens do come in a variety of colors, although the extent of options is unclear as there is something wrong with their website and the image for color options is missing, trés professional, right? so from what i can tell they come in black, red, blue, purple and green. 

so the final word on the tul gl-1? out of the four that i have used this particular pen would have to be ranked last, there really isn't anything that i can think of that makes it stand out, .7mm gel pens are pretty common these days, in fact, there are even smaller tip sized gel pens that cost as much as one of these is not less. as an art pen, meh. as a writing pen... slightly less meh. 

as always, if you feel like trying it out for yourself and want to take the time to write down your thoughts, pleas do, ill add them to the review. all input is appreciated. 

and of course if you buy a pen and hate it, you can send it my way and ill draw you something spiffy with it in exchange.

pen 67: tul marker pen pp-1

since i wrapped up last week with a tul ballpoint, i figured i might as well go through the several pens i've had the chance to use from the same company.  today's pen, the tul marker pen pp-1, according to the bullet points on their website lists as follows:

• Fiber tip provides precision writing 
• Quick-drying ink reduces smearing
• Ergonomic design gives optimal balance and writing precision
• Rubberized grip provides writing comfort and control
• Stainless steel clip secures to pockets and notebooks

to start, i think that i should point out that this pen is their version of pens like the sharpie ultra fine point, the sharpie pen, the pentel finito!, the pilot razor, the bic intensity and several other plastic tipped pens that are available on the market. for the sake of simplicity, i plan on comparing to the sharpie ultra fine point for this review.

the tip of these pens seem to wear better than the sharpie, the tip has bite and the flow is better, the main two differences in the ink is that it doesn't bleed through the paper, it will pool up a little if left in one spot too long or if you're going over the same area a few times, the other is the smell, unlike the sharpie, you can sniff this stuff all day and not get high or a headache which is nice when you're in an enclosed space. the ink dries just as fast and smudging isn't really a problem i've noticed. this is a clean pen,  that plus the tip size makes this an ideal pen for sketching, shading detailing, writing... the works. this pen does have a rubber grip for your comfort but i haven't noticed any real difference in comfort from pens with similar grips. as for the clip, i don't even see how that matters at all.

the cost seems to run around $5 or so for a pack of three, and a dollar something for individual pens, these you can find at officemax and might be a good way of seeing if you like them or not, most of the officemax stores i've been to have a pad of paper nearby so you cant test one before you commit to a purchase.

that said, this pen doesn't completely replace the sharpie, there are surfaces that the tul won't write on, for example, sharpies are less expensive and very disposable for another.

as far as recommending this pen, i would say that you owe it to yourself to at least go to the store and test scribble, like a test drive, you might just add another pen to your toolbox. i know that i have.

pen 66: tul ballpoint stick

get them while they last, apparently these pens are no longer being made, which really irritates me, seems like my two favorite pens have been discontinued... meh.

these pens were originally available at office max, and their website www.tul.com. you can still find them on amazon and i believe i have since seen them at safeway as well.

the tul ballpoint stick was a pen i bought because it was inexpensive and i needed a pen to fill out some paperwork while i had lunch at in and out. initially i really didn't care for them, it wasn't until later that i used one of these for drawing and i quickly fell in love. the pen is reliable, consistent in flow, doesn't really skip or stutter, it has a rubberized grip and a full range of value, making it a good pen for sketching inking and writing. there are a few shortcomings, however. the ink doesn't dry as quickly as some, the cap gets loose after a while and won't stay on either side of the pen the ink also builds up on the tip that can cause blots if you're not careful.





like i mentioned, these particular pens appear to be discontinued, the pricing as far as i can remember was around $7-$10 for a package of four pens and seem to be going on amazon for around $6 per pen.

i'm not sure that i would recommend this particular pen as there are some issues that i have pointed out out on pens that aren't really all that useful, but for me, i work around the flaws and just enjoy the pen for what it is.

pen 21: tul permanent marker (fine & ultra fine tips)

 so when is a sharpie not a sharpie?

when it's a tul.

i first saw this brand around a year ago, i had bought some ballpoints that were in the clearance bin at one of the bix box office supply stores, half off and like four pens (i think it was four anyway) i really didn't want to spend more than five dollars that day and for whatever reason i didn't have any pens on me at the time. so i bought them, and HATED them... at first.

the first pen i tried was spotty gummy and tore the paper, but i refused to admit defeat and the second pen worked like a charm.

after that experience i looked into a few other products from the german company, you can see their products here.

it wasn't long before i had gone back to the store in hopes that i would find even more of these little treasures in the clearance bin, i was disappointed.

i did, however, find the aisle where the rest of the line was stocked and brought home several new additions to my "big box-o'-pens.

today i'm going to talk a little about the fine and ultra fine
permanent markers.


all in all they are really more or less the same as a sharpie, they wear about the same, the ink is pretty similar, except the sharpie has a stronger smell, it does bleed through the paper, in fact, it bleeds more than the sharpie, and it dries pretty quickly. the pens are good for inking outlines and the fine is good for large areas of fill. the tips tend to wear down fairly fast, i find that the fine tips are really only good for a drawing or two before it goes into the blunted background filler coffee mug next to my desk.


the cost is around five dollars for a four pack (yup i checked my facts) and they come in a limited variety of colors, the caps of these pens have a hoop in in them, whice looks cool and al;l future-y but aside from their custom marker stand i dont really see much use. these pens last and last, i have yet to bleed one dry, but then again i do a lot of big fills in photoshop. they arent as in many places as sharpies are (read: everywhere) so if you happen to come across one (like at office max, hint hint) it might be worth a try, and trust me, i would be the first to tell any of you if this pen sucked. they are cheap (the sharpies i priced are about the same cost but there are five to a pack), well made pens, tehy work well and look nice on you desk or pen holder of choice. go ahead and try one, you may end up falling for this brand (like me).