Found a perfect bullet journal pen display at the art store in Pasadena

I was at Blick Art Materials on Colorado Boulevard last weekend looking for a new brush pen. They had this whole wall of testers, maybe 50 different pens, all clipped to these little plastic holders with a tiny notebook next to each one. You could test the pen on the exact same paper you use in your journal. I ended up trying 7 different fineliners I would never have bought blind. It made me think, why don't more of us set up a personal 'tester page' in the back of our journals? Just a grid of swatches for every pen and marker we own. Has anyone made a dedicated pen testing spread, and did it stop you from buying a dud?

3 comments

3 Comments

leodavis10d ago

Honestly, that sounds like a lot of work for a pen. I tried making a swatch page once and got bored after like three colors. Most of the time I just scribble on a sticky note to see if it's dead. If a pen writes, it writes. I feel like we overthink this stuff.

seanjackson10d ago

Right? The sticky note test is all you really need.

phoenix_grant3410d ago

Actually, a sticky note can give you a totally different result than your journal paper.