An assortment of the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 mm

I’ve reviewed a bunch of Uniball Signo pens in the past, but the majority of them have come from JetPens, and are not usually available at many places within the US, especially not at any major retail office supply stores.  For that reason, I was excited when I learned that the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 mm was available from OfficeMax, and also here from Amazon.com if you are so inclined.

Up Close with the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38mm

Most of my reviews of the Uniball Signo line have consisted of the .38 mm versions, which is one of my  favorite pens to use other than fountain pens.  I find that the line of the .38mm Signo DX pens are very clean, crisp, and solid…the Uniball Gel RT Micro is no exception.  I was worried that this US version might be lacking something, but I realized that with the quality of product that Uniball puts out, it was a pretty silly thought.  The Gel RT Micro, although only available in Black, Red, and Blue puts down a bright and solid line when you write with it and makes for an incredibly smooth and comfortable writing experience.  I enjoy the simplicity of this pen because its not trying too hard to look flashy or offer too much, its just a good pen that writes well.  I especially like the smooth rubberized grip with its subtle taper towards the bottom that flares back out slightly right before the plastic cone of the tip.  This provides an area for your thumb and forefinger to nestle into comfortably.

Writing Sample of the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38

The above writing sample with the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 was done in my Black n’ Red Notebook and I was really pleased with how it wrote on this paper.  The paper typically does well with most of the inks that I’ve tried on it, however it does tend to take a little longer for many inks to dry on it.  The interesting thing with the Uniball Gel RT Micro is that the ink dries much better on this paper than I thought it would.  There are very slight streaks after a few seconds, but its not the wet and streaky/smudgy results I’ve had with other pens.  If you look closely at the photo above you can see what I mean, the start and end points of some of the numbers show faint streaks, but nothing major.

I feel like I’m kind of just gushing over this pen rather than doing one of my usual reviews here, but its simplicity and fantastic performance really make the Uniball Gel RT Micro hard not to like and enjoy writing with.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Pilot Precise V5 RT Assorted Colors

I’ve always been a fan of the Pilot Precise line of pens, and these Pilot Precise V5 RT Retractable Liquid Ink Pen (from Office Max, great service btw, I’ll post about that some other time though) are the first ones I have bought in a long time because they always seem to last for such a long time.  I was reminded of them by @Speedmaster who writes the fantastic blog, Amateur Economist which is full of interesting news about watches, pens, economics, mens fashion, and other great stuff, its kind of like GQ Magazine, but better…a must read if you want to be well-informed about interesting things.

The Sleek and Modern Looking Pilot Precise V5 RT Retractable Pen

Having already been a big fan of this line of pens from Pilot, I was excited to see the nice new design of the Pilot Precise V5 RT which also kept some of the same styling elements of the older version. It has great visual appeal with its smooth shiny clip, and vibrant body colors that match to the color of the ink.  The lettering and graphics on the body of the pen along with its design somehow seem to convey a message of speed, it could be the italic font and “swoosh” marks that go up the barrel of the pen, but whatever it is, it just makes for a really cool looking pen.

The Pilot Precise V5 RT Comes with a Very Soft and Comfortable Grip

A close look at the tip and grip section of this pen are in order for two reasons.  First, the tip is the main design element that reminds me of all the older Pilot Precise V5 and V7 pens that I have enjoyed in the past.  It has that stacked series of discs or fins that I’ve always thought just looked really cool, and will always associate with the Pilot brand.  The grip of the pen is very simple, yet very effective.  It has a smooth rubbery feel with some subtle dimples in it that are more frequent as you travel down the length of the grip.  It is super comfortable to hold and write with, and with the rest of the pen feeling very balanced in your hand, I’m pretty sure that this is one pen that you wont get tired from writing with.

The Pilot Precise V5 Refill in Red

Now that we know that the Pilot Precise V5 RT not only looks cool, but is comfortable to write with, it also is refillable.  In the past when I’ve used the regular Pilot Precise Stick, I was seriously impressed with the longevity of the ink, although those versions are not refillable.  I think that those versions will probably last longer than this one because their bodies are entirely filled with a ton of ink, while these refill cartridges look like they have a slightly smaller capacity.

Pilot Precise V5 RT Writing Sample on Levenger Paper

Writing with this pen was, and is an absolutely great experience.  They put down a very smooth line and seem to glide across the paper, while leaving a bright line that dries almost instantly.  The line doesn’t seem to spread, smear, feather, or bleed on the Levenger Circa paper that I used, and it preformed quite well on a few other papers that I used during the course of trying out these pens.  The fantastic looks, the comfortable grip, and the superb writing experience with the newer retractable version of these Pilot Precise V5 pens reminded me again why these are such awesome pens, and why they should be one of the top go to pens when you are looking for a dependable every day work horse.  Oh, and also, the Pilot Precise V5 RT (also available in a V7 wider tip) is airplane safe, a claim I have not had a chance to test yet, but I will be traveling later this month and will be sure to test it out and report back.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Environmentally Friendly Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen

Environmentally friendly, or green office supplies are appearing more and more often, so I thought I would take a look at the Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen that I picked up from OfficeMax and which is also available in more varieties here from Amazon.  There is also a biodegradable mechanical pencil version which I didn’t pick up to test out, but judging from the pictures of it, its got a similar look and feel.

Now before I even get into the review, there is some controversy over the “green” language used by Paper Mate to describe the environmentally friendly aspects of this pen.  From my research (and I’m not a scientist) it looks like there are some differences between being biodegradable and compostable.  Basically, you can’t just toss this entire pen in a landfill and have it naturally return to the earth, but when certain components (see further down) are placed directly in soil or a compost it will degrade.  Either way, as a consumer you need to do your research and make well-informed decisions, and personally I think its much better to have a pen like this Paper Mate Biodegradable instead of a pen thats just all plastic that will stick around with us for 100s of years.

The Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen has a Great Design and Very Comfortable Grip

Visually, I think Paper Mate did a good job with the design and coloring of this pen, the light earthy colors, smooth natural looking lines and the textured leafy pattern on the grip,  convey a an environmentally friendly tone.  Beyond just being a good-looking and environmentally friendly pen, it is also very comfortable to write with.  The rubberized grip section, and the overall balance made it pretty comfortable to write with, although it is a fairly light weight pen, so if you like something more hefty, this pen wont fit that bill for you.

The Biodegradable Components of the Paper Mate Environmentally Pen

Earlier I mentioned that only certain parts of the pen are considered to be biodegradable, so the above photo shows those components.  Basically the entire body of the pen can be put in your compost or soil when you are done with it…AFTER you have bought some refills for it several times hopefully.

Here are the non-biodegradable parts of the Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen

What you have left now are the non-biodegradable parts of the Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen, so basically you have the grip, the ink cartridge, the spring, and the plunger parts.  So I think that while the world of green office supplies still has a way to go before becoming perfect, this Paper Mate Biodegradable pen is a great start down that path.

Oh, and normally I do a writing sample, but for the most part ballpoint pens mostly write the same.  This one does a better job than most other ballpoints (excluding the cream of the crop  Uniball Jetstream and Pilot Acroball) that I’ve used.  It writes fairly smooth, and it doesn’t result in any of the clumpy gooey spots that you sometimes get with other ballpoints, so you wont be disappointed if you are expecting a nice writing ballpoint.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Avery Removable Label Pads

Some home office supplies are harder to get excited about than others, but sometimes you have to look past the surface to see what makes things really cool.  The Avery Removable Label Pad is one of those office supplies that may seem “blah” at first, but once you get to actually use it you can appreciate its invaluable functionality.  These were sent to me by the nice folks over at Avery, so let that stand as an additional disclaimer so nobody thinks my blogging and review integrity is being bought off for some $3 office supplies.

Avery Removable Labels with a Non-Stick Tab

These 2″x4″ removable labels come on a cardboard backed pad and each one has its own non-stick tab to make it easier to lift, remove, and place on your desired surface.  They are easy to remove from the pad, however you should note that you have to be very careful about how they are removed from the pad.  If you pull them off at a sharp angle, you will inevitably end up with a curled corner that wont lay flat.

Avery Removable Label on a Notebook Cover

After carefully peeling off the label, I applied one to the front cover of my Miquelrius Notebook as you can see in the photo above, but I also left the non-adhesive tab attached so you could see it there too.  I removed the entire sticker from the cover of the notebook 15 times, and re-applied it 15 times, with no noticeable decrease in the adhesive qualities that it displayed.  The writing on the label that you see was done with a Sharpie Pen Grip.  It dried instantly, which is good because typically when applying a label, the first thing you do is rub your finger across it to make it stick, and you don’t want the ink to smear.

Avery Removable Label Pad on the Spine of a Notebook

One thing I did to test the adhesive properties of the Avery Removable Labels is apply it along the notebook spine as you see above.  I figured that would put a little extra stress on the adhesive, running it long ways on such a narrow surface, but it seems to have held up well.  I tested these labels and their reusable properties on multiple surfaces and the only thing that seemed to be a challenge were those plastic textured type notebook covers that you would find on  a 5-Star Notebook or a Black n Red Notebook.  Everything else seemed to stick and re-stick quite nicely.  Overall these are one of those inexpensive, yet invaluable (and green office supplies since you can reuse them) products that you should always have on hand in your stash of home office supplies.  Thanks again to the folks from Avery for providing these Removable Label Pads to review.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Pilot Acroball 7mm Ballpoint Pen in Red

With my last post on the Pilot G2, @dowdyism from the PenAddict (click the link for his review) left a comment that reminded me I had never reviewed the Pilot Acroball 7mm ballpoint pen that I picked up from JetPens a few months ago.  I figured now was a good time to do the review before I forget again.

Full body shot of the Pilot Acroball 7mm Ballpoint

One of the things that first attracted me to this pen was the cool looking body and the claim that it is a strong competitor to the Uniball Jetstream which I really enjoy writing with.    One of the things you can probably tell from both pictures, even without ever holding the pen is that the grip on the Pilot Acroball is really nice.  It has a pattern on it that reminds me of a car tire read, and its very comfortable to hold when you are writing with it.

Close up of the Pilot Acroball Ballpoint .7mm Grip

In additon to the grip on the Acroball, the pen feels comfortable in your hand while writing with it, and overall it has a good balance with what feels like sturdy construction.  Visually, I still like the all black, almost stealthy look of the Uniball Jetstream that I compared this pen with, but the Pilot Acroball looks nice as well, its just a more “flashy” nice look in my opinion.

When it comes to writing with the Pilot Acroball ballpoint pen, you really do get a feel that is similar to the Jetstream.  This is a ballpoint pen that really makes you forget that you are writing with a ballpoint.  You don’t have that sticky and gooey feeling of the ink dragging behind the tip of the pen as you write, and instead its a very smooth writing experience.  This improved writing experience is due to the improved ink formula that does not rely on the more oil based consistency of a typical ballpoint pen.

A Writing Sample with the Pilot Acroball 7mm compared to the Uniball Jetstream .7mm

Above you can see a scan of the writing sample that I did with the Pilot Acroball, and towards the bottom I did a comparison to the Uniball Jetstream.  The writing experience of this pen definitely compares well with the Jetstream.  I feel as though the Acroball does skip just a slight bit more than the Jetstream as you can see from the very few white spots in the scan.  In trying to find any major difference between the two pens, I did a test to see which (if either) dried quicker, and they seem to match up almost identically taking just about 4 seconds to completely dry.  I think the only real difference  that I could detect between the two pens (other than the very slight skipping) is that the Jetstream feels like it writes faster, meaning that I feel like the pen slides across the paper quicker, which could be good for some people, but if you don’t like that feeling then the Pilot Acroball is probably better for you.  The only other difference for someone comparing the two pens is the visual design, with one being more flashy, and one being more stealthy.  Overall the Acroball is a great option for a ballpoint pen, and I think the comparison to the Jestream is a solid one.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Pilot G2 Gel Ink Pen

The Pilot G2 Gel Ink Pen is one of the most popular pens out there according to various sources.  If you believe their own packaging, it is the #1 selling pen in America, it is currently in the #1 spot on Amazon’s list of Top Pens and Refills, and is #1 on the Amazon list of Top Rollerball Pens as well.  Personally, I’ve never been a huge fan, which seems to go against commonly accepted opinion among people who enjoy their pens.

Writing up a review of such a popular pen has the potential to be dangerous because I know that there are many people who are fanatical about the Pilot G2, so I guess I take the risk of offending those folks if I say anything bad about it, now I don’t hate the pen, but I do have my issues with it.  I think some of my issues with it stem from the fact that I read a lot of hype about it before I tried it for the first time a while ago, so maybe no pen would ever live up to that kind of  hype.

As I said, I do like some things about the G2, for starters, there is no doubt in my mind that the pen is very comfortable to hold and write with.  The balance of the pen itself, and the nice smooth, but easy to hang onto rubbery grip make it almost as if it is an extension of your fingers.  I also like the firm and smooth action of the plunger when you click to expose the retractable tip.  Some pens are kind of loose or clunky feeling in that area, but not so much here.  I do somewhat enjoy the way the pen writes, I find it to be far superior to many other options out there, but I’ve found that there are just quite a few other pens that I think write nicer.   The good thing about this pen being so popular is that at least if you find yourself somewhere without a good pen, you can usually find these in a local convenience store or supermarket along with their refills as well, and they do come in a few different sizes and colors so you have some options there as well.

The Pilot G2 Gel Ink Close Up

Now maybe I am being a bit overly critical, but for some reason there is one thing that has always REALLY bugged me when it came to the appearance of the G2.  It doesn’t take much to notice the strange rusty dirty looking gel that is behind the ink in the ink cartridge.  On most pens, this is a clear gel substance, but for whatever reason, its this awful shade of dirty brown, which would be fine if it the pen didn’t have a clear plastic barrel that allowed you to see it so well.  One other thing that I don’t like about the visual appearance of this pen is the clip, the round ball-like tip of the clip, and the big gold ugly tacky looking font of the text on the clip cheapen the look of the pen in my opinion.

Here is the Pilot G2 Writing Sample in a Black n' Red Notebook, with Some Comments in Red

So the most important thing that one should be concerned about with a good pen is how it writes.  The above writing sample for the Pilot G2 was done in a Black n’ Red Notebook, which handles most pens very well.  As I said before, the pen writes much better than most other pens you will find, but I guess Im holding it to a higher standard because of its amazing popularity.  I’ve found in my writing with the pen that although it lays down a nice line, the ink tends to feather just a bit, and it even skips a tiny bit here and there.  If you click on the photo, you can see where I’ve pointed out a few of these instances in the red writing.  The last part of the writing sample you see up there is the test I did to see what they dry time was.  It pretty much took about 9 full seconds to dry.  Usually I dont care too much about dry time, but I know that for left-handed writers, it can be an issue and honestly, when it takes THIS long to dry, it does become an annoyance for me.

Luckily there are lots of pens out there to try, and although one of my favorites is the Uniball Signo DX, its not easily available other than at JetPens so I might just have to do a review/comparison of the Amazon list of  Top Rollerball Pens.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Blomus Stainless Steel Deluxe Business Card Case

I’ve seen the Blomus Stainless Steel Deluxe Business Card Case around for a while and have always liked the looks of it, so when I was recently ordering stuff from Organize.com, I figured it was about time I actually bought it instead of being picky and trying to find the perfect business card case.  I feel like this is one of those things I’ve over shopped for and considering the fact that its only about $10, I’ve probably wasted more time searching than its worth at this point.

As you can see from the first photo, the case comes well packaged, and is made completely of stainless steel, even the inside springy flap that keeps tension on the back of the business cards to keep them from sliding out.  The case itself measures 3 3/4″ by 2 1/2″, and is advertised to fit up to 25 business cards in it.  Sometimes I feel like listed capacities like that are just “suggestions” but in this case and with my business cards it was right on the nose, I couldn’t squeeze in even a 26th without destroying it, but obviously the thickness of said cards will be the final determination of how many you can fit in there.

Back Side of the Blomus Stainless Steel Business Card Case Back

So far you have seen the front, and now the back of the Blomus Stainless Steel Deluxe Business Card Case, and one of the things that is clearly visible are the clean smooth lines of it which make it great for sliding in a front pocket, or into a small pocket in your brief case or laptop bag.  All of the corners are slightly rounded too, so you shouldnt have any issues with getting caught o poking through things.  Personally I wouldn’t carry this in my front pocket for any extended period of time because its so rigid and a little bigger than anything Id like to have to carry around like that considering I usually have my cell phone and wallet in either pocket.

Inside the Blomus Stainless Steel Business Card Case Inside, lots of extra space to the right

My only real issue with this business card case is something that some might see as a benefit, so take the following with a grain of salt.  In the photo above you can see that I’ve shifted all of my business cards to the bottom of the case, or the far left, which leaves a good size gap in the top of the case.  Now this is great if you have larger than average business cards, but for someone like myself who likes to keep things small, compact, and minimal, I really would have preferred a smaller  opening here so the whole thing was smaller in my pocket or bag.

I really don’t see myself using this case going forward, however it isn’t a case of the product not working as it should, it just isn’t good for my personal situation, although it will get me by for now.  So, I think I am back to searching for the “perfect” business card case, which will probably be impossible to find, but I can tell you that it IS fun shopping for stuff like this, and gives me the opportunity to write up some more reviews that can hopefully help you make the right decision for you and your office supply needs.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Two quick items today, One is a general sale (and free shipping) on home office supplies from OfficeMax, and the other is an interesting deal on some REALLY cheap Sharpie Pens from Amazon, assuming they have not sold out yet.

First, you can Save 15% Today at OfficeMax.com + Free Shipping on Most Orders $50 - Although it says “Today” I believe this sale actually goes until February 27th.

I don’t know what the deal is with these (appears to be limited quantities) so if anyone orders them I’d love to hear how it goes, but the following Sharpie Pens are available REALLY cheap on Amazon, even when you include shipping:

• 12 Original Blue Sharpie Pens for 2.49 + $8 shipping which comes out to $0.87 each
• 12 Black Retractable Sharpie Pens for $3.83 + $6.50 shipping which comes out to $0.86 each
• 12 of the Red Retractable Sharpie Pens for $3.83 + $6.50 shipping which comes out to $0.86 each

See Comments Below, it appears that this might fall under the “too good to be true” category on the Sharpie Pens, although the sellers do have feedback rates in the high 90% range.  I cant continue to suggest purchasing these even with just the one comment below from my good reader who shared her personal story with these items.

If none of those work out for you, don’t forget that you can always check my small Amazon shop for some of my previously reviewed home office supplies which hopefully makes it easier to find some of those items.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Leuchtturm1917 Ruled Notebook

The Leuchtturm1917 notebook is relatively new in the US market, however as its name implies it has been around since 1917, and with the tag line “Details Matter” you can tell from the notebook that they have spent those 90 years perfecting the little details of their notebooks.  I picked up this version of the Small Ruled Leuchtturm1917 from Organize.com a few weeks ago, and am now getting to review this fun office supply.

The Leuchtturm1917 Ruled Notebook Table of Contents for Organizing Your Notes

This notebook looks very similar to your basic Moleskine notebook with its thick black leather-like cover, slightly ivory colored pages, and black elastic closure, however I’d say that based on my experience so far, this is a much better option.  The features you will find packed in the Leuchtturm are:

• 185 pages of 70 gsm paper
• Numbered pages
• A blank table of contents
• Acid free, no bleed paper
• Thread bound binding for a flat opening notebook
• 8 perforated sheets in the back
• Expandable pocket in the back cover
• Satin ribbon page marker
• 4 stickers to label and archive your notebook with

When you compare all of those offerings to a regular Moleskine, it kind of makes you wonder why someone might pick a Moleskine over the Leuchtturm notebook, I know I wouldn’t.

The Leuchtturm1917 Pages with Space for Dates and Pre-Printed Page Numbers

As you can see in the above photo, there is ample space provided on each page for you to write the date, and the bottom outside corner of each page is pre-numbered to help you manage your table of contents provided to you in the front few pages of this notebook.  In that photo you can also see the ribbon page finder, which is pretty much standard on any good notebook or journal like this.

Leuchtturm1917 Writing Sample Showing Minimal Bleed with Most Pens

The most important thing to look at with this notebook besides the ample feature set, is how a variety of pens perform on its pages, because that is where I have my biggest beef with most of the Moleskine notebooks I’ve tried.  My biggest issue with Moleskine notebooks of this style is that any ink (besides ballpoint) that I’ve tried ALWAYS bleeds or feathers, and it just makes for an incredibly sloppy looking notebook.  I was pleasantly surprised with the Leuchtturm notebook because I did not see any feathering with most pens other than the Sharpie Grip Pen and the Uniball Vision Elite, but it was minimal with those two.  I think the scan is good enough above that you can see the feathering on those two pages, and I used multiple fountain pens, liquid ink pens, and gel ink pens to really test out the paper.

The only thing that bugs me about this notebook and the writing experience is that the ink definitely shows through to the back side of each page that you write on, so with most pens, you will only be able to write on one side of the page.  When it comes to high quality notebooks like this, I just don’t understand why manufacturers wouldn’t make this a top priority so that you can utilize both sides of the paper.  For the most part, I do like this notebook a lot, but I’ll probably stick to my Rhodia Web Notebook when I want something in this class because the quality of the paper is just so far superior.

The four Leuchtturm1917 Archive Labels that come with your Notebook

I’ll leave you with this last picture which is kind of appropriate since this is probably the last part of your notebook that you would use.  These are the stickers that come with each notebook for you to use to label and archive your notebook.  You get two square stickers, for the inside/outside covers, and two long skinny stickers that would fit on the outside binding.

If you are interested, you can see all of the Leuchtturm offerings on their website.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Pentel Tradio Energel in Brown

A while back I got this Pentel Tradio Energel Combo pen from the nice folks at JetPens.com, and its about time I get to reviewing it.  In the past I’ve reviewed the Pentel Tradio Stylo which has a similar body, but is more of a felt tip pen.

The Pentel Tradio Energel Body Window and Grip

The Pentel Tradio body is a really solid piece of writing equipment, that just has a sturdy feel to it when you pick it up.  This version has a nice matte finish, which almost feels like it is coated in a super fine grain of sand, but it is not rough at all.  It has the same little window in the cap that lets you see the tip of the pen when capped, and the grip section is solid smooth plastic grip section with a bit of a wavy pattern imprinted to make it easier to hold onto.  I remember that the other version of the Tradio that I reviewed had a more glossy finish on the body that actually made the cap never feel like it was posted firmly on the back of the pen, but with this matte finish, it adds just enough extra friction to make the cap feel more firmly posted.

Pentel Tradio Energel Combo Pen Writing Sample in a Black n Red Notebook

The really impressive thing about this pen though is the Energel ink in it, which writes incredibly smoothly, leaves a nice solid line, and dries pretty quickly.  The ink is composed of a combination (hence the Energel Combo name) of gel and liquid inks.  I really loved the feel of the pen gliding over the paper when I tried it out on my Black n Red notebook and it also wrote very nicely on my Levenger paper that I use daily.  The is supposed to dry very quickly and be great to prevent smearing for left handed writers, so of course I wanted to do my own little test.  As you can see from the writing sample, the ink dried fairly quickly in the Black n Red notebook, but to be honest I didn’t expect super fast drying on this paper because of its slightly more glossy finish.  On the other hand though, it wasnt even worth scanning my writing sample on the Levenger paper because even after only one second,  you couldn’t smear the ink, so the Energel ink with Levenger paper is a great option for a lefty looking for a pen and paper that wont smear on them.

You can pick one of these up from JetPens (thanks to them again for the free review sample) in a variety of colors and two different finishes.  Also, if you want an additional review before deciding to purchase this pen, check out Brad’s review over at PenAddict.com.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.