Papermate Inkjoy Gel Pens - Best Pens Ever

[Kenlowe]

I wondered about this too, not quite a direct comparison to the Emperors new clothes fable but if you are using a gel pen that is just right with no bleed through and good performance am I beating myslef up trying to find this new pen on the block that others say is the best thing ever.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Kenlowe

[Sailor Kenshin]

I havent used these Papermate Gel pens so far, a gel pen that I really like is the Uniball Impact gel pen 1.00mm which is perfect for me, very broad line and super smooth.

 

Is there anyone who has used this Uniball and Papermate Gel pen? Is it worth seeking out the Papermate?

I got a deal on some Uniball gels, probably because the barrels have an obnoxious argyle print on them. I also got a three-pack on the Papermates, both Medium and Fine.

 

They're both okay, but will never replace my beloved Zebra Sarasa pens. I don't care for the Uniball section, and the Medium Papermate bleeds through paper worse than a 3B Pelikan firehose loaded with Bernanke Blue.

[Fermata]

I got a deal on some Uniball gels, probably because the barrels have an obnoxious argyle print on them. I also got a three-pack on the Papermates, both Medium and Fine.

 

They're both okay, but will never replace my beloved Zebra Sarasa pens. I don't care for the Uniball section, and the Medium Papermate bleeds through paper worse than a 3B Pelikan firehose loaded with Bernanke Blue.

 

 

Thanks for this Sailor. I get on fine with my 1.00 Uniballs and hadnt heard of the bleed through issue with the Papermate, I think I will keep with what I know works for me.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for this Sailor. I get on fine with my 1.00 Uniballs and hadnt heard of the bleed through issue with the Papermate, I think I will keep with what I know works for me.

 

In all fairness to Papermate, the Fines don't have a bleedthrough problem to that extent, but are harder to locate. As I say, Uniballs wrote a nice line, so go with what works!

[nigelg]

Our local WH Smiths has a whole rack of various Papermate Inkjoy Ballpoints. On the back of a blister pack it says words to the effect of "Have you tried our new Gel Pens yet?" so presumably the gel pens and the ballpoints don't use the same ink.

[migo984]

Our local WH Smiths has a whole rack of various Papermate Inkjoy Ballpoints. On the back of a blister pack it says words to the effect of "Have you tried our new Gel Pens yet?" so presumably the gel pens and the ballpoints don't use the same ink.

I don't think they do.

[Mike 59]

The inks used in the 'easy-to find' (in the UK) Inkjoy pens, vs. the '300 gel' is not the same, but until the latest 'Inkjoy gel' pens appear we won't know for certain.

[dgcom]

Here is the result of the water test...

 

Unfortunately, InkJoy gel was nothing, but disappointment so far - too wet, too broad (for 0.7mm), bleeds through and behaves badly when wet.

 

Zebra gels are one of the best gels I seen, together with Uniball Signo.

Next are hybrid inks from Zebra (Emulsion) and Uni (Jetstream). Staples Avant line in US is also good and very inexpensive.

 

Ballpoints are all fine, except Fisher Space pen refills - which supersized me, however it won't lose readability like fountain pen would.

[sciumbasci]

Fisher Space Pen refills really fade that much on water? How is this possible? They are advertised as being able to write underwater...

[dgcom]

They don't fade, they just bleed... after brief exposure.

I am thinking of making another test with longer exposure to water.

I tested two different refills which I personally bought direct from Fisher SP directly several years ago.

For me, the most useful property was sealed metal cartridge, which won't melt in hot car and won't dry out in winter. Never tried to write under water

[Mike 59]

Very interesting, and surprising results. I don't know if any of the makers claim their inks are waterproof, but ballpoint refills seem to be oil-based inks, so will not mix well with water, by their nature.

Looking at my test sheet under magnification, the ballpoints that were unaffected by water were; Papermate inkjoy, Parker QuinkFlow, Pilot Acroball, Stabilo COM 4, Caran d'ache, Cross and Monteverdi.

Ballpoints that could be a different ink formula than normal 'ballpoint ink' that did well were, Uniball Jetstream, Uniball Signo 207/307, Pilot Frixion, and Fisher Space pen #PR4.

The Fisher Space pen refill does give a different result from others, in that the ink expands slightly to make a wider line but does not fade.

The fountain pen ink is obviously water-based and won't stand a waterproof test.

The same applies to most of the fibre-tip markers, which bleed across or into the paper, no surprise there either.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Mike 59

[dgcom]

As far as I know, Uniball Jetstream and Zebra ESB are "hybrid" inks, they have many properties of ballpoint inks, but are less viscous due to an emulsion of oil and water: Z-Mulsion

 

Not sure what Uniball Signo is - it is much closer to regular gel inks, but who knows...

 

Does your Fisher Space Pen refill produce different results compared to my sample?

[Mike 59]

dgcom, Looking at your results with the Fisher SP refill, my result was not so extreme, so I am doing another water soak test, this time on 'copier' paper for 2 & 30 seconds, and also on Rhodia 80g paper, again 2 & 30 seconds soak test.

I also have a Stabilo 'Docusafe' refill, will test this one too.

I will post the results later today/tomorrow.

[Mike 59]

I tried the 2 seconds soak test and then 30 seconds with a separate paper, not much difference.

Seems the ink does expand in the paper but would be readable without any problem.

The biggest difference is that the Fisher refill actually will write on damp paper, another ballpoint I tried would not.

 

[Fabienne]

Papermate Ink Joy is a great roller ball pen with really BLACK ink. Alas, it is ugly but...it is cheap and writes like a dream.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Papermate Ink Joy is a great roller ball pen with really BLACK ink. Alas, it is ugly but...it is cheap and writes like a dream.

Haven't tried the black (s) yet...I give them to DH. He's black or blue only, and received all my Inkjoy ballpoints in those colors.

 

So now I have about a million new Papermate, Uniball, and Pentel gel pens...but no black. Maybe I'll steal one back, just to test.

[Mike 59]

Still no sign of these Inkjoy gels in the UK, I've checked all the usual shops, it's possible they are available from online shops though.

When they do appear, I will be interested to find out how they compare to the Uniball 207/307, which I think is the current best of it's type.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Mike 59

[Zookie]

I got a good deal on a couple of Injoy gel pens to try, and find them very nice. I'll be sure to purchase some more.

Edited August 23, 2016 by Zookie

[Blue_Moon]

I've been using my beloved Papermate Inkjoy Gel pens for about two months now. I can say with confidence that they are now my absolute favorites. My Pilot G-2's are relegated to second place. Now, I still love them, but I love my Inkjoy Gels a Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle bit more. Ahhhhhh....Pen Bliss.

[McCoy1996]

My girlfriend uses the inkjoy pens and she loves them. They feel pretty nice to write with, I must admit. Although I don't think they will take the place of my G2 limited with trimmed Mont Blanc cartridges as a quicky pen

Edited September 1, 2016 by McCoy1996