While most highlighters capture your attention with bright inks,
pastel highlighters use calming colors that won’t strain your eyes.
In this video, we’ll compare nine of our favorite pastel highlighters and show you how we like to use them.
Let’s get started!
We tested the yellow highlighter from each line for smearing and bleeding on copy paper.
For the smear tests, we wrote with a fountain pen, rollerball pen, ballpoint pen, gel pen, and pencil.
We also tested over inkjet printing.
After 15 minutes, we highlighted over each one.
We’ll show you the results as we talk about each highlighter.
Top Choice
Iconic 2 Way Marker Pens aren’t technically highlighters,
but they perform so well that we just had to recommend them.
Each double-sided marker has a chisel tip for highlighting
and an extra fine tip for adding notes and doodles.
They work perfectly over ballpoint, gel, rollerball, pencil, and inkjet printing.
They barely smeared fountain pen ink.
They dry quickly, though there is a little bleed through on copy paper.
You can pick between two sets of soft colors: Pastel or Retro.
For Books
Highlighting books is an excellent way to bring attention to important quotes or plot points.
To make sure your highlighting doesn’t soak through the page,
try using Pilot FriXion Light Erasable Highlighters.
Their drier flow won’t bleed through absorbent paper.
Plus, these highlighters use a thermo-sensitive ink that turns invisible with heat,
like that made from friction.
You can “erase” any excess highlighting and keep your books neat.
The highlighters do smear gel pens, soft pencils, fountain pen ink, and inkjet printing,
so we recommend using them with printed books or ballpoint pens.
You can pick between two pastel sets: Natural or Soft.
The Natural Color highlighters are an excellent choice if you find the Soft ones to be a little too light.
For Color-Coding
Zebra Mildiners are the undisputed champions of color options.
With twenty-five hues to choose from, you can assemble an aesthetically pleasing palette—
or turn your notes into a pastel rainbow.
Each highlighter is double-sided with a bullet tip on one end and a chisel tip on the other.
There’s even a version with a brush tip, so you can add fun lettering to every page!
Mildliners tend to smear water-based inks
and work best on notes that are written in ballpoint pen or printed.
If you need a pastel highlighter that can work with almost every writing instrument,
check out our next recommendation.
For Handwritten Notes
Every highlighter enthusiast can understand the pain of smearing carefully written notes
with one swipe of attention-grabbing color.
Luckily, Marvy PastelLiner Highlighters are here to help.
In our tests, we found that these highlighters didn’t budge ballpoint, rollerball, or pencil.
Fountain pen ink smeared a little, but it was still readable.
Every ink is formulated differently,
so we recommend testing your favorite pen first before you start highlighting everything.
The PastelLiners are an excellent option for students who do a lot of highlighting.
The rubber grips are comfortable to hold, especially during long study sessions.
The caps don’t post, so be sure to keep them somewhere safe when you’re highlighting.
For the Kid at Heart
These adorable Epoch Kobaru Sweet Tapir Highlighters are sure to make studying
just a little more fun with their deliciously scented inks.
The highlighters are double-sided with a contrasting color on each end.
You can pick between three scent and color combinations or get the entire set.
They’re not just cute though:
the Sweet Tapir highlighters won’t smear ballpoint, rollerball, and pencil.
They only smudge fountain pen ink, gel pen, and inkjet printing slightly.
For Long Study Sessions
The last thing you want to worry about during an extended study session is your highlighter drying out.
Luckily, Stabilo Pastel Highlighters use a specially formulated ink
that resists drying out for up to four hours.
They come in three styles with flat sides, so they won’t roll away.
The Stabilo Boss Original and Mini Highlighters have a chunky, tapered shape
that is surprisingly comfortable to hold.
If you prefer a more standard shape, the Swing Cool Highlighters have longer, thinner bodies.
The Stabilo Pastel Highlighters performed well on all of the writing instruments we tested them with,
and only smeared gel and fountain pen ink slightly.
However, the highlighters are on the wetter side, so they’ll bleed through copy paper.
We suggest using them on single-sided print-outs and higher quality paper,
so you won’t get distracted by stray splotches of color.
The Original Boss comes in ten pastel colors.
For Minimalists
If you only need one highlighter for all your notes, make it a Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighter.
It’s cleverly designed to fit two chisel tips under one cap.
The highlighter pairs a bright ink with a pastel version of the same color,
so your highlighting looks harmonious.
To switch colors, just rotate the barrel in your hand!
You can make important terms stand out,
then highlight supporting details with the coordinating softer color.
The Mark+ smeared gel, fountain pen ink, and inkjet printing, but only slightly.
It didn’t smear ballpoint, pencil, or rollerball.
For Precision
Triplus Textsurfers combine Staedtler’s pastel highlighter ink with the iconic Triplus marker.
But instead of a fineliner tip, these highlighters have a flexible bullet tip!
You can underline key terms with a light touch,
or apply a little pressure to highlight entire sentences.
The Textsurfers come in ten colors,
including a black marker that you can use to block out information in a pinch.
As an added bonus, the Textsurfer didn’t smear ballpoint, rollerball, pencil, or inkjet printing.
It smeared gel and fountain pen ink slightly, but not enough that we found our notes difficult to read.
For Print-Outs
It’s tough to find a highlighter that won’t smudge inkjet printing,
but Uni Propus Window Soft Color Highlighters are up to the task.
They’re not just great for highlighting printouts though:
the chisel tips have a handy clear insert that lets you see exactly where you’re highlighting.
They’re a great option for lefties who “pull” rather than “push” the highlighter across the page.
The Propus only smeared gel and fountain pen ink,
and worked well with ballpoint, rollerball, and pencil.
They come in six colors that are easy on the eyes.
Which of these highlighters is your favorite?
Let us know in the comments below.
You can shop all of these products at JetPens.com.
Thanks for watching!