Fineliners are a popular choice for writing in bullet journals and planners because of their vibrant ink and precise lines.
In part one of this two-part series, we're comparing our top ten fineliners for everyday writing.
Keep an eye out for part two, which covers the best fineliners for crafts and labels.
Here are the pens we're featuring:
the Copic Multiliner, Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen, the Marvy Le Pen, the Water-Based Pilot Drawing Pen,
Sakura Pigma Micron, Stabilo Point 88, Staedtler Pigment Liner, Staedtler Triplus, Teranishi Rushon Petite, and the Pigment-Based Uni Pin Pen.
We tested the fineliners for the following characteristics:
Tip size: what ranges of tip sizes are offered?
Smoothness: rated from 1 to 3 stars, with 3 as the smoothest.
Drying time: how many seconds does it take for the pen to dry on Maruman Mnemosyne Paper?
Darkness: how dark is the ink?
Water-resistance: how well does it stand up to water?
Highlighter-resistance: we tested this with a Zebra Mildliner.
Showthrough: how much does the pen show through to the backside of copy paper?
And colors: the number of colors that a pen is available in.
Here are the results:
This category goes to the Copic Multiliner and Staedtler Pigment Liner.
Copic offers tip sizes from 0.03 to 1.0 mm.
And Staedtler from 0.05 to 1.2 mm.
Both pens have such a broad range that you'll always be able to find a tip size that suits your needs, whether you like whisper-thin lines or bold, impactful letters.
Smoothness is hard to show on camera, so once again you'll just have to trust us.
The Copic Multiliner and Stabilo Point 88 are the smoothest pens we tested.
The fastest-drying pen is the Uni Pin Pen, drying at 3 seconds.
It's closely followed by the Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen, Pilot Drawing Pen, and Steadtler Pigment Liner, all of which dry at 4 seconds.
The Marvy Le Pen and Teranishi Rushon Petite are the darkest pens we tested.
You can see how much blacker they are here next to the Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen.
To ensure that you can use both sides of a sheet of paper, try these pens.
The Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen and Sakura Pigma Micron have the least amount of showthrough on copy paper.
The most water-resistant pens we tested are the Copic Multiliner, Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen, and Sakura Pigma Micron.
Look into any planner addict's pen case and you're sure to find a Mildliner or two.
The fineliners that work best with Mildliners are the Marvy Le Pen and Teranishi Rushon Petite.
You don't have to stick with black! Some fineliners offer a huge selection of colors.
The Staedtler Triplus has the most colors at 48, with the Stabilo Point 88 close behind at 47 colors.
And there you have it! We hope you've enjoyed our roundup of our favorite fine liners for writing.
Find all of these pens and more at JetPens.com.
Stay tuned for part two of this series, where we compare the top fineliners for labeling washi tape, plastic, and glass.
Which pens were your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks for watching!