Pilot Erasable Mediums Review
Some readers will know that one of my “jobs” is to teach vocational education courses. One of the courses that I particularly like teaching is trust accounting. Trust accounting is an area of accounting that is generally used by legal professionals and differs from normal business accounting. Of course, my students (little angels) often do not share my love of the calming effect of calculating things.
When I teach trust accounting, I teach students the manual method – good old fashioned by hand as well as computerized. Teaching the manual way ensures a student can always calculate their result and double check when technology goes awry.
One of the drawbacks of trust accounting is that it must be 100% accurate. My students used to experience a loss of confidence when they had an incorrect result in their calculations. The mistake glaring on the page would upset the equilibrium of their workbook. Once I told them about erasable pens and they tested them out their confidence improved by leaps and bounds.
Erasable pens are great for students to learn with (but should not be used in real life accounting). Being able to erase out an incorrect entry and write in the correct response not only increased confidence but also ensured that their workbook could be used correctly to study with. Some of my students had far more erasable pens, in every shade of the rainbow, than I have ever owned. The different colors were used for different aspects of the exercise and the color coding made it easier for many students to learn what can sometimes be a complex concept.
[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”379″ identifier=”B01EGKTKJQ” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51h9ZBfzLRL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″] [easyazon_image align=”center” height=”379″ identifier=”B01EGKTKJQ” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51h9ZBfzLRL-1.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]As well as using erasable pens at work I also use them for planning and organizing. Maybe I am a little bit OCD, but I dislike mess in my “to do” lists, planner, and diary as well. Having an erasable pen allows me to change my mind and update these entries without the associated clutter of amendments.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”1250166500″ locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51hsAWvw2rL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”367″]Initially, in Australia, these pens were only available in black, blue, green and later orange. Now there is a huge range of a rainbow of colors.
Background
Pilot has been making office stationery since 1972 in the US and was originally founded in 1918 in Japan. According to Pilot’s website, they are “the oldest and largest writing instrument manufacturer in Japan”
Pilot started developing an erasable pen in the early 80’s after a decade of research and development. The difference between the erasable pens and the general pens was the type of ink used. Due to this different component, there is one negative with the use of the pens – “excessive heat that can cause the ink to fade“. If you are purchasing the products open stock you will not see a message reflecting this or that they should not be used for legal documents. These disclaimers are only printed on packs of the pens.
Types of Erasable Mediums
Pens
The pens come in a range of colors – black, blue, pink, orange, green. You can purchase them in packs or individually. I always have packs of these pens on hand, as they are the ones that I use every day. I use them to write draft documents, in my diary, planner, for shopping lists and to write notes and lesson plans at work.
Many people, like me, prefer to handwrite a lot of information that could be performed on a computer as it helps to imprint things in your memory. Although I have numerous project management and note taking pieces of software ..the only things that I actually look at and remember are handwritten notes.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B00BMNOR12″ locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/31UlzXhsL3L.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]Gel Pens
The gel pens that I purchased open stock at Officeworks are available in a rainbow of colors. Initially, and in the video, I found them slightly scratchy to work with. However, they do warm up and start flowing better with more use. I have been told by viewers that you can purchase refills for these, but they have not made their way to Australia as yet. I was impressed with the brightness of the colors and how easily the fluid flowed without smearing after I used them continuously.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B01KLLQALU” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/31IaPVCoyL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]I would love to see the gel pens in a wider range of colors and, of course, in packs in Australia.
Looking at Amazon you can purchase these in a 36 pack tub which is the largest size. Hopefully, we will eventually get these in Australia.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B01KLLQALU” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51Tl2ePzTTL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]One of the other things that I would like to see is refills for the gel pens. A number of brands of gel pens have refills now and this would be a great addition to this product line. I have been informed by a subscriber on YouTube that there are refills but I have not seen them available.
Markers
The markers have a lovely tip on them that makes them easy to use. I would have liked to see a dual tip with a small tip one end and at least a bullet sized tip at the other. That would make the marker very handy for larger areas. At the moment, the range of colors is limited but I presume as time goes on they will add to it.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”170″ identifier=”B00YVP9WGI” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/41UPgkPNcJL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]Highlighters
The highlighters are well used by me. I use them in my planner and diary and because the color is more opaque than markers I find them useful for laying down a base color, with highlights added in pencil over the top.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B00F6N56F0″ locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51vgDuYRBOL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]Of course, my usual bug bear applies that at the moment, at least in Australia, there is just not enough colors for me.
[easyazon_image align=”center” cart=”n” height=”500″ identifier=”B00F6N56F0″ locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/61IML6QZEqL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]User Experience
I have enjoyed using the Pilot erasable pens for a number of years now. Expanding my stash of their products has been particularly useful for my diary and bullet point journal.
I am a huge fan of color coding things in my planner, so using these products makes it quick and easy for me to do that.
Using the Pilot erasable pens, gel pens, markers and highlighters in coloring books have worked well for me in detailed books. I would not use them in coloring books that have large areas of open spaces as it would use up too much fluid.
[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B075XFYWZG” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51ZRtCjVa2L.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]They excel in the small spots where you are likely to go out of the lines. For me, detailed pattern books and these erasable mediums go hand in hand together.
When I color of an evening, I tend to color in dim lighting as that is the way our current set up at home is. When I see my coloring in the harsh light of day, I can see numerous mistakes at once. Being able to erase those little woopsies easily is a great relief.
Erasing
Each of the products has a rubber eraser at one end. This is not like normal erasers and leaves no dusty residue when you use it. You may have seen me brush “dust” away in the video however that is just force of habit rather than actual dust.
You do not have to use the eraser that is fitted to the product but you can use any Pilot erasable product to erase. This is useful if you have packed up all your materials and need to quickly rub out a mistake.
[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”210″ identifier=”B007M8RGDC” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/31J9Uc2b0KL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]A small negative with the eraser is that it is difficult to negotiate the tip to erase really tight small areas. I would love to see the option of a fine tip eraser for those fiddly bits. You may end up erasing some work that you wished to retain due to the tip size. Of course, you can just go over it again but that uses more fluid and takes more time.
Layering & Blending
They are not designed for layering and blending and perform well for solid colors, highlights, and accents.
Colouring With Pilot Erasable Products
Coloring with all the mediums that I tried in the video was easy. My only negative was that the gel pens were initially a little scratchy to work with but eventually flowed nicely.
All of the liquid and pigment flowed easily in all of the coloring mediums that I used.
[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01KLLQ6PA” locale=”US” src=”http://coloringqueen.net/my_content/uploads/2018/03/51eGXqZuyPL.jpg” tag=”mygamingweb-20″ width=”500″]However, as I purchased my Pilot erasable pens open stock at Officeworks initially two of the pens I purchased were “dry”. I should have taken them back for a replacement 🙁 If buying open stock, be careful not to buy a medium that has been used for “testing” as it could run out as soon as you get it home. That’s one of the bugbears with open stock, particularly for these types of mediums, is that you don’t know how many people have been trying it in store. It’s a shame that stores don’t just keep a couple out for testing and put the others out of reach.
Where to buy Pilot Erasable Products
You can purchase [easyazon_link identifier=”B00NN16J58″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″]Pilot erasable pens[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link identifier=”B009QYH644″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″]gel pens[/easyazon_link], [easyazon_link identifier=”B00F9MYPCS” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″]markers[/easyazon_link] and [easyazon_link identifier=”B018KGPKE6″ locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mygamingweb-20″]highlighters[/easyazon_link] here.
In Australia, you can purchase the range open stock at Officeworks or the pens at your local supermarket.
At the time of writing, my local stores do not stock the Pilot products in packs that you will find online at Amazon.
Happy coloring x
Lea
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