I’m super curious and I would love to know if there is a special pen you love and use the most when writing postcards. Or do you simply grab the nearest one possible?
I joined Postcrossing in 2015 and for me it was a long journey to find suitable pens for my demands. I wanted my pens to be waterproof and extremely fine. After a lot of testing I ended up with:
The UniPin looks interesting. I think I’m going to order one.
I love to write a lot on my cards so I’m extremely happy about fine nibs. The craziest one I have is a Sakura Pigma Micron 003 with a 0.15 mm line and to be honest I can’t handle it because the nib is too fragile.
48 pens for $12 including shipping if you’re in the USA and have Prime
They bleed through normal paper of course, but on postcards they are great and are better on glossy postcard stock than my usual (permanent water resistant ink) gel pens.
Who else gets very annoyed when you start writing an address (I always address cards first, before anything else) only to realize that the ink isn’t going to stay where you put it? The slightest touch wipes it away
PostNord sometimes gives gifts when you order stamps from their website. They haven’t had any free gifts lately, but I have got this pen (with stamp prints), cards, key ring and notepad paper.
If I don’t find my stamp pen (I tend to leave things all over the place) I will just use whatever pen (they are all free pens I have found or got from work) happens to be near by. I did buy one specially for writing pen, but who knows where that one is now.
I use biros, and my favourite ones are the ones I got at conferences from Medela and Pampers (I’m a midwife) - they just feel right when writing with them. I also use them at work and get really protective over people accidentally stealing them from me!
I noticed that my handwriting depends much on the pen, so I have favorite pens
Since school I’ve been fond of anime and manga. That’s when I learned about Sakura Pigma Micron pens and was surprised how thin pens can be. Writing with a fine liner is a pleasure!
I write the message&the address with purple Sakura Pigma Micron 005 or with black Uni Pin 005 (003 is too thin, I left it for drawing). I switched to black Uni Pin because Sakura’s ink runs out faster. I use colored Sakura to write the ID. My fave color is blue, but blue Sakura seems quite light and I’m afraid it might be hard to read the message in light-blue. Our post recommends writing address with blue, purple or black color, although I received it written in green, pink and even orange.
I’ve tried black ShinHan Art Touch 0.05, and it’s great, too.
I struggled with writing on the glossy backside because fineliners smudge (I just erased the address with an eraser). The first time ended up writing such a card with a regular cheap ballpoint pen. Then I tried to leave the ink on overnight, and it dried up! Now the only difficulty is not to smudge the text while writing
Yesterday I bought Edding 1880 0.05 (which my friend recommended) and looking forward to try it on the next postcard
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Maica pens look very interesting! Now I will look for them in stores
Like you I also mostly use 0.05 and 0.03. Thinner the better, and brand is Uchida Yoco Made in Japan. For years I was Micron but then I discovered Uchida. Pen is about 1.5€ here in Croatia, and it can last longer then Micron. Love those pen. Even address looks fantastic… You can check It on my IG: vuky91
I haven’t bought any pens specifically for writing postcards yet. I tend to use whatever pens that I have laying around. I’ve got a stock of different ones from places that I have visited.
There is no better pen for a postcard than a Sharpie. Dries almost instantly, comes in lots of colors, won’t bleed even if soaked in water. If I am sending in an envelope I may use a fountain pen, “fun” pens, or whatever. But for a postcard sent “naked,” I turn to my Sharpies. Now that I am in Germany I have tried several German equivalents but they just don’t compare. It costs to have Sharpies shipped from the U.S. … but it is worth every penny IMHO.
I use a Sharpie ultra fine point in whatever color matches the card. I usually get the set of 10 or 12 assorted colors, which includes red, dark blue, medium blue, green, orange, brown, purple… I never use the black or yellow pens on cards, because you can’t see the yellow and black is too mundane.
I think that maybe, I’m a little bit crazy about pens. I have many penfriends, so I write quite a lot and send many postcards through Postcrossing too. I like to try pens so I could possibly find the best for me. I stopped a little bit to try, I did not do it for a while now.
My choice depends on the texture of the postcard surface and what I have to write, which style.
Among what I have, here are my favorite :
Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5 Milk color
Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5 Vintage pack
Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.7 10 colors pack
Pilot G-2 0.7
Staedtler pigment liner
Staedtler Triplus Fineliner 36 colors pack
Acroball ballpoint 1.0
Sakura Micron 0.1, 0.5
Graph’It 0.8
Artline 0.6
Uni 0.7 Jetstream. Used to love it then had some who did not function, I don’t really know why and impossible to fix this. Then I found some other brands so…
For brushlettering to write “Hello” or little quote at the end of the postcards:
Pilot Precise V5 RT
Black
0.5 Extra Fine
It’s the only pen that I use for both home and at work. When someone borrows it they always compliment as to how nice it is. If the writing surface of the postcard is somewhat matte or glossy, then it smudges easily and I have to let it dry. Otherwise it dries almost instantly.
I’m going to be buying some erasable pens. I do have a favourite I have used in the past that is erasable. I make minor mistakes when writing and I don’t want to use a twink or make it look messy.
