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All About Planners

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June 28, 2018

Color coding and planner decorating: 10 Pen brands that are available in a pack of 20 or more colors

If you like doing ombre weekly spreads in your planner, are color coding a lot of things or just want plenty of options of different shades of colors to choose from, here are pens I use and recommend, that come in packs of 20 or more different colors!

This post contains affiliate links.

1. Staedtler Triplus Color

After resisting buying these pens for ages as I thought the 0.3mm would be too small, these have become one of my all time favorite pens!

They write smoothly, come in tons of colors, are tri grip and come with a sturdy storage case.

Related: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding 

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2. Zebra Sarasa Clip

Few ballpoint pens seem to come in large packs. One brand that does is the Zebra Sarasa Clip. Jet Pens have a pack with 28 colors. Do you need that many colors? Probably not, but if you like your pen color to match the colors of your planner your chances will be better with 5 shades, of pink, 6 shades of blue etc.

Image credit

I have the 10 pack which has enough colors for me except a purple instead of the navy black would be ideal. You can actually see the yellow for this pen brand <3

zebra sarasa pen rainbow color coding favorite planner pens no bleed retractable erin condren plum paper kikki k day designer

3. Paper Mate Flair

Be careful when buying Papermate Flairs as the ultra fine, fine and medium tip all look similar.

There are a few ranges of the Paper Mate flair including rainbow, Candy Pop, Tropical etc.

papermate flair candy pop colors review ultra fine medium buy australia rainbow favorite planner pens supplies best accessories rainbow

Other pens from Papermate that I highly recommend are the Paper Mate Inkjoy 100 1.0M (ballpoint), the Paper Mate Inkjoy 100 RT 1.0M (ballpoint) retractable and the…

4. Papermate Inkjoy Gel 0.7mm

These pens are pricey but so worth it. I was stingy and got the 10 pack but wish I’d chosen the 14 pack instead. I use these pens (and the Frixion erasable) the most out of the hundreds of pens I have. The colors make a pretty rainbow, they write smoothly on any type of paper and are just the right size pen tip (0.7mm). They’re also the closest color match I’ve found for my rainbow planners stickers!

papermate inkjoy gel pen review best planner pens supplies rainbow color coding fine tip

I love these pens so much I got my sister to stock them in her planner supplies shop, Carefully Crafted.

5. Kaco Green

I purchased the 10 pack to try them out but now wish I’d bought the 20 pack! These pens write so smoothly and the colors are true to the outside color of the pens.

kaco green pure pen review color coding gel pen retractable amazon no smudge ghosting or bleed through favorite planning supplies

kaco green plastic pure pen review amazon rainbow gel pen retractable color coding

6. Sakura Gelly Roll

If you’re a fellow Aussie, I haven’t been able to find these in a physical retail store, however, you can get them online.

I finally got a chance to try out these pens while I was in Switzerland!

Related: Favorite Switzerland stationery shops for planner addicts

These pens come in tons of different colors and styles: glitter, metallic, gel etc. they are quite pricey…

europe stationery haul pen testing caran d ache faber castel paperchase fine tip needle tip german swiss sakura gelly roll

… But come in so many colors.

Image credit

7. Caliart

The Caliart pens write super smooth and come in plenty of colors including less common mint and brown.

caliart fineliner pen review 0.38mm fine tip gel amazon cheaper alternative to staedtler triplus color 20 pen pack best color coding pens gel no bleed

8. Stabilo 0.4mm

These pens come in tons of colors. I managed some self control (for once!) and only chose 10 colors however there is a pack with 30 different colors!

stabilo point 88 fine 0.4 pens rainbow gel ink fine tip colorful best planner pens no bleed ghosting cheap european-min

They remind me of the Triplus Staedtler in terms of how they write. Even though they’re 0.4mm which is usually too small for me, the tip writes more like a 0.7mm.

Stabilo also have a 2 in 1 dual tip style pen which has 10 colors… but if you count the thick and thin tips separately it equals 24 pens.

stabilo trio 2 in 1 fibre tip pens fat and thin tip rainbow color coding german migros stationery haul europe switzerland favorite

Related: Cheap versus expensive pens: is there actually a difference in quality? 

9. Tombow Twin Tone

These pens come in pastel and brights. I’m not a fan of pastel so opted for the brights:

tombow twin tone markers dual tip planner pen colorful fine tip color coding twin tip review worth the money brush lettering

Related: How to choose the right planner pens: what to look for when buying planner pens

10. Cheap Shop Pens

Cheap shops tend to have big packs of pens, especially gel pens for less than $10. I’ve seen large pen packs at Target, the Reject Shop, Aldi & Stacks.

Tip: Amazon has a ton of pens that come in huge packs (I’ve seen packs of 100 on there!)

Another option if you want to carry less pens, is to use Dual Tip Pens such as:

  • Pure Color-F C-Land
  • Stabilo 2 in 1
  • Uni Pi’s

scholar planner pens aldi cheap bulk pack review haul pen testing high versus low best stationery supplies australia large pen pack rainbow-min

More Pen Reviews

  • Planner pen testing in the Erin Condren Life Planner, Plum Paper, Happy Planner by MAMBI and Limelife Planner 
  • How to choose the right planner pens: what to look for when buying planner pens
  • Favorite places to buy planner pens (online)

Planning Inspiration

  • Similar and Cheaper Alternatives to the Erin Condren Life Planner 
  • How to make lined note paper DIY planner insert refills in Photoshop (quick and easy step by step tutorial) 
  • Minimalist Planner Decorating: Title Ideas for your Bullet Journal 

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

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  • Pen Comparison – is there actually a difference in ink color between brands?Pen Comparison – is there actually a difference in ink color between brands?
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Posted In: Planner pens, Planning Tips & Inspiration · Tagged: best ballpoint pens, best gel pens, best no bleed through pens, best pens for planning, best value pens, favorite planner supplies, fine tip pen, fine tip pen review, gel pen, gel pen review, no bleed pens, pen recommendations, pens that don't bleed through erin condren, planner pen, planner pen recommendation, planner pens that don't bleed through, planner supplies review, rainbow pens

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Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

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