A reader recently commented on a highlighter swatch test I posted way back in 2018 asking which highlighters I recommended for use with printer ink. The question stumped me a bit, as I’ve never had a problem with highlighters smearing with my printer ink.

I used to use the Staedtler Textsurfer classic highlighters on my study notes when I was at university (as it’s supposed to be inkjet safe and I liked the bold colors). But there are so many more highlighter brands available these days, so I decided to do some swatches of other highlighter brands to see if Staedtler are still the best with printer ink.

I created 2 swatch pages to test highlighters, erasable highlighters and wax highlighters. I then printed these swatch pages 3 times:

‘Draft’ (low quality) printing
‘Standard’ (medium quality) printing
‘High’ (the best quality) printing

I used my 5 year old Canon inkjet printer (with genuine Canon printer ink), printed the pages onto standard 80GSM printer paper and waited 5 minutes after the pages came out of the printer before I started highlighting.

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I’ve also done testing of pen ink and highlighters, see this post: Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear

Highlighters and Printer Ink Smear Testing

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Mentioned in the video: Highlighter brands comparison (and my favorite highlighters)

I’ve also done testing of pen ink and highlighters, see this post: Pens & Highlighters Smear Testing: Which ones don’t smear

So which highlighters didn’t smear the printer ink?

… none of them. Not a single highlighter smeared the printer ink!

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Which highlighters do I recommend?

I swatched 37 different highlighters. So if none of them smeared the printer ink, what are some other things to consider when choosing highlighters for use with printer ink?

I previously shared some posts on highlighters here:

If you want to highlight something that’s come from your printer I’m going to assume, since you read this blog, it might be highlighting a minimalist style planner page to add some color, or otherwise printing university / college notes.

Based on this, some highlighters you may want to consider are:

All of the below recommendations I’ve had for years and none of them have dried out yet.

Artline Dual tip

These highlighters have 2 colors on the same body, so if you want to do color coding and take your highlighters with you on the go, you can carry twice as many colors with much less space.

Stabilo Boss

A wide range of colors, the highlighters are very smooth and easy to use. These come in pastel, neon and more muted tones. These are some of my all time favorite highlighters!

Staedtler Textsurfer

These were my ‘go to’ highlighters in my university days as the highlighter said it was ‘inkjet safe’. I’ve since expanded my highlighter selection since then, including purchasing the pastel Staedtler Textsurfers. The label of those doesn’t say they’re inkjet safe but I’ve also had no issues with smearing when using on printer ink. These are very similar to the Stabilo Boss with plenty of color choices to consider, and they’re also readily available at most stationery shops, as well as on Amazon:

Tombow Kei Coat

If you like smaller font (e.g. cramming as many notes onto as few pages as possible for quick reference during an open book exam), the tip of this one isn’t as big as the Stabilo Boss or Staedtler Textsurfer. It also has a ‘guard’ around the chisel tip to stop it from going blunt so you always get a crisp highlight. This highlighter is also dual tip if you want to highlight and underline. There’s also a red highlighter in the 10 pack.

Faber-Castell

These last a long time The turquoise highlighter I used in swatch testing (and in the photo below) I’ve had for more than 8 years and the ink still hasn’t dried out. The tip does become a little blunt over time (similar to the Zebra Justfit, but this is more noticeable when I use the highlighter for bullet journaling and wasn’t very obvious in the swatch testing on printer paper.

There’s something about this highlighter that allows me to highlight things really fast, the ink doesn’t pool at the end of the highlighter run and the ink dries quickly.

Zebra Just-Fit

I like highlighter because it’s dual tip so you can highlight and underline. But I also like that it comes in teal which is a color that’s hard to find in highlighters. The pen like shape is lightweight and portable.

I’m not really a fan of wax highlighters, I feel like I need to push down hard to get a thick enough highlight, and that means the wax doesn’t last as long. But at least you don’t have to worry about ink drying out.

I don’t use erasable highlighters for highlighting as I’ve never had to ‘undo’ something I’ve highlighted wrong. While Frixion are my favorite erasable pens, their highlighters aren’t the greatest. The colors are a bit too dull for my liking (even the bright colors look a bit watered down and not as bright as non-erasable highlighter brands).

Download my PDF comparison of different highlighter brands here. Existing subscribers can login to the free printables library to download here.

Other options to reduce ink smearing

Change the printer to low quality mode so it uses less ink
Don’t use bold font styles
Use a sans serif (simple block font)
Wait longer for the ink to dry before highlighting (I waited about 5 minutes)
Clean your printer (instructions are in this post)
I printed on standard 80gsm thick printer paper. If you’re still having problems with ink smearing, you could try a thicker material to absorb the ink (like thin cardstock that can still go through your home printer)… but this would get quite expensive so I’d only do this if you were using say, adult coloring in pages or creating a decorative divider for the months of your planner
Use genuine Canon ink. I used to use compatible ink but the cost wasn’t much cheaper and I don’t think they really refilled the entire cartridge (as the ink didn’t seem to last as long as the genuine ink cartridges).

If you need help choosing a printer, see this post: How to Choose a Printer (Including the best printer for printing printables and planner stickers)

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Highlighters and Printer Ink Smear Testing (The best highlighter brands)

Highlighters and Printer Ink Smear Testing

So which highlighters didn’t smear the printer ink?

Which highlighters do I recommend?