If you’ve been following my blog for a while I think it’s fairly obvious that I hoard pens…. So why do I have so many? Besides the fact that they’re cheap and different brands come in different colors, I prefer to use different pens for different things:
When I use each type of pen
Fineliner pens
- When I can take my time to write slow / neat (as they tend to scratch through whiteout correction tape if I make a mistake)
- When I need lots of colors – not sure why it is but fineliner pens always seem to come in big pen packs (Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, Caliart etc.)
- Color coding (again, because there’s tons of colors)
- Ombre weekly spreads (same reason as above)
- When I’m trying to color match a washi tape or planner sticker – they tend to come in more unique shades e.g. purple-pink instead of just hot pink
Related: What type of pens write best on correction tape? (gel pens vs. ballpoint vs. marker pens)
Related: My Favorite Fineliner Pens for Planning & Bullet Journaling
Gel Pens
- When I have room to space things out (i.e. can have large gaps between text as gel pens are more prone to smudging)
- When I want a pretty spread (Gel pens tend to have vibrant ink than other pen types)
- Wider variety in tip sizes – some brands e.g. Pilot have multiple tip thicknesses for the Pilot Pop’lol all the way from 0.3mm to 0.7mm
- For rainbow spreads (the BLOT and PaperMate Inkjoy are almost an exact match for my rainbow planner stickers)
- When I’m using good quality, thick paper and don’t need to worry about ghosting and bleed through
Related: Planner Necessities: My Top 3 All-Time Favorite Gel Pens
Ballpoint
- When I’m using thin paper and want to avoid ghosting and bleed through
- When I want to write quickly
- When I’m travelling (ballpoint pens are cheap and readily available so it’s not as sad if you lose them)
- When I want to write a lot (ballpoint pens last ages before drying out)
- Tend to be more water resistant than the other pen types on this list
- Less prone to smudging
- Write best on washi tape (as they’re less prone to ink smearing)
Related Planner pens I don’t recommend (prone to smearing, bleed through etc.)
Erasable pens
- Bullet journaling (I won’t use any other type of pen when ruling up bullet journal spreads)
- For anything and everything!
- Just be careful not to leave your planner in a hot car. Most erasable pens erase using friction (heat)
Related: My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review
Dual Tip Marker Pens
- For headings
- When I’m writing big (as the thicker tip stands out)
- Thick paper (as they’re more prone to bleed through)
- If I’m travelling i.e. take 2 pens for the space of 1!
Related: Favorite Twin Tip Markers for Planning (Roundup)
Read more about my favorite pens in this post: Ultimate list of the best planner pen brands and how to choose colors for color coding
More planning supplies
- 5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)
- 5 Planner supplies you should never skimp on
- 10 Planner supplies that will help you plan your week faster
Planning tips
- 6 Ways to color code your planner to increase productivity
- Color coded monthly meal planning using sticky notes
- The Process Behind Making a Printable Planner
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