Pens that don't smear in FA 2012??

[pluckyduck1105]

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At the risk of sounding really OCD, has anyone managed to find a pen that DOES NOT SMEAR/SMUDGE when writing in FA 2012? I am finding it completely infuriating to jot down notes in my book, only to see what I previously wrote down to be all smudged and illegible (and please don't tell me to quit annotating altogether, this is what I must do). I've had to resort to covering up the text that I've written with a sheet of paper so I can write other stuff on the page without smudging it (ballpoint takes FOREVER to dry), but this is getting to be a major pain in the ass. I also tried using pencil, but if I highlight over it it sorta fades out, so that also sucks.

I came upon some older posts about this very issue with the previous book editions, and some people mentioned the Sakura Pigma Micron and Staedler pens to be good choices. But since this year's colored edition is exponentially glossier than my old 2009 version, I wanted to see if anyone else has had their luck with these or other pens in the current edition. I really don't want to waste anymore money on writing utensils that just end up being a huge disappointment.


I'm really starting to hate FA. Can't live with it, can't live without it. Le sigh.

 

[ImNotBritish]

Try the Papermate Inkjoy (the ones with the booby trap commercial) - there are a couple of older versions, I think, but get the newest, sleekest looking one. (http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Mate-Retractable-Ballpoint-1781581/dp/B004ZDL22I/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1337214931&sr=8-6 -- like this style, although they also come in black plastic) I've been using them, and I had a few smearing issues at first, but I'm left-handed and it's only when I'm not careful about dragging my hand around. Other than my sloppy hand while writing, it's fine. I have yet to find old annotations that have since smeared on me, and I haven't even thought about letting the ink dry before I turn the page, etc.

Edit: Apparently the InkJoy 700 is the model # for the newer ones.

 

[JRjcu08]

http://www.amazon.com/Uni-Ball-Jets...88QC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337219997&sr=8-3

I like these ones a lot... they aren't totally perfect (I don't know if you'll find one that is) but they only take like half a second to completely be smear-proof.

 

[islandCrazy]

I use RSVP, very easy to find and no more than 5.00 for the pack at staples.

http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-R-S-V-P-Ballpoint-0-7mm-BK90-A/dp/B00006IEAK

 

[rocketbooster]

Use pencil, preferably mechanical pencils. Yea it may fade over a long period of time but it'll last a lot longer than smeared ink. It'll definitely last long enough until you finish Step 1. Oh and of course it's nice to erase 😉

 

[bassvp]

These were recommended in another thread, but that didn't take the glossy FA2012 into account.

Slicci 0.25mm. Best pens for FA or rapid review. Super thin line and dries so fast theres no smudging.

i also really like Zebra F-301 pens.. thats what i am currently using to annotate into FA with

Sakura Pigma Micron 005, which is 0.2 mm. They have thicker. Multiple colors (like 7 or 8 different colors), dries really fast and doesn't bleed.
EDIT: per subsequent post, this doesn't stand up well in FA2012 if a hi-lighter is used over it.

 

[alternatego]

Use pencil, preferably mechanical pencils. Yea it may fade over a long period of time but it'll last a lot longer than smeared ink. It'll definitely last long enough until you finish Step 1. Oh and of course it's nice to erase 😉

I have to agree with you, although I have the 2011 edition 😛

 

[shan564]

I find that the nicer the pen is, the more likely it is to smudge. The super-cheap ballpoint pens never smudge.

 

[Bananainpajamas]

I went out and bought a 7 pack of super fine Sharpies half way through my first day of studying. They write slightly thicker than a pen, but I find that it makes me more selective and precise about what I write in the margins. They also work great for underlining in specific colors (each has a meaning of course 😀 ).

 

[kiddocwannabe]

I was also searching for a better pen as well, about 2 hours after you posted this. Lol. So I did some research on pen-lovers sites 🙂 and decided on Pilot Better Fine Ballpoint, immediately ordered them on amazon, and they arrived this morning (which was fast considering it was supersaver 5-8 day shipping).

I've been using these pens all day in my FA and they rock. Definitely don't smudge, even when I touch the line immediately. They write smoothly. With the fine line, I can write with tiny letters to annotate all of the wisdom of wikipedia & uworld.

http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Better-Ballpoint-Tinted-12-Count/dp/B00006IEBA

 

[pluckyduck1105]

I was also searching for a better pen as well, about 2 hours after you posted this. Lol. So I did some research on pen-lovers sites 🙂 and decided on Pilot Better Fine Ballpoint, immediately ordered them on amazon, and they arrived this morning (which was fast considering it was supersaver 5-8 day shipping).

I've been using these pens all day in my FA and they rock. Definitely don't smudge, even when I touch the line immediately. They write smoothly. With the fine line, I can write with tiny letters to annotate all of the wisdom of wikipedia & uworld.

http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Better-Ballpoint-Tinted-12-Count/dp/B00006IEBA

I wish I had known about these sooner. I went ahead and ordered the Sakura Pigma Micron pens and got them yesterday. Although they do dry pretty quickly (definitely faster than the Pentel ballpoint pen I was using), alas the ink smears if you highlight over it. Can't have any of that, so I'm gonna return those. Stupid because they advertise the pen as being waterproof and archival quality, you'd think the ink would be able to stand up to a highlighter.

Does the Pilot Better Ballpoint have that sort of problem with highlighting? I don't think I've ever run into that problem before with ballpoint pens, but I just want to make sure of it before I consider ordering them.

 

[24thGrade]

I use RSVP, very easy to find and no more than 5.00 for the pack at staples.

http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-R-S-V-P-Ballpoint-0-7mm-BK90-A/dp/B00006IEAK

These (uniball jetstream) have the best no-smudge ink i've tried. I tried out a bunch of different pens in the new FA and they alll pretty much suck, but the jetstream was the best. The ink takes about 4 seconds to dry and then won't smudge (beats a lot of other pens by a lot, including the rsvp that someone else suggested). however, the 0.7 mm which si the smallest available is too dull for me. look on ebay and you will find 0.5 mm versions and they're relatively cheap. The bad news is they all ship from outside of the US (the only place the 0.5 mm are available) and will take a week or two to get to you. There might be some US websites that import and sell them though.

i know I sound crazy now, but this was driving me nuts when I first started working with fa2012 so I did my research.

 

[locus000]

I am using Sharpie Pen that I got at Wal-mart. Works very well, can't see the writing on the other side (so no worries there). Dried very fast!

http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Fine-...office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1337650869&sr=1-3

 

[jekyllish]

I am using Sharpie Pen that I got at Wal-mart. Works very well, can't see the writing on the other side (so no worries there). Dried very fast!

http://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Fine-...office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1337650869&sr=1-3

I second this. This stuff is gold. But having said that, I personally haven't tried them on the First Aid glossy paper

 

[Brotato]

I second this. This stuff is gold. But having said that, I personally haven't tried them on the First Aid glossy paper

I've never understood why students call everything they like "gold." This is gold..that is gold. Someone explain to me where this figure of speech came from? Is it an SDN-ism? 😕

 

[jekyllish]

I've never understood why students call everything they like "gold." This is gold..that is gold. Someone explain to me where this figure of speech came from? Is it an SDN-ism? 😕

I think it is derived from the term "gold standard." The gold standard, in statistics and medicine, is considered to be best possible test available under the conditions. In economics, most currencies were based on an exchangeable amount of gold in the past. Thus this allowed for were considered to be on the gold standard. In both instances, the term was referring to a benchmark or an accepted standard. That's my two cents.

 

[doopdidoop]

Slicci 0.25mm. Best pens for FA or rapid review. Super thin line and dries so fast theres no smudging.

I agree with this!! I LOVE these pens! They are expensive, but if you color code your notes like I do (blue = Goljan, purple = UWorld, green = DIT, etc), it's important to have a variety of colors. They're gel pens, but REALLY thin so they dry almost instantly. I don't like ball point pens that much, I'm much more of a gel pen person and I'm in love with these 😍

http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Slicci...office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1337962348&sr=1-1