[Pen/Pencil Review] Paper Mate InkJoy Stylus Triangular Ballpoint in Purple
Today’s blog post… I revisit Paper Mate’s InkJoy. This is the Stylus stick triangular pen in purple ink. I picked this one up at Office Max. I keep coming back every so often to InkJoy because I really WANT to feel the Joy. I really do. I know people who love these pens. Alas…I am not one of them.
The ink is really good. I do give Paper Mate that. The purple ink in this one is dark and rich. The ball point is smooth. The stylus on the end of the pen works pretty well on both my iPhone and iPad. The triangular barrel is remarkably comfortable. The barrel is about 6″ long with the cap posted, and about 6.5″ with the cap posted. Those are the good points.
The challenges I find with these pens is that they default to 1.0mm points. Even though packaging says Paper Mate does make 0.7mm InkJoy pens, they’re nearly impossible to find – unless you special order from who knows where – I haven’t found them yet (they may only be available out of the country – which is bad…). I haven’t quite done that yet. I find 1.0mm more apt to smear – as is seen in the writing sample. I know I write bigger with the bolder points – which means not getting as much out of a piece of paper than I should.
Logistically, it seems like if you’re going to have a stylus on a pen, the pen needs to be retractable in some way. As a writer, I default to posting the cap. I don’t like having it loose on a desk. If you post the cap on this pen, it completely covers the stylus. If you’re going back and forth between touch screen and paper – you have to leave the cap loose, and if the cap gets away? You’re screwed.
Though if none of these things bother you? They’re really decent pens. I think it was $1.99 – which isn’t bad for disposable stylus pen, and they come in a wide variety of colors.
To the numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 The ink is decent, but at 1.0mm, there’s some smearing of the ink. You can’t have the cap posted and use the stylus
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s a triangular, no frills disposable plastic pen. The grip is translucent, but there are not ergonomics. The three sided barrel is pretty comfortable. It’s long enough to be comfortable with or without the cap.
3. Material – 0.5 It’s an inexpensive plastic pen with a rubber stylus.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – I don’t like the fact that you can’t post the cap unless you intend to lose the stylus capabilities. I’m not thrilled that the other ball point sizes aren’t actually available.
5. Price Point – 1 – These seem to run about $2. Which considering it has a functional stylus makes it a decent deal – even though it’s a basic classic pen. It’s a decent price point if you can deal with the other parts.
3.0 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
