[Pen/Pencil Review] The PaperMate InkJoy – GREEN – 0.7mm

Today’s blog post is a revisit that isn’t a revisit. Today we meet the Paper Mate InkJoy GREEN GEL pen. This retractable pen is something that makes me happy -it’s a solid, dark, vibrant green ink (even if I can only get ONE in the 0.7mm).

The ink is really good. I do give Paper Mate that. I bought the fashion colors for the first go round. I picked this one up at JetPens.com – because they will sell the 0.7mm pens in singles. Though I do prefer the 0.5mm, I couldn’t (yet) justify the major mulitpack that comes with THIS PARTICULAR COLOR. I’m hoping either PaperMate will do a Red/Black/Blue/Green pack or JetPens will sell the 0.5mm separately at some point.

The Paper Mate InkJoy gel pens are 5.75″ long retracted and extended. The barrels are slightly thicker than your typical retractable stick pen. The barrel is smooth and is mostly rubberized plastic for a comfort grip. There’s a clear-ish hard plastic front panel that lets you see the level of ink in the refill that also includes the clip – which could snap if you mess with it long enough. The tip is conical and metal, and so is the plunger on the retraction mechanism. The tip screws off to refill the ink and sets smoothly to avoid any ridges.

The deal with the InkJoy gel pens is supposed to be really smooth and quick drying – compared to Pilot G2 (which is a lofty goal – G2 is pretty much THE standard). So do they measure up? Actually yes, they do. These pens have good ink reservoirs with rich tints to the ink. The conical tips are smooth and lay down a solid line. The feel is good. The ink does seem to dry quickly – except in my moleskine calendar which has really slick pages. EVERYTHING smears on that. GREEN is a particularly difficult color for inks – most of the time they are LIGHT. Or fade easily. Or something that lessens their appeal. Not THIS ink. This is a serious green ink.

Finally an InkJoy that DOES bring me joy. If you don’t want to invest in multipacks, JetPens is selling 0.7mm individually for $2. I’ll be getting some more of these.

To the numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 The ink is AMAZING, and comes in decent point sizes. The retraction mechanism is solid
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s fairly basic retractable pen, but long like a stick pen. The rubberized plastic goes all the way around and up the back of the pen to give a comfortable feel for long-term use.
3. Material – 1 – It’s rubberized and translucent plastic pen. It’s solid for what it is.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s an InkJoy that I can get behind. The pen is colorful, comfortable, and solid.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run close to $2 a pop which is about on par but seems a touch high. They should be refillable, but I’m not seeing refills for these yet. If they do end up having the refills, then they will be a solid pen for everyday use.

4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils