Despite an evolutionary decline in sensitivity to smells, humans can still distinguish approximately 10,000 scents -- some of which are applied by scientists, designers, and even chefs to elicit emotion and build atmosphere. Technicians at a New York hospital disperse vanilla oil into the air to make MRI testing more pleasant for anxious patients. Consumer products, such as alarm clocks that release the aroma of coffee, also utilize the primal properties of smell.

Fig 1. Zebra Pticolon Gel Ink Pens - 0.8 mm - 8 Color Set.

The same principle applies to Zebra’s Pticolon Gel Ink Pens, which take you back to the days of after-school candies and field trips to the roller rink. To get a proper sense of how these pens really smell and write, I tested them all -- and even roped in my fellow pen aficionado Liz for a blind test! In the blind test, Liz smelled each pen and described it without any prior knowledge of what the scent was supposed to be. Lastly, we gave each scent a “strength” rating.

For a thorough evaluation of Zebra’s Pticolon Pens, as well as a trip down memory lane, read on!

If you like the Moleskine notebooks, you'll love the Moleskine Classic Roller Pens!



These smooth writing gel ink pens are available in both 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm size, and are specifically designed to complement the shape and personality of a Moleskine journal. Different ink color refills are also available.




They have a rectangular shape that feels nice in the hand and lays flat, so you won't have to worry about it rolling off your desk. The lightweight pens have a matte black finish, and feature a cap with a clip that can accommodate your thick Moleskine notebook!



Other new Moleskine products can be found here. What's your favorite new JetPens Moleskine product?

Oftentimes you need to use ink pens when writing on documents or when taking notes. But alas, what if you make a mistake? Fortunately, JetPens carries a few different brands of erasable pens so that you can correct any errors made with these special ink pens.

There are three main types of erasable ink pens:

1. Thermo-sensitive Erasable Ink Pens
The ink becomes transparent when exposed to heat such as that from friction. The heat makes the ink completely transparent, for a true erased effect.

The Pilot FriXion line is an excellent example of this technology, and is available in a variety of different gel ink pens, markers and even highlighters!



The Uni-ball Fanthom gel ink pens also have a thermo-sensitive ink, and will erase cleanly by using the rubber sides of the cap.



**Please note that because of the nature of these ink formulas, we strongly advise against storage in any high temperature areas (don't leave these pens in a hot car), and we recommend to avoid high friction situations where your papers may be rubbing together (shuffling a stack of papers written on with these pens etc).

2. Erasable Ink Pens + Ink Erasing Marker

The other type of erasable pen is the one that comes with a partner, the "eraser" pen. These pens erase when a separate erasing ink is applied.

The Stabilo Point 88 Colorkilla Erasable Fineliner Marker Pens we carry do not erase by heat, nor do they need a rubber eraser to remove ink. Instead, this pen set contains a special eraser pen that makes the ink vanish when applied!



The white "Colorkilla" pens in this set will make the ink of the specially marked "erasable" pens disappear completely. Since any areas covered with the Colorkilla ink will not take the erasable pens any longer, Stabilo conveniently includes matching colors of their standard Point 88 Fineliner pens, so that you can write over these erased areas with ease.

3. Traditional Erasable Ink Pens

Lastly, we have the erasable ink pens that rub away with an ink eraser such as the Uni-ball Signo gel ink pens.



Like pencils, these erasable gel ink pens need the rubber eraser on their cap end to erase. This traditional method is used not only in pens but also in highlighters, such as with the Uni-ball Propus Erasable Highlighters.

With some many different styles of erasable pens available, it may be hard to choose! Do you have a favorite erasable pen from JetPens?

Pilot has their own "BegreeN" program set up, which is a list of their products that are environmentally friendly. Here is the mission statement taken from the Pilot USA BegreeN website:

"Pilot Pen is proud to be part of the earth-friendly movement - providing consumers with a wide selection of responsible choices that can be part of their everyday commitment to make our planet cleaner and healthier."

Simple acts like getting a refill for your empty pen instead of buying a whole new one can be beneficial for our planet, but buying a refillable pen that are also made out of recycled content is even better! JetPens already carries some of the best BegreeN products from Pilot USA and Pilot Japan, and our new favorites are the B2P gel ink pens.



The Pilot B2P Bottle to Pen Gel Ink Pens are the latest addition to our list of environmentally friendly pens. The name "B2P" literally means from bottle to pen, and these pens even resemble the plastic water bottles they're made of! These pens are made from 89.9% recycled content and have a vibrant, smooth-flowing gel ink.

Not only are these gel pens extremely "green", but you are not compromising writing quality by helping out the Earth!

We've listed a few of our other Pilot BegreeN products below.

The Rexgrip Ballpoint Pens which are made from 77.7% recycled material:


The Vpen Disposable Fountain Pens, that are made with 43% recycled content:


The Precise V5 Roller Ball Pens boast an impressive 89.2% recycled material content:


Even the Spotliter 2 Broad / Twin Tip Highlighters, which are composed of 89.7% recycled material!


Essentially, one can complete their entire office writing supply with BegreeN products and JetPens is happy to bring these environmentally friendly instruments to you!

The Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel ink pens are one of our personal JetPens favorites as far as fine lines and smooth writing go. These are one of the few pens we carry that produce mechanical pencil-looking lines with gel ink.



The Hi-Tec-C pens are available in 0.25 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm sizes. The fine tips are pretty fragile though, so they will bend if dropped without the cap or possibly even from a very heavy handed writer. Regardless, this is the perfect pen for writing detailed notes in a smaller area. The ink is a special gel formula that dries quickly and does not smudge as easily as other gel ink pens. Some people do find the smaller point sizes (0.25 and 0.3 mm) to be a little scratchy, and they will poke through thinner paper like post-its or copier paper.



Another bonus is that the same great writing and ink quality of this pen is available in a fancier form. Let's face it, if you are going to use this pen to take notes in a high-stakes executive power meeting, the original clear plastic body can look a little cheap. For this reason Pilot has the Hi-Tec-C Cavalier pen which is a more sophisticated and formal version, that is refillable. The full metal body gives a nice weight in hand when writing, but it is only refillable with the designated Cavalier refills, so your soda blue or mandarin orange Hi-Tec-C refill will not work in this dressed up pen body.