(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)
I don't know that I necessarily need to review the Uni-Ball Signo DX--it's fairly universally loved amongst pen addicts and the general population alike. Both Jeff and Brad have waxed poetic on its many virtues--a great build, consistent flow, smooth writing. It's practical, reliable, and fun. But it just got more fun, because there are twelve new colors and I need for you to be excited about this with me.
Prussian Blue is a beautiful (but totally office appropriate) bright navy color. It doesn't feel like the standard blue, but has a little extra zing to it.
Blue Green is a fresh aqua color, a necessity for any pen assortment.
Apple Green is an essential acid color. Despite its lightness, it is readable--which is good, because I want to use it forever.
Dark Grey may be my new favorite. It's classy and moody at the same time. In some lights, it almost has a blue-black quality to it.
Grey is pale, but readable, and almost silvery.
Purple is a spunky color—more like a Lisa Frank magenta shade than a true purple.
Lilac follows in purple's footsteps. It's bright and fun.
Light pink is neon cotton candy perfection.
Brown is more of a dark mustard color. Much more nuanced than the name implies.
Khaki is a rich caramel. It looks more like food than pants, to me.
Beige is a lovely creamy ivory. Difficult to see on white paper.
Yellow is a very bright shade. One that, if seen in nature, probably indicates neurotoxins.
These cheerful colors are landing perfectly in time with cooler weather and grey skies. They're a great addition to the existing lineup of colors, and you can get them in either a set of twelve, or individually as open stock. As a bundle, I'd call this the unicorns and ponies pack. I do wish the names of the colors were a bit more true or descriptive. The names themselves don't give a very good indication of what to expect from the colors. But you can definitely expect the great performance that the Signo is known for.
The ink is very saturated but doesn't feel dry. It's the best behaved gel ink I've used. There's no skipping or globs or smearing. It's waterproof, fade-resistant, and feathering-resistant. There are enough colors in this line, now, that they may have inched to the top of my personal list of favorite coloring pens. Because now my unicorns will look true to life.
The pens run at $2.84 apiece, or $34 for the 12-pack. That's about average for a nice gel pen, and definitely worth it. The fine lines, viscous ink, and saturated colors all help contribute to a little extra longevity for the cartridges. Still, I may run them dry out of sheer enthusiasm sooner rather than later.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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