Review of Rapidograph 7-Pen Tech Pen Set

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The good:

I bought my first rapidograph pen after reading a glowing review on a blog, which compared the feel of drawing with one to that of biting into frosting -a small amount of initial resistance and then a smooth, effortless response. I was intrigued enough to buy a single 0.5mm pen, I'm glad I did: compared to other pens I've used (the most similar ones being micron and copic), a radidograph allows me to work more quickly and is more fun to use. After that first pen, I bought the set I've reviewing here, which I've been quite happy with, except for...

The bad:

Rapidograph pens require maintenance and they can be finicky. If you only use this kind of pen occasionally, or you plan on hauling your pens around all day, you may want to consider a different set. In my experience, a rapidograph pen that goes unused for more than a week can require cleaning, which takes a few minutes and can be messy. When I jostle a rapidograph pen a lot, either because I've left the cap off (which causes the ink at the tip to dry out) or because I've stuck it in my bag (which I've learned not to do) there are good odds that ink will leak out of the air channels in the nib. Leaks are annoying, messy, and they tend to continue until I clean the pen.

Other things to consider:

The fact that the pens can put out a lot of ink can be a good or a bad thing. It's nice to be able to lay down a bold line with a flick of the wrist, but some kinds of paper will soak up the ink, messing up lines if the nib stays in one place. Another thing I've noticed is that they don't seem to be good pens to use with colored ink. The approved colored inks aren't very saturated, and my only experiments with third-party ink ended badly when it dried in the nib of one pen. Finally, this particular set includes pens that have very wide diameters. I'm sure there are some people who'd find them useful, like people doing really large-format work, but I don't tend to use the two largest sizes at all.

To summarize, I strongly recommend these pens for people who (1) expect to use them frequently in a single location and (2) don't mind cleaning pens and the occasional leak. For people who want carrying-around pens or don't want to deal with pen maintenance, I'd suggest something else.

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Rapidograph pens are some of the BEST pens you could possibly use, especially if you're frustrated with having to spend $5 on a new pen every week because the ink ran out or faded. They are also good for people who like nib pens but hate how tempermental they are in producing lines without releasing all of their ink in the same stroke. These pens can be put through hell and will not break, and are very easy to clean. The downside to them though, is that if you ever, EVER shake them, the ink well will build up pressure and cause the pen to leak. It will not affect the line in any way, but you will get ink all over you hands until you open the pen up and clean it out, which isn't a big deal at all. In the long run, these pens end up being cheaper than using, say... Microns... if you do a lot of inking, as you will pretty much never have to get a new pen, and just buy a new bottle of ink once a year or something. There's a LOT of ink in each bottle, which is great because it means it will take a lot of use before it's all used up. The ink itself is great because it is very dark and remains an even tone, and it dries really quickly, meaning that smudging never happens! There is also a fantastic range of thick to thin in this set, which makes both detailing and filling a hassle-free endeavor. I think that's pretty much everything.

Trust me, these are the best pens you will ever use. Ever.

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I use these pen for inking comics. They do require some work to keep clean, but if you take care of them they work forever. My dad swears by them and so I picked up some for myself. I absolutely love them.

Honest reviews on Rapidograph 7-Pen Tech Pen Set

I got this product just on time for my architectural class. It took 3 days to recive my order. The store sent me the product with a good presentation. The product was completely sealed. The product works perfect for my architectural drawing class. I very pleased with this wonderful pens.

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I would have given this pen set 5 stars but for two problems. The case, which is very handy for storage and use of the pens, arrived broken at the hinge. This seems to a problem with design and shipping. Also I am going to have to send the .25 pen back to the manufacturer because the ink does not flow. A fellow artist is having the same problem with her .25 pen.