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List Price: $289.00
Sale Price: $167.96
Today's Bonus: 42% Off
I've used these markers for 20 years, mostly for coloring adult-complexity coloring books & detailed coloring posters. My 1st set was the 72 marker/colors set, which lasted me 15 years--didn't use them the 1st 5 years, colors stayed intense throughout & didn't start running out of ink until last year. I've been trying to find replacements for my 72-color set, but apparently Tombow doesn't make that one anymore, nor the set with ALL of their colors (think it was 140?) that I was saving up to get. Individual color replacements are much more expensive than buying these sets! I've searched everywhere online & this exact same set goes for between $150-$279 every where else, but Amazon has them for under one hundred eighteen dollars! Wow! I have to buy them before the price goes up or they stop making this set too.
The colors are opaque (thickly colored, not transparent), usually don't bleed through (depends on the paper or medium used), intense & bright, true to cap colors & widely varied in shades--no repeat colors! The brush top works exactly like a paintbrush, more like the Chinese calligraphy brushes--from fine haired at tip to bulbous headed at top & spreads like a brush--than regular square tipped paint brushes. The reverse end is a super fine tipped out-liner or detail marker tip, and both tip ends never lose shape nor get worn out after years of use. These are easy to grip, same size as a long pen & caps click onto the unused end so they won't get lost, and with colored caps on both ends, they won't get mixed up either. The barrels include color numbers & a small color block for matching if one does somehow mix up the markers with both caps removed. Obviously these are superior quality for the price--the cheap sets run out quick, have see-thru color & just do not compare in any way to these. I highly recommend Tombow Dual-ended brush markers for uses from professional to therapeutic, adult to young teens, business & craft uses. You may become hooked on them as I am, nothing else even comes close to this quality or longevity--how many sets of the others would you have to buy over 10 years? None have all the color variety as Tombow set does. BEST deal price at amazon, check for yourself from a google search & Towbow retails these for $279! Snap these up & surprise your artist's for xmas, believe me, the appreciation for the gift will last for YEARS :-)
UPDATE: I received my order of the 96 marker set & the marker cardboard box has damaged corners, was open with markers loose in box, did NOT come with the plastic base to hold the markers as is shown in photo, and the package is very faded--they look either used or like they sat on a shelf in the sun for at least a decade, so I'm concerned the colors won't be as lasting or intense as they should be. The product needs to state that the markers DON'T come with the holder shown in the photo, so if you don't own a marker case from Tombow for these, there's nothing to organize or hold them upright for use. Tombow generally always includes the base holder, so this must be a refill package and should state so clearly in description--though this one does NOT. I will have to come back & update this after using a few of them to see if my concerns on the used & returned, or aged appearance of these markers, bears out or not. I stand by my original review of Tombow markers as the best quality, but I don't believe these came from the manufacturer since they would have been fresh & protected from sun if so.
UPDATE 2012: Amazon sent me a replacement box & I shipped back the original package of markers, the replacement came with the stand, and these DO come with a stand but somehow I had received a box without the stand, so if you were to order and have same experience, they WILL ship you out a stand for these markers. It fits right in the same box, which is why the original box had loose markers and dented ends, since it wasn't packaged correctly--the stand takes up the empty space and makes it sturdy and protected. Also these markers are still going strong, very intense colors, so I'd recommend this deal highly.
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The tombow set is designed for both the amateur and professional alike. I bought this set and have used it over and over again. For the price, you get a lot of long lasting ink, remarkable consistency and gorgeous colors.
Keep in mind that the felt tip part does not cover the same way as, say, prismacolor. It is somewhat medium in size, and the pen tip point is also limits your amount of detail. It lacks the amount of strength and pigment as Dr. Martins, but is as good as any watercolor wash as a base. I will be using this set for a long time!
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Why don't they sell these markers in NJ? I am a collage and mail artist. I first came upon these pens in Washington Stateeach trip there, I would buy 10 or 15 of them and cart them home. I used to use Marvy Markers or whatever I could find in the stores in NJbut they had thick brushes and they dried out way too fast. I still have some tombow markers I bought 5 years ago and the colors are still vibrant. The brushes are beautiful to usethe brush bends easily to the paper and it is easy to control the flow of ink onto the paper. The pen side gives a steady line. They feel good in the hand. The variety of colors is amazingfrom fine washes to dark colors. I bought the complete set about a year and a half ago and they are still perfect. I just bought another set as a birthday present for a mail art friendshe is going to be so excited! Buy these pensyou won't be sorrythrow all your other ones away.
Honest reviews on Tombow Dual Brush Pen Set, Professional Marker Desk Set with Stand
I have used markers extensively over the years and have come to own both this set of Tombow markers and a comparable set of Copic markers. Anyone who's lurked the internet world of markers for very long will learn that Copics are generally considered the best pens money can buy (they certainly are the most expensive) and that few other pens can stack up. In fact, many other marker brands are judged based on how they compare to Copics, which is exactly what I'll do for this review :) I know many people (myself included for a long time) are looking for alternatives to the really expensive pens, so hopefully this will aid in that search.
Probably the biggest difference to note right of the bat is that Tombows are WATER BASED markers. This means they will perform vastly differently than Copics, Prismacolors, Tria, and many other high-end brands of markers. This isn't exactly a bad thing unless you want them to behave just like the other brands, which are alcohol based. Here are the pros and cons of each:
Tombows:
+Translucent ink makes them a joy to layer and combine
+Blendable with water, which means they can be manipulated with a paintbrush and combined with other water-soluble materials
+Pens last a very, very long time. Mine are six years old, and except for one or two heavily used colors, they are still going strong
+Ink scent is barely detectable, and only then if you're practically sticking it up your nose.
+Does not bleed through the paper unless you really lay it on thick.
-Because the ink is water-based, it will cause the surface of many papers to pill and tear. Using heavy papers or papers with low absorbency (like vellum) can help. One must not apply too much ink at a time or the paper will start to buckle.
-For me, these markers are way more streaky than the Copics, no matter what I tried. Different papers can help with this, but in general you will have to work pretty hard to color large areas evenly.
-I find the palate of 96 colors somewhat limiting, especially since a large portion of the markers are so bright and saturated. I prefer working with more neutral tones, so for me this is a con.
Copics:
+Probably the biggest difference between these two markers is how much more easily these blend for me. The paper stays wetter longer and two colors sort of soak into one another.
+These will never change the surface of most papers. It might buckle somewhat if you're using something very flimsy and really soak it with ink, but I've never had a major problem with this.
+Come in a HUGE range of colors (358) and four different pen styles
+Made to last, and include ink refills and nib replacements
+Detail color naming system that's easy to understand
-These bleed through the paper like crazy. I always have two sheets of paper beneath my projects so I don't stain my table. I don't consider this a major inconvenience though.
-The colors look slightly darker when wet than when dry.
-The fumes from these things are unpleasant; I'll expand on this later.
-In spite of all the awesome features, these things are really expensive at over $6.00 a pen at most places
-With moderate use, each pen will last about 1.5 years on a refill. With heavy use (daily), they will last a few months. Since refills are available I'm not too concerned with this, but they do seem to run out faster than the Tombows.
In the end, I use my Copics way more frequently than my Tombows. They're just so much easier for me to blend and have more of the colors I need. However, that doesn't stop me from using the Tombows. I use them almost exclusively in my sketchbook since they won't bleed through and stain the next few pages, and their slender size makes them more portable. For some reason I also prefer doing studies and thumbnails in these as well. They are the highest quality water-based marker I've tried, and are widely available. At just over a dollar per pen in this set, I find it hard to imagine a marker so high of quality for such a low price. Just be aware that they require different techniques to blend than many popular brands of artist's markers, and you will not be disappointed :)
*I thought I should mention that I actually have an issue with the fumes from Copic markers. From discussions with my peers, I've learned that is is NOT a typical experience, but if you're sensitive to smells than I would highly recommend Tombows over any alcohol based marker. I was fine for the first couple of months, but over time the fumes began to bother me more and more. After one-two hours straight of using the Copics, I begin to feel mildly ill (slight nausea and faintness). After several hours, I feel fairly sick. Granted, I work with my face mere inches from my paper (I'm really short sighted) and a scarf over my mouth and nose almost completely fixes the problem, but it's something to be aware of.
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I have a few of these markers I bought separately over the years and they have lasted a long time. I'm still using the first ones I bought about ten yers ago. Some of these colors in the set seem close, but that is just as well. I won't run out of a color I need and all the colors I could imagine wanting are included here. I love how nicely these makers blend, the versatility of the dual tips and that the brush holds its shape. If you don't have these yet and do Scrapbooking or card making, they are the perfect tool to have in your craft room! Enjoy!
