Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOTE: putting this at the top for people not familiar with these kinds of pens. They need to be stored cap down. If your new pens seem dried out, store them this way for an hour or so and see if that makes a difference. I have used the silver Sharpies for years, for marking black plastic electronics. Now, got me some color ones for fun. A girl's gotta have some fun, ya know! :o) The BiC 8-pack (silver, gold, bronze, pink, purple, blue, and 2 greens) I purchased via Amazon. The Sharpie 4-pack (silver, gold, red, green) I purchased in-store at Walmart. I'm doing a combined review and posting at both places. The white paper is a cheap mini-composition book page. The black is the plastic back cover of the same composition book. Specifics: The names of the colors are per what is on the barrels of the pens. I wrote with the pens held nearly perpendicular, trying to get the finest line I could, even turning the pens as I wrote. See the pictures for the results. The three lines following each color were all done at the same three angles for each pen. The BiCs have more variation in that department. However, while I was able to get a pretty fine line from some of them in the three-angle lines, I was not always able to get those fine lines while writing for either brand. The ink flow seems a little freer with the BiCs, which may also lead to them drying out sooner. Time will tell. Smearing: Once good and dry, I didn't get any smearing from any the Sharpies, on either the paper or the plastic cover. The BiCs smeared only on the plastic cover, and they all smeared, with the metal colors smearing the least. The Amethyst, Sapphire, and Jade had a little silver showing through pretty much from the get-go. When I rubbed my finger across them, these colors smeared more, and it was the color that smeared off, leaving silver behind. The Sapphire and Jade had the most color rub off. I took a star off of the BiC because of the smearing. If a person uses these where they won't get smeared, it won't be a problem. In general, I like all of them. I think they will definitely do for my intended use. The BiCs: shipment from Amazon was quick, and they arrived in tact and working. :o)