Staedtler MARS Technical Pen Set
Mar. 22nd, 2004 12:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
richardf8Staedtler is offering a technical pen set under their MARS brand which includes 1 pen Barrel and 4 nylon-tipped cartridges in different sizes: 0.25mm, 0.35mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm. I picked up a set at Wet Paint on my last visit to them, and used it to ink a comic.
The pens feel very nice as they make their marks--far smoother than the PITT Artist Pens. The nylon tips are more rigid than the PITTs' felt tips, giving better control over line width. Whereas the line widths on the Pitts vary as a function of writing pressure, the Mars pens retain their their width regardless of reasonable pressure applied.
The ink in the Staedtler cartridges is more durable than the ink in the PITT Pens, withstanding the erasure of pencil lines as well as the Higgins Eternal ink I use with my dip pens. The ink is also impervious to Copic's spirit markers, making it a suitable choice for the line work on a marker project.
The scheme of packaging the four cartridges with a single barrel has its ups and downs. The barrel is a significant ergonomic improvement over any of the stick-pens or tecnical pens out there (even Rapidograph). However, the task of swapping cartridges when one wants to change line-width is a bit cumbersome and can break one's stride while inking. At about $5.00 apiece, consumable costs are fairly high compared with Rapidographs or nibs. I do not know how long-lived these pens are compared with the PITTS, but both are easily more long lived than Zigs.
It would seem that these pens are designed to compete with the Rapidoliner cartridge based technical pen. The consumables cost is about half of Rapidoliner's and the pens feel better on paper. I liked inking with them well enough to continue using them, but I'm not completely sure I'll replace them as they become spent. That depends on whether I think the ink's durability is worth the inconvenience of swapping cartridges.
The pens feel very nice as they make their marks--far smoother than the PITT Artist Pens. The nylon tips are more rigid than the PITTs' felt tips, giving better control over line width. Whereas the line widths on the Pitts vary as a function of writing pressure, the Mars pens retain their their width regardless of reasonable pressure applied.
The ink in the Staedtler cartridges is more durable than the ink in the PITT Pens, withstanding the erasure of pencil lines as well as the Higgins Eternal ink I use with my dip pens. The ink is also impervious to Copic's spirit markers, making it a suitable choice for the line work on a marker project.
The scheme of packaging the four cartridges with a single barrel has its ups and downs. The barrel is a significant ergonomic improvement over any of the stick-pens or tecnical pens out there (even Rapidograph). However, the task of swapping cartridges when one wants to change line-width is a bit cumbersome and can break one's stride while inking. At about $5.00 apiece, consumable costs are fairly high compared with Rapidographs or nibs. I do not know how long-lived these pens are compared with the PITTS, but both are easily more long lived than Zigs.
It would seem that these pens are designed to compete with the Rapidoliner cartridge based technical pen. The consumables cost is about half of Rapidoliner's and the pens feel better on paper. I liked inking with them well enough to continue using them, but I'm not completely sure I'll replace them as they become spent. That depends on whether I think the ink's durability is worth the inconvenience of swapping cartridges.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-22 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-22 02:56 pm (UTC)Have you tried Emry's? http://www.emrysart.co.uk
I believe they stock the PITT Brush Pens by Faber Castell.
no subject
Date: 2004-03-22 03:50 pm (UTC)