Oh, how I love office supplies.   Even when I was a little girl, when all the other kids ran to the toy aisle in the store, I chose to browse in the school supplies and admire the pens, pencils, paper, and all the other goods.  I’m still that way!!  Having a good pen to write with is such a treat.  Too often, I pull a pen out of my desk drawer to find that it’s dried out, has leaked, or that it just won’t write.  You know the drill…..find a scrap piece of paper to scribble on until it has holes in it, then you give up and start digging for a new pen.  Repeat.  Well, Sanford Brands has addressed these issues.  I received several products from Sandford Brands to review and I must say, they have stepped up their game!

The first product I tried was the Sharpie Gel Highlighter.  Three highlighters came in the pack (pink, yellow, and orange.)  I was really surprised by the texture of the gel.  It was really waxy and wrote so thick on the page.  I liked the fact that the gel won’t dry out, so this is good for someone who doesn’t use the highlighters very often.  The colors weren’t as bright as a typical highlighter, which may be a good thing depending on what you’re looking for.  I use highlighters often in my classroom, and I think that the students would like the novelty of these.  However, I can also see them playing with the gel and making a mess with it.  I prefer the traditional highlighters over these, but it’s nice to see that Sharpie is stepping outside of the box.

If you use permanent markers, you know the trademark smell that comes with them.  I love to use the fine-point permanent markers for tagging my kids’ clothing (those jackets are too expensive to lose!) but they usually seem to bleed through.  I was really excited to try the Sharpie Premium Pen because I have seen advertisements for it and was already planning to buy it.   Ooooh, be still my heart.  This pen is all I’ve ever dreamed of in a permanent pen.  You think I’m kidding.  No way.  It is awesome!  For starters, there are no bleed throughs on the other side of the page. See the proof in the picture to the right and below!!    Next, it really does write just like a pen.  It has a smooth glide over the page.  And no odor!!  You wouldn’t even know that it’s a permanent pen.  It’s Earth-friendly too, seeing as it’s refillable and all.  Love this thing!

My final and favorite product review is the ballpoint pen.  I posted above the angst of finding a pen yet not being able to write with it.  Not gonna happen with the Paper Mate Inkjoy!!  There were four in the pack and I loved every one of them.   You know how pressing down to use a ballpoint can sometimes cause hand cramps?   On the Inkjoy the grip is so comfortable it took no effort to hold the pen.  I loved that the ink colors in the pack were assorted, so that you’re not committed to buying only one color.  I would love to see more colors available (green, purple, maybe even UT Orange?)   I can see these being the pen of choice for marking student papers this fall.  It might even make grading papers enjoyable!!   Hence the name Inkjoy, I’m sure.

Disclosure: I received samples of these products for review.  The opinions are 100% mine.