The Stationery Station

The Uniball Signo DX line comes in three pen tip sizes: 0.28, 0.38, and 0.5mm. Today, I will be reviewing the 0.28mm.

This pen set comes in a hard plastic case with a snap-open tab closure. Included are an array of colours consisting of: Black, Red, Blue, Blue-Black, Brown-Black, Orange, Green, Light Blue, Pink and Emerald Green.

Colour
First of all, it should be noted that these pens are perfect for taking notes. Unlike many other pen manufacturers that produce pen sets with some colours that are illegible when writing notes, all 10 colours of the Uniball Signo DX UM-151 line are clearly legible when used for writing (photo example soon to be added). Colours are vibrant and clear.

• The black, red, and blue are exactly what you expect of standard colours.
  
• The light blue is pretty much the same as any other brand's light blue as well.
  
• The emerald green is a very distinctly unique green that is almost like a pastel colour, yet very visible on white paper.
  
• The pink is a bright hot pink (think Barbie).
  
• I especially like the colour-tint selected for the orange, as it is very bright but also very distinctly clear when I print.
• Finally, the blue-black looks more of a dark grey-ish blue ink, while the brown-black looks quite frankly like black. Looking closer though, you can see the distinct brown tone to it, almost like a faded black.
  

Pen Thickness & Tip
Another advantage of this gel pen line is the strength of the pen tip. Unlike other manufactuerers that have fine tips (eg. Pilot Hi-Tec-C) that break under harder writing force or dropping, these pen tips are really strong. Drop them as many times as you want and they will never break on you.
After using these pens for a full semester of university, I can also conclude that the thickness of the gel ink after prolonged writing is extremely consistent. From when you open the box until the very last bit of ink, your writing will be exactly the same thickness.

One gripe about ink-flow, however, is that there will be occasional instances when the pen ink will go dry on you. It is easily corrected by tapping the pen tip on a scrap piece of paper or any surface to release the roller from being stuck and/or re-wetting the roller with gel ink.

This line also comes with grips at the front of the pens, which do release a little of the pressure on the fingers when writing. However, it would have been a lot nicer if the grip was a little softer to the touch (They are abysmal if compared to the Uniball Alpha-gel grips.. haha).

Since I own the 0.38mm thickness pen-set as well, I can say that people with bigger printing may prefer the 0.38 thickness: This would mean that when using standard-lined paper, your writing/printing takes up around 3/4 of the line height. I have writing that is well under 1/2 the line height, so I much prefer the 0.28mm thickness pens of this line.

*Tip: For writing/printing, the thinner the tip, the longer life-time the pen will have *

Overall Conclusion
Overall, I'd highly recommend these pens for writing, drawing, or even labelling. The set includes playful colours, sturdy pen tips, and consistent thickness in writing. Be sure to take a look at some of the other colours available, as there are more than 10 colours in the Signo DX UM-151 line.

You can find these pens at http://www.jetpens.com