Guest Post: The Right Pen

_{Pens to Improve Your Handwriting
by Lily Kim, JetPens} 

Hasn’t it been everyone’s dream at some point to have beautiful handwriting, to have the gorgeous cursive font or print worthy enough to adorn the most elegant of correspondences or perhaps even wedding invitations?

Interestingly enough, the structure and form of your handwriting has a lot to do with the writing instrument you use. You may think that you are a lost cause for good penmanship, but the reality could just be that you haven’t found the right pen.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that handwriting can differ significantly depending on the type of pen used. Slippery ballpoint pens tend to exacerbate my messy handwriting, fine point gel pens lend a little more traction, slows down my writing and gives it better readability. Whether you’re a young child just embarking into the world of handwriting or a seasoned professional who has given up on a signature style, these "tips" could be just right for you.

First, what type of pen leads to what type of writing? If your font is very readable but you’d like to give it more form, I would recommend bold, inky pens. Such pens have broad tips that make lines smoother. The broad lines help cover subtle imperfections and give your handwriting more of a flow and room for flair.

My recommendations for a bold pen are anything above 0.7 mm. Some top picks are:

Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153 Gel Ink PensPilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pens

If, on the other hand, your writing weakness is legibility (i.e. readers confuse your writing w/ a doctor’s medical prescription), then what you need is a pen that gives you cleaner and more defined lines. Rather than bold pens, you probably should go for a finer point that helps make your letters more distinct (is that an “a” or a “d”?).

My recommendations for a fine point pen are anything below a 0.7 mm tip. Top picks are:

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink PensZebra Sarasa Gel Ink PensStaedtler Triplus Fineliner Marker Pens

Lastly, if you are fairly satisfied with your penmanship but desire a few additional trimmings to your writing flair, I recommend giving italic or calligraphy pens a try.

My my top picks for “finishing stroke” pens, with calligraphy courtesy Josh Scruggs, are:

Pilot Plumix Fountain PensSailor DE Brush Stroke Style Calligraphy Fountain Pens Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pens

Overall, a nice pen can be great motivation for improving penmanship. With a suitable pen in hand, you may find yourself always ready and eager to write down notes, giving yourself more opportunities to improve your writing ability. We at JetPens.com hope it will be “love... at first write”. 

Comments

[Chris Thorpe]

I feel like you missed a trick with this article—should be called "The Write Pen".

I prefer an Artline 200 0.4mm for my writing. Slow enough and fine enough for writing and sketching, but lays down a fair bit of ink if you need it.

[Chris P]

For printed writing the Pilot Hi-Tec 0.4 mm is my favorite. For anything cursive, a fine tipped Waterman rollerball because it forces me to slow down a bit. It makes a nice bold line, as well.

[Soraya Brown]

My handwriting is never usually clean or neat because I
am very heavy handed and my hand drags, but I still enjoy the look given when I write with felt tip pens.My favorite is the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Marker Pen 0.3 in black.
No matter how sloppy my handwriting is the effect given by a Staedtler
is very pleasing.