If you’re new to planning, you might not have heard of ink and paper testing. An ink and paper test is simply trying out each pen, marker, and highlighter on a sample of the paper or surface you plan to write on. This helps you find out if it writes smoothly and is legible. If an ink dries slowly on the paper, it might get smeared or smudged. Potential bleeding or ghosting to the back of the sheet will also be detectable through this test. It’s an opportunity to reduce frustration before you dive into planning only to find the ink is smearing and bleeding through the page.
Variables Affecting Ink and Paper Performance
There are many factors that can affect how ink from a pen, marker, or highlighter works on different papers or surfaces. For example:
- Inks may be water-based, solvent-based (i.e. alcohol or oil), or contain additives to make them permanent or erasable. The color in the inks may be from pigments or dyes.
- Pens and markers may have felt tips, ballpoints, brush tips, or metal nibs (fountain pens). The size, shape, and/or firmness of each type of pen tip can also vary.
- Paper comes in different weights, densities, textures and materials. Paper may have a coating on one or both sides. And manufacturers of planner and journals do change the paper being used from time to time for various reasons.
- Humidity, temperature and air-flow can affect the time required for ink to dry. And paper can also be affected by humidity.
- Even you are a variable – the way you hold the pen to the paper, the pressure you apply and the speed at which at you write can all affect the way the pen and paper perform together.
So you see, performing an ink and paper test whenever you get a new planner or a new pen, is a good idea. For a new planner, you would test all the pens you currently plan to use with the planner. For a new pen or marker, you could add to the previous test page, so keep it in the back of your planner or where you can access it easily. The quality of paper being used by planner companies can change from time to time, so performing this test can be important even if you’ve been using the same brand for years.
I wrote a post a few weeks ago that goes into much more detail on the various inks, pen types, and papers than I just summarized above. You can find that post here – End of the Year Planning Tip #17 – Perform a New Ink Test.
Let’s Perform an Ink Test
A little background info – My primary planner is based on the Happy Planner Classic size and is disc bound. Being able to easily add and change pages or entire sections as needed is important to me. I print most of my own pages but do use some Happy Planner inserts like notes pages with pretty borders just to mix things up. Bound journals of different types are also part of my planning and journaling lineup. This year I decided to try a Hobonichi Techo HON as a daily journal for scripture writing and study. I also recently purchased a variety of new pens that I’d not tried before.
My Ink and Paper Test Supplies
I wanted to test all my new pens, the Hobonichi Techo HON, and the paper I use for printing my planner pages. I also wanted to include more commonly used copy/printer paper, the Happy Planner paper, and a couple of budget friendly journal options. The “papers” I tested are:
- 24 lb (90 gsm) copy/printer paper (Pen & Gear – Walmart)
- 32 lb (120 gsm) HP Premium Paper 100 Brightness (Amazon)
- Happy Planner Dot Grid Note Paper – (Joann)
- Dotted Journal (100 gsm) (Pen & Gear – Walmart)
- Pentalic Traveler’s Sketchbook 74 lb (120 gsm)
- 2025 Hobonichi Techo HON (Amazon)
Links given are not affiliate links, just where I purchased them. The pens and markers I tested include:
- Pentel EnerGel Clena Retractable Liquid Gel Pen, Micro Fine Point 0.5mm Needle Tip, Black Ink, Sax Blue Body (Amazon)
- Uni-Ball® One Retractable Gel Pens, Micro Point, 0.5 mm, White Barrel, Assorted Ink, Pack Of 5 Pens (Amazon)
- Pilot Dr. Grip Multi-Function Pen, 0.5mm Acro Ink Ballpoint Pen, 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil, Mint Green (Amazon)
- Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5 Retractable Gel Ink Pen, Rubber Grip, 0.5 mm, Vintage Colors, 10 Color Bundle (Amazon)
- Zebra Sarasa Grand 0.5 mm – Vintage Camel Yellow (Amazon)
- SAKURA Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens – Archival Black Ink Pens – Assorted Sizes – 6 Pack (Amazon)
- Marvy Uchida LePenPastel Colors – Set of 10 (Amazon)
- Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens, 3-Pack. Soft, Hard, and Twin Tip Markers (Amazon)
- Tombow Water-based Markers (available individually and in sets from various vendors)
- Zebra Mildliners – available individually and in sets from various vendors and in various double-pointed styles (i.e. chisel/fine or brush/superfine)
- Kuretake Zig Clean Color Dot Pens Water Based Marker Single, 6 Mild Colors Set (Amazon)
I also added in a few additional surfaces/tools to test:
- Washi tape – I chose a random roll from my stash; different brands may perform differently.
- Pen+Gear Semi-Transparent Sticky Notes, 3″ x 3″, Multicolor (Walmart)
- Tombow Mono Air 4 Correction Tape– 4mm (Amazon)
- BIC White-Out Brand EZ Correct Correction Tape, 4 Count (Amazon)
It takes time to test each and every color of pen, so where there were multiple colors available, I chose a two or three shades to test. I recorded the entire process and the resulting video is approximately 90 minutes. The video is linked below. I should probably add that I don’t apply heavy pressure when writing. So that may make my results and observations different than yours.
YouTube Video: No More Messy Ink Ruining Your Planner
Paper (And Other Surfaces) Test Results
The following are the results for each surface tested and my observations. The images provide side-by-side photos of the front and back of each of the paper surfaces. Right click on any of the images and choose “view on new tab” to see a larger view.
24 lb Copy/Printer Paper
This is the lowest weight and lowest quality paper I tested. The results were very good for all of the ink pens. There was slight ghosting visible from the reverse side for the darker inks when applied more heavily, like coloring “a little squiggle” as you might to fill a check box. I did not attempt to “color in” areas with the markers with back-and-forth strokes that overlapped. Doing so would l likely have resulted in bleed through with all the markers – LePen, Tombow Water-based, Zebra Mildliners and the Zig Clean Color Dots. In fact, excluding the LePen, all show some bleed through at the points where the pen makes initial and final contact with the paper with the darker colors. Both the light (pink) and dark (purple) shades of the Dot markers bleed through this paper.
If you don’t use a lot of markers and like to create and print your own planner pages and inserts, this might be a good economical choice.
32 lb Premium Paper
This has been my choice for the last seven or so years. Not only does it perform well with most pens and markers, it handles being taken in and out of a disc-bound planner repeatedly without any problems. Not even the purple Zig Clean Color Dot Marker bled though the paper. The HP Premium 32 lb has a smooth surface and pens glide over it without dragging. The 100 Brightness of the HP Premium means that colors are true and matte correction tape, like the Tombow Mono Air all but disappears on the surface.
Happy Planner Dot Grid Note Paper
While the 24 lb Pen & Gear is under $11/ream, the best price for the HP Premium 32 lb 100 Brightness is $20/ream. I used to print everything on this 24 lb paper and print almost everything in duplex to save paper. Two years ago, my printer died and I purchased an Epson Eco-tank (ET-8500 series) printer. It puts more ink on the page, I suppose, because suddenly if I printed something in duplex, the ghosting would make it hard to read. I still put the 24lb paper in for single sided, non-planner, uses. But the 32 lb paper is my default paper for my printer.
This Happy Planner paper performed very well. Only the darker (brown) Zebra Mildliner Chisel point and Zig Clean Color Dot Markers came close to any bleed through. I assume all their pages are printed on the same paper. I do recall that a few years ago there were some concerns that the paper quality had decreased. That is why it is important to test occasionally, even if you’re not changing brands.
I am not certain of the weight of the paper. It is heavier than the 24 lb (90gsm) paper, but I don’t think it is as heavy as the 32 lb (120gsm) paper. I estimate it’s 100-110gsm. For my purposes, it works well.
Pentalic Traveler’s Sketchbook
This little sketchbook was quite a happy surprise. Part of my surprise may be that the paper is probably better than I expected at the price I paid. This little sketchbook was under $6 at Walmart but starts at $10 elsewhere I found online. This one was 4” x 6” but also comes in 6” x 8”. Either size might make an excellent art journal. My local Walmart has the 6” x 8” in brown for under $8. I would test again with art mediums before jumping right in with that.
It is a sketchbook, so the paper has a little more texture. The paper is also recycled and has a sort of neutral (gray) off-white tone. All the pens were able to write smoothly. The only ink give noticeable ghosting was the purple Zig Clean Color Dot Marker, but it did not bleed through. I can feel invisible ridges on the back side opposite the Pentel Clena, Uniball One, Pilot Dr. Grip and the Zebra Sarasa pens. There is no visible impression on either the back of the page nor next page. All in all I was very happy with this purchase and plan to put it to good use.
Dotted Journal
I chose another budget option for a dotted journal to test. I picked up an Exceed 100gsm journal from Walmart several years ago to give bullet journaling a try. It had some ghosting issues, but not so much as to make it hard to use. The next year I decided to treat myself to a much pricier Leuchttrum1917. You can see an image of the ink and paper test for that journal in my previous post (here). I didn’t find that paying more improved quality. My local Walmart doesn’t carry Exceed journals in the store these days, but they have their own Pen & Gear journals. So I got one of those for this test.
The paper has an ivory tone which could affect how some colors would appear. It is 100gsm paper and has the same surface feel as the Happy Planner paper. This paper performed nearly as well as the Happy Planner paper with no bleed through and only slightly more noticeable ghosting. It also has 5 index pages and 240 pre-numbered dotted pages. And there’s an expandable pocket in the back and 2 ribbon page markers.
2025 Hobonichi Techo HON
When I first saw people using the Hobonichi planners a few years ago, I didn’t understand how they could use them. All I could see was ghosting from the other side of the paper. But then I decided a month or so ago that I really should try one before I say I’d never use one. And It’s not what I thought it would be. Actually, I don’t see the ghosting with my test that I was seeing in videos of people using them over the last couple of years.
I don’t believe you can really expect to write in any dark color and have zero ghosting. The print on the pages shows through anywhere is wider than a thin line. So yes, most of the inks do show through the paper, but none bled through the coated paper. The purple Zig Clear Color Marker does show the most. Since this paper is coated, I expected some smearing or slow drying of inks. But I didn’t have any smearing problems and noted no feathering.
Washi Tape
I have begun using the Hobonichi Techo HON A6/Daily as a journal. So far I’m using only Zebra Sarasa pens in both the vintage colors and some others from a journaling set I purchased with matching Mildliners. And so far I am pleased with it.
My stash of washi tape is huge and I’ve not kept track of brands or sources. I tried to choose one that was more white than anything else so that the color of the ink would be visible. The washi tape I used it neither papery feeling nor is it slick like some of the washi that has images on a clear background. I would expect a more papery tape to grab the ink more and maybe not smear or rub off. The slicker tapes may require time for ink to dry to prevent smearing, etc.
Because I expected the juicier markers to smear, I limited my testing to the Pentel Clena, Uniball One, Zebra Sarasa, Marvy Uchida LePen, and the Sakura Pigma Micron 05. The Pentel Clean and Sakura Pigna Micron 05 both smeared easily. However, the Uniball One and Zebra Sarasa inks dried quickly. The Marvy Uchida LePen dried quickly, but the color was faded out.
Correction Tape
Both the Tombow Mono Air 4 and Bic Wite Out correction tapes worked well. Both were easy to apply. I was able to smooth out any little wrinkles that appeared when applying them. The Tombow Mono Air 4 is matte and blends in with the surrounding paper better than the Bic Wite Out which has a sheen. As with the washi tape, I did not test the juicier markers because I would not expect them to work well with correction tape. Both correction tapes completely covered all the inks tested.
The Pentel Clena wrote easily over both tapes, but the ink looked a little faded. The Marvy Uchida LePen and Sakura Pigma Micron 05 pens wrote over the tapes, but not only was the ink color a little faded, the line appeared thinner than on the paper. I thought the Uniball One and Zebra Sarasa pens both performed very well with both correction tapes.
Semi-Transparent Sticky Notes
I have no experience using the semi-transparent sticky notes before conducting this test. But I do see lots of potential for these. Adding temporary notes or highlighting to information for starters. The top of the sticky notes is matte and has a slight texture while the back side is smooth and shiny.
The Pentel Clena smeared initially, but not after giving it a minute or so to dry. The Uniball One and Zebra Sarasa pens both performed well with the sticky notes. The Sakura Pigma Micron 05 did smear a little, but not as much as I expected. It did dry ok though. The Tombow Water-based markers dried quickly. I tested them on the yellow sticky note, so the color is altered by that layering of colors. The Marvy Uchida LePen pens worked well and dried very quickly. The Zebra Mildliners also worked very well. They appeared slightly wet and even felt sticky initially, but they did not smear.
Pen Observations
A few general observations on the pens tested: I did not notice any feathering with any of the pens or markers on any of the surfaces. And other than noted specifically with the washi tape and sticky note, I didn’t experience smearing. I should probably add that I don’t apply heavy pressure when writing. So that may make my results and observations different than yours.
Pentel EnerGel Clena
This is not my first Pentel Energel pen and it performed well. It will likely stay on my desk.
Uniball One
There was one previously purchased a Uniball One with blue ink in my stash. I have used various Uniball pens over the years. The ink in these pens is excellent with smooth consistent flow and bold color, but the colors in this set are not my favorite colors. I will likely investigate other color inks in the line. FYI – Their website states that “Uniball One is now a Guinness World Record Holder for blackest gel ink ball pen.”
Pilot Dr Grip 4+1
I got this one because I used to have one back when in the days before smartphones when the PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) available were the Palm Pilot and Blackberry. One of the “pens” on my old Dr. Grip was a stylus for use with my Palm Pilot. I was disappointed with the ink that came with the Dr. Grip. I may investigate replacements of higher quality refills. For 0.7mm pens, they produced fine lines than any of the 0.5mm pens in the test. I found myself resisting the urge to write over lines to darken them. The idea of a multi-pen is appealing, but only if it performs well.
Zebra Sarasa Clip / Sarasa Grand
These are my favorite pens right now. I am in love with vintage colors and I believe they work really well in the Hobonichi as well as in my primary planner. These will definitely have a place on my desk and in my planner tote. The Sarasa Grand has a metal body that gives in more weight, and it feels very nice in hand. The Sarasa Clip has a lightweight plastic body. I may eventually collect more of the Sarasa Grand pens for this reason. But ink wise the 0.5mm Clip and 0.5mm Grand are the same; the same refills fit either pen.
Marvy Uchida LePen
They performed well with all the papers testing with little to no ghosting and no bleed through. The fine tip (0.3mm) allows you to write fairly small and still be legible. The color appears faded, and the lines thinner, when writing over correction tape. And the color was very faded on the washi tape. But there was no smearing. I linked the set that I pulled out for testing and that is what is linked above. But you can purchase them individually for $2-3 in many arts and crafts supply stores. They come in 36 different colors.
The Marvy Childa LePen pens have appeared in my pen collection for many years now. There were three – black, blue and maroon – that I carried in a “leather” bound, heavily over-stuffed half-letter ring-bound planner that my co-workers called “Linda’s Second Brain”. I use them now more for adding a bit of color, not as my primary pen. The barrel is smaller than most other pens and my hand tires of gripping it for long periods. (Note to self: Investigate pen grips to fit a LePen.)
Sakura Pigma Micron
The Pigma ink in the Sakura Pigma Micron pens is one of the most reliable permanent inks on the market. It is archival-quality and with the fine nib/point sizes good for handwritten projects that you wish to preserve. The ink flows easily due to the plastic nib and it’s used by artists and illustrators to create perfect lines. If you art journal or doodle and like to add crisp black outlines, these may be just the pens you are looking for. They also have other colors, but not in all sizes.
They performed well on all the paper surfaces, but needed a little extra time to dry on the washi tape and sticky notes. I don’t routinely use these in my planner, but do use them in some journals and other projects.
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens
The Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens performed well in my test. However, I do believe they have the potential for bleed through depending on the amount of pressure being applied and the speed – or actually the slowness – that may be needed to use them for brush lettering. I do like the 3rd pen in the set – the double pointed soft brush with both black and gray.
Tombow Water-based Markers
My thoughts on the Tombow Water-based Markers are the same as with the Fudenosuke Brush pens – there’s the potential for bleed through depending on specific use. I would stick with water-based markers, regardless of brand. Alcohol based markers will soak into the paper and can quickly bleed through even heavy 120lb cover cardstock. But with a light hand, you can add lots of color to your layouts as they come in many, many colors and can be purchased in sets or individually.
Zebra Mildliners
I prefer Zebra Mildliners over any other highlighter due to the availability of softer colors. I’m not terribly fond of the neon or fluorescent colors. Some of the darker colors may ghost quite a bit or bleed through. And it seems to happen at the at the beginning of the stroke and sometimes at the end of the stroke with a chisel point. I think this is because they are fairly juicy markers and there’s a little more pressure at the beginning of a stroke and (for me) at the end of the stroke with the chisel point.
Kuretake Zig Clean Color Dot Pens
These dot markers were the most likely to ghost or bleed through with all the surfaces I tested. But they are a very handy tool for me. I use them often to create little circles for check boxes for lists. They can also be used to quickly create little decorative dot borders and such. Fortunately, the papers I use most did not have bleed through issues.
Summary
Performing a quick ink test on any new planner will prevent the frustration you would likely feel if the ink smeared or bled through and ruined your pages. Even if you’re using a brand you’ve tested before, the paper used often changes due to availability and/or costs. So testing a new planner is still worth the effort. Hang on your pen test pages so you can add tests for any new pens you want to try out.
There are a couple of things I did not test though. I did not do any testing combining ink and highlighters to see if the highlighter ink activates and smears the pen ink already on the page. I also didn’t share any tests using stamps and stamping inks. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in having me cover either of those in a future post.
Happy planning, Linda
Tell me what you think …