Pen Review: Uniball 207

I am a true pen geek. I spend more time testing, researching, shopping for, and writing about pens than I do actually using them. For a long time I was a fan of the Pilot G2 gel ink pen but recently, after much testing, I have thrown aside the G2 in favor of the Uniball 207, a pen with ink that meets all of the criteria of Mike Shea Certified Archival Quality ink.

In order to meet my standards for an archival quality ink, the ink must meet the following criteria:

It must be acid free so it will not degrade over time or eat away at the paper over time as highly acidic ink does such as old style iron gall ink.

It must be fade proof so it will survive even if exposed to the sun for long periods of time.

It must be water proof so it will survive even if it gets wet.

It must be chemical proof so it will survive even if subjected to chemical scrubbing or washing.

These sound like extreme criteria but when we now have pens available for around $1 each that meet these criteria, there is no reason to settle for anything less.

I recently performed tests on five different kinds of ink, from six different pens in addition to a Mirado Black Warrior pencil. These tests included subjecting the ink, written on a sheet of acid-free paper, to numerous chemical washing including water, bleach, and dish soap. I concluded from the results of the test that Noodler's black fountain pen ink, Fisher Space Pen ink, Mirado Black Warrior pencil writings, Sakura Gelly Roll ink, and Uniball  207 ink all survived these tests.

While it is unknown if the Mirado black warrior pencil or the Fisher Space Pen ink would also resist fading when exposed to light, the other inks are also labeled as "acid free" and "fade resistant" by their manufacturers.

The G2 ink, while acid free, fade resistant, and water resistant, is not resistant to chemicals and fades when submerged in water for long periods of time. For this reason, I no longer recommend the Pilot G2 as an archival quality pen.

It is important to note that the acid free nature of an ink is not nearly as important as the paper. When writing anything of any importance, one should always write it on acid-free pH neutral paper. While ink will change and possibly degrade over time if highly acidic, the paper will crisp and yellow within ten to fifty years if it is highly acidic. One can see these results in old newspapers or paperback novels.

Like the Pilot G2 ink, the Uniball 207 ink cartridge will fit many fancier rollerball pens including Waterman and Rotring rollerball pens. Uniball also makes a pen called the Uniball Primer 207 that resembles the larger Pilot Dr. Grip for about $5.

While my own preferred writing instrument is a fountain pen loaded with Noodler's Black fountain pen ink, this is not practical for most people and is far more costly than a traditional pen. The Uniball 207 can be purchased in many point sizes at a wide variety of stores including office supply stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies across the United States for somewhere between $1 and $2 a pen depending on the amount purchased.

For archival quality ink that will survive sunlight, water, oxidation, and chemical washing, one need not look further than the Uniball 207 gel ink pen. The Uniball 207 is the new official Mike Shea endorsed Archival Quality pen.

Mike Shea
http://mikeshea.net/

Comments

[Christopher Meisenzahl]

Aww come on, now I have to buy another pen, thanks guys! ;-)

[Scott Kitchen]

I stumbled across the 207's in my local Walgreens drug store, and they're fantastic! The 0.5mm micros provide a fine line, write smoothly, dry quickly, and are my pen of choice for Moleskines.

Great review of a great pen.

[Pencil Revolution]

The pencil will never fade in sunlight because its mark comes from a carbon-based "rock" from a mine. It is unfortunate that pencil -- which lasts through anything -- can be erased with a small piece of rubber, though:)

Gardeners use pencil to mark tags that fade even with Sharpie on them.

[Arthur Harris]

I tried out a 207 the other day in Staples and I couldn't produce a clean line with it--one without clumps and unevenness. Maybe gel pens don't work with my hand pressure, but I haven't found one that I really like.

For now I am sticking with my fave pen of all time--the Uniball Micro Deluxe. Even though they seem to be getting harder to find nowadays. Uniball Vision Elite is really good too--produces good clean lines. But I don't know how acidic or long lasting they are.

[agentgray]

The 207 is great but I never get a smooth line. It always skips. I also like the bold Uniball but I get the same results. Very annoying.

I'm left-handed, but I don't know if that makes a difference.

[Anita Rose]

Oh heck yeah! That's my favorite kind of Pen! Although I still like to flip flop between that one and my G2.

[Marcus]

I like, and use, both of G2's and 207's. The blue ink 207's aren't quite as blue as the blue G2's though.

[artorius]

An amazing cheap pen I found the other day--the Pilot Easy Touch. And it is a ballpoint!!! Never thought I would use a ballpoint again, but it produces really smooth lines with a light touch and no clumping so far, even when I write fast and hard. Amazing!!!

[Moleskinner@gmail.com]

I love those 207 pens They write great for me most of the time. I have found some pens skip and some write like a dream. Recently, I have tried the Pilot Precise Gel with the needle point.

It writes very smooth most of the time, has a comfortable grip, and it's a retracable rolling ball. Works great if you like to write very small

[franciscovna]

I just stumbled on your site from 52 projects...and since I am obsessed with pens, I had to write to tell you about my end-all-be-all of pens: the Itoya Xenon retractable ballpoint.

http://www2.officesupply-link.com/5456/DealerStation/Catalog/Results.asp?ItemCo=ITY&ItemNbr=XE100BU

I discovered it by accident in Lee's Art Supply (while testing a myriad number of other pens). And I haven't turned back since. I live in Germany now, and can't find them here, so my mom had to bring me a new supply.

It writes like a dream, like writing with silk flowing from the pen. Whenever one of my fellow teachers has borrowed my pen for a minute, they all have the same reaction upon writing with it: unadulterated bliss.

It is not easy to find - I would suggest asking in art supply/stationers for it, as opposed to chains like Staples or OfficeMax. And they are slightly more expensive: $3-$4 a pop. But they do last longer than any ballpoint I've used.

[Tom]

I've been using the 207's exclusively in my Moleskines for some time now, and I love 'em. I have yet to have one smudge or bleed through at all. I now use them for writing checks, too, because the ink does sink into and "bond" with the paper making "check washing" virtually impossible. The 207 is the best pen I have ever used, and they are quite inexpensive making them all the more appealing. I, too, gave up my G-2s to make the switch to the 207.

I highly recommend the 207.

[Christopher Meisenzahl]

Just bought a couple this morning. I'll try them this week.

Chris
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/

[Mario Foglia]

Nice review.
I've been using a Signo 207 Premier, filled with blue - grey ink, since a couple of week, either on a Moleskine and on a big Clairefontaine A4 Notebook. After this two weeks I finally decided to switch to this pen, expecially for writing on Clairefontaine notebook: paper quality (90 g/m2) seems to be perfect for a smooth and quick writing.

[Matthew]

It is also worth noting that pencils were banned from Boeing as a way of marking aircraft, as the any pencil containing higher levels of graphite will eat away at aluminium!

[d]

For me it's all about the Pigma Micron 05. I don't understand the G2 love among Moleskine users as the ink starts and stops, comes out in clumps, and doesn't seem to dry quick enough for the quick open-and-close, on-the-fly entries one jots down quickly.

The Micron dries instantly, doesn't fade, and writes a clean, clear line. The only downside might be that it doesn't last as long as some other pens.

[william]

I'm surprised that people are finding the signo inks to work with the Moleskine, I have tried both the Signo RT and 207 and both of them smear easily even after a minute or two of drying time. The G2 is better, but still takes a while to drive. My favorite ink for my Moleskine is the Cross Gel Roller Ball refill which works very well. I actually use it in a Water Phileas Rollerball pen, it fits nicely and the ink seems to work better on the Moleskine than the Waterman rollerball refill.

[Chris Meisenzahl]

I've been using this too now. I like it better than the G2!

[jgodsey]

Though I have used the G2, I am in love Pilot's Varsity Disposable Fountain Pen which uses a gel ink, which is QUICK drying, lasts a lot longer than it really should and takes almost no pressure to produce. I have not had a problem with hand cramps or painful writing calluses.

[Cecily]

Not to be a 'me too' bird, but count me as another person who can never get a smooth line out of the 207. The pen feels better in my hand than the G2 (I tried to like them, I honestly did), but it skips and sputters in every Moleskine I own.

[Chris Meisenzahl]

Definitely better than the Pilot G2 imho.

[MikeM]

Make sure to use the microtip version of the Signo 207 or the 0.5mm tip (0.38mm if available) of the G2. I find both very acceptable on Moleskines. The 0.7mm tip writings take forever to dry. I find the Sarasa 0.5/0.4mm and the 0.7mm Uniball Jetstreams very nice pens for Moleskines as well.

[normad]

I agree with MikeM. I always replace the ink cartridges in my Premier 207's with the microtip version...it is much more compatible with the moleskine than with the larger 0.7mm tip.

[Steve]

Yeah, tried this ink in the Uniball Signo RT. I am left-handed, and the thing just kept skipping. A huge annoyance!
I use G2 .7 ink now, and there is very little skipping, and the drying time is satisfactory. I've tried the .05 ink, but I can't seem to get as smooth and black lines as the .7 ink.
Maybe I'll give the uniball .5 a try. I've been looking for a good gel pen with a .5 mm tip for a while now

[Ray]

I purchased two Uni-Ball Signo 207 Pens from my College Bookstore. After a quick test of the pens on my notebook I thought it would be a good pen. The next day during class it came time to put the pens to the test and see how well they perform. The results speak for themselves. They are literally the Worst Pens I have ever purchased. I could not complete a sentence without having the pen skip. It got to the point that I had to switch to a basic Bic Ball Point Pen.

Bottom line if you don’t mind having to go over your writing to correct any letters and add letter’s to complete words due to the skipping then you might find this pen ok.

If your like me and don’t have time to be messing around with a pen. Then Stay away from the Uni-Ball 207.

[Chaim]

Well, since this pen is so hotly contested, I had to check it out. I have to echo Ray, and some other posters. Sucks. I mean, it's not *awful*, and the whole "acid-free" archival thing is great, but I do a LOT of writing, and the last thing I need to do is miss a letter here and there and have to go back over it later to make sure it shows. The 207 needs me to do just that in order to be effective. Also, the shade of "black" is just not black enough for me. Not vivid enough. One good thing I can say, though, it that it's quick-drying.

Anyway, looks like I'll be sticking to the tried and true Uniball Vision until I do actually find something better. Can ANYONE recommend a pen to me that is waterproof, smudgeproof, acid-free and quick-drying, and writes as well as my Uniball Vision does? The G2 is off-limits... takes way too long to dry.