Gel Pen smear mystery solved

Gel Pens: What I didn't know.

Everyone knows the usual, shake them down, make sure the ink isn't pooling, etc. However, on every card I was getting tiny smears. They are just big enough to activate my OCD. I could not figure out how they were happening.

This morning I was finishing off the Emperor and I had to put it aside to make breakfast before I passed out. When I returned a few minutes later I noticed that the light was reflecting off the gel pen ink in tiny dots in no particular pattern. Very carefully I put my finger on one of the dots and pulled up ink. It took 20 minutes under a fan for the entire line to completely dry and then when I did the edging, not a single tiny smear.

This has quite a few consequences not only for those of us doing art but for people who use gel pens just for writing. Imagine turning your exam paper in and getting it back nicely smeared as unreadable? How about addressing a stack of mail only to discover all the addresses are smeared?

Now I know that there will be a twenty minute dry under the fan followed by a close inspection under the light and magnifier before moving to the next step.

My next event was the seeking of a copper pen. My only copper metallic pencil comes out looking more like a massive tarnish event. I am not happy with the bronze one either. The bronze was easy to fix with a bronze Sharpie. Finally I over layered the ugly copper with an orange gel pen and got copper but I still need a copper pen. They are scarce as Hen's teeth. I ordered a brand I've never tried and we will see.

But, as I searched for the right pen, I read the reviews because people know what they got. One brand said that when you shake it down as per instruction, the tips comes off and you get a huge permanent spatter on your table. Next pen.....Always check the reviews. Even the bad ones will tell you what never to do with the product.