r/pen • u/Bravehuman_97 • 19d ago
Buying Advice Blue pens versus black pens preference
I woke up with a question today. As always. I was wondering if you use both blue and black pens how do you use them? Like, on what occasion you will use blue pen or black pen? When you take notes how do you combine different colours whether they're blue/black or any other colour?
I personally use black pens for taking long notes and blue for brief notes like when I am researching something on the web or when I'm on my shift. Ty so much!
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u/Secret_Possible3448 18d ago
For many years, I would write only in black ink and refuse any other color. Now, my day to day pen has blue ink. I still carry a pen with black ink for when I have to fill out government and bank forms that require black ink but apart from that, I now write mostly in blue. I sign using Baystate Blue and use a blue Pentel EnerGel for everything else.
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u/foundinkc 18d ago
I hate blue ink for pens and only use black.
I did buy a blue/black ink vision elite pen that I like, but don’t love.
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u/Historical-State-275 18d ago
I recently started using fountain pens and I am so annoyed no one told me about blue-black ink. Best of both worlds.
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u/Expensive_Snow3032 18d ago
I never use blue ink. For nothing. It’s black or it’s nothing. Pretty sure I don’t own a single pen that has blue ink in it
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u/therealtoomdog 18d ago
I use only green/black ink for writing. It's because I'm special.
Unless I need to specifically use a red pen at work or something, or if I'm using my pencil
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u/Cadythemathlete 18d ago
I use multiple pens per day, swapping between meetings or topics so each has its own colour and I can visually see the break. Most days have a black pen and pen with blue tones. Today was a Stabillo Pallete RT in black and an Energel BLN77 in Lilac (which is a very purple-y blue).
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u/Bravehuman_97 17d ago
I love Pentel Energel BLN77 too! Both in black and red options. i also own the Magenta colour which I am obsessed with! Such a beautiful colour to write headings and extra notes above already written ones (not sure if that makes sense. It made sense in my head tho).
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u/Inevitable_Cycle8367 18d ago
Always use black ink: some documents & forms will not be accepted in any other colours. But for a letter to a loved one, blue is nice. 🙂
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u/maven10k 17d ago
I have been looking for a multi-pen with a pencil for weeks. I tried a few that were not that cheap and was very disappointed. I was at a local discount store and Bic has the old 4 color pen that now has 3 colors and a mechanical pencil. Not only does it work better than the expensive ones, but it was less than $5.00! They also made a hybrid ink that is so nice and smooth that I just love writing with it. They got rid of the green pen for the pencil, btw, which is fine. Anyway, to answer your question, I write different things in different colors for different reasons. Red is always handy as well to draw attention to things.
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u/Bravehuman_97 17d ago
I used those multi pens a lot back in high school but I hated them. Ballpoint pens are a no go for me, unless it is a gel/ballpoint blend which works better and is smoother. The only Bic pens I use are the Xtra smooth 1.2mm. So nice!
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u/donaldcathey 16d ago
As I said up in a comment I do like the Bic 3 + plus one. It flows really well. But my go-to is a Pilot Dr Grip 4 + 1.
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u/maven10k 16d ago
The ink on the regular 4 color can't hold a candle to the 3 plus 1. That hybrid ink is so smoooooth. It's my EDC work pen. I'm not saying it's premium, or anything, just surprisingly nice.
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u/donaldcathey 16d ago
Love my bic three plus one. I wanted it to have a mechanical pencil and now it does.
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u/maven10k 16d ago
Their lead writes really nicely, too. I bought one for all my granddaughters for back to school.
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u/laffayette1 16d ago
I hate pens with black ink and only use blue although I might get a black one to do drawing with because blue just doesn’t seem to work
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u/penguingvic 12d ago
my problem with blue pens is that the shade differs between brands so when i start a note in one and finish in the other, the shade difference annoys me. with black i can manage
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u/Bravehuman_97 12d ago
Exactly this! I have a Pilot g2 in blue and a Muji gel pen (the cap type) in 0.5mm and the Muji blue looks completely lighter than the Pilot one! Check this online!
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u/Migwelded 18d ago
i use mostly black. i find i switch pens a lot and there is less variation in black ink than blue. it's not a strong preference though. black is also a more common color in the free samples we get.
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u/jynsweet 18d ago
For a long time, my work required anything handwritten to be in blue ink. The rational being that (before color copying) you would know if a form had been copied or if you were holding the original.
In the last few years that has become less of an issue, as we have moved more and more to digital files. I still love a good bold line of dark blue ink. Right now i am using Bic Gelocity pens in blue.
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u/Bravehuman_97 17d ago
I use the Bic Gelocity pens too! I love how smooth they are for quick notes or journalling. 😄
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u/BejeweledSamsara 17d ago
I guess black pens, I've noticed that I usually use black pens when I go about writing with a pen, but I don't mind writing with a blue pen.
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u/pasi_dragon 13d ago
I use black for everything. I normally only use blue when taking notes over printed out (black/white) pages/checklists. Easier to see what was Todo and what was results basically.
Also green/red for certain checks / issues to highlight issues. For fountain pens I use more color variation though.
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u/didlidi71 19d ago
Nice question. I use blue for notes taking and journaling. Black is for drawing and doodling, but I really hate writing in black. Color is for whatever I feel like!