T.G.S. readers don’t just accumulate their stationery, they use it, so it doesn’t surprise me that one of the more in-demand product categories for reviews is quite practical: The highlighter marker. It’s somewhat difficult to find quality highlighters in the U.S. market. Those available at big-box stores tend to have oversized chisel-tip points, with ink that can pool on the page and bleed through most paper.

I’ve experimented with many different highlighting and annotation techniques over the years, ranging from avoiding highlighters entirely by underlining with colored pencils or gel pens, to using refillable Platinum Preppy markers with specialty “highlighter inks”, to highlighter pencils designed to work on even the thinnest onionskin or Bible paper. I’ve also discovered a subset of specialized stationery: Dual-tone highlighter markers that allow for color-coding and precise annotation.

Kokuyo Dual-Tone Highlighter all color samples with ballpoint ink — Five different colors over ballpoint ink, which does not smear at all. I appreciate that these are dry-ish liquid highlighters.

The specific highlighter markers pictured here are the Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighters, which are notable for their distinctive double tip. While each marker has a specific color (purple, yellow, pink, green, blue, or grey), there are technically two different options in each highlighter: a darker shade and lighter shade of the same color. The dual-tone tip allows for a lot of versatility, as you can easily delineate between important ideas and very important ideas, or you can use the darker color to highlight headers, main concepts, etc., while using the lighter colors to call out quotes and longer passages. The ink is very easy on the eyes, as the muted colors are less eye-searing than other ultra-bright fluorescent highlighters.

Kokuyo Mark+ Highlighter Dual-Tone Colors — The five colors included in the standard 5-pack. All of these are available for purchase individually, along with a grey color that’s not included in the assortment.

Some have commented on one potential drawback to the Mark+ Highlighters: the relatively narrow chisel tip is set at a precise angle and you have to be somewhat careful to ensure a clean line. For me personally, that’s more a feature than a bug: not only do I enjoy the narrower tip (perfect for highlighting small-print legal documents), but without some friction in the process, I tend to go “highlighter happy” when I’m reading. If I’m not mindful of what I’m highlighting, I can end up with large portions of highlighted text that defeat the purpose of a highlighter, which for me is to allow you to easily jump to the most important takeaways and ideas. This added friction is also why I love highlighter pencils and leadholders - the fact that I have to sharpen them periodically forces me to focus by using the highlighter more sparingly on only big-picture concepts.

Kokuyo Mark+ Highlighter Writing Samples — The yellow highlighter over a few different writing samples, from top: (1) Ballpoint pen ink with zero smearing; (2) Caran d’Ache HB pencil lead with zero smearing; (3) Ohto Gel ink with moderate smearing (to be expected); (4) Uni HB Mechanical Pencil lead with zero smearing; (5) Schmidt .7mm Rollerball Refill with fairly significant smearing (also to be expected - hardly anything highlights rollerball ink with out smearing); and (6) Platinum black fountain pen ink without any smearing at all, which surprised me the most. I’ve not had any issue with these highlighters smearing inkjet or laser printer ink.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Kokuyo Mark+ is an excellent highlighter for those who require additional versatility in how they annotate, and who regularly work with smaller text that requires a more precise tip. It’s still a liquid ink highlighter marker, and your mileage will vary in terms of how these function on specific types of paper, but overall I’ve had a very good experience using these markers on cheap copy paper and even thinner book papers. As you can see above, they work well for highlighting handwriting in most ink formats, and even where there is some smearing with smudgy inks, the writing remains legible.

In addition to our range of highlighter pencils, I’ve decided to offer these specific highlighter markers for purchase in our own shop. You can buy specific colors individually, or purchase a pack of five.

Kokuyo Mark Plus Highligher 5-Pack — The 5-Pack of the Mark+ Highlighters come with a convenient resealable pouch that has held up well over the nearly two years I’ve owned these.

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It’s been a looong time since I’ve posted any pencil-related content around here, but pencils are something I certainly love and use a lot, as do many of my readers, so I need to make more of an effort to diversify. First up is a short piece on a category of pencils that plays a key part in my workflow: highlighting pencils, also sometimes referred to as “dryliners.” Why, you might ask? First of all, I find that they last longer than traditional ink-guzzling liquid highlighters, they don’t dry out, and I would think they’re also a more eco-conscious choice because you’re not stuffing landfills with discarded plastic bodies. Second depending on how you sharpen these pencils, you can adjust the tip size to make it narrower or broader, per your preference. The downside, of course, is lighter pigment than in traditional liquid ink, and some might find sharpening inconvenient because the core is soft, like a colored pencil. If you want to keep a point or a narrow tip, you’ll have to sharpen a lot.

The Caran d’Ache Graphicolor Highlighter/HB Combo, which combines a highlighter/dryliner pencil with a standard HB graphite half, to make notes while you highlight without switching writing implements. It’s great for when you’re reading!

“The Editor” by CW Pencil Enterprise and Caran d’Ache, as well as the more economical Milan highlighter/HB graphite combo.

Similarly, so-called double-ended editing pencils combine two different colors of graphite, traditionally blue and red. CW Pencil Enterprise, however, recently released their latest collaboration with Caran d’Ache, “The Editor,” which is a double-ended pencil featuring red and HB graphite - a more convenient combination. I haven’t quite figured out a use case for this pencil yet. I mostly prefer to edit in ink as opposed to red pencil, but Caran d’Ache’s red pigment is excellent and very visible.

Highlighter-pencil-editor-writing-sample

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Unfortunately, those of us who are into quirky stationery items like these know that the only place to get them are via highly specialized shops. CW Pencils carries the Caran d’Ache Graphicolor HB/Highlighter combo, the Milan graphite/highlighter combo, and of course, “The Editor”. Of these three, the Milan is the one that’s most likely to make its way into my daily rotation. At $1 each, it’s a more economical choice for a workhorse than the Caran d’Ache pencils, which run a pricey $3 per pencil. I do like the editor though, and I’ll likely keep them tucked into books I’m reading for annotations. That way they’ll last longer!

Another option for highlighter pencils are Faber-Castell Textliners, which can be extremely difficult to source in the States, so I stock up on them whenever I place an order to UK retailer Cult Pens, which sells them by the box in all available colors. These also aren't double-ended pencils - they’re quite long, triangular jumbo grip highlighters that last a while, which defrays the cost a bit.

Disclaimer: I purchased the products featured in this review with my own funds, for my own use.