Highlighters

I’ve had the misfortune of using some pretty bad highlighters in my life, and all they really highlight is how hard it can be to actually find something that is long lasting, with bright color, and doesn’t have a tip that gets mushy and streaky.  Here are cool highlighters that I’ve used that avoid some of those common problems.

If you are an avid note taker, these Post-it Flag Plus Highlighters are for you.  Not only do they give you great bright and bold highlighting ability, but they also come stuffed full of Post-it flags to further enhance your note taking.  The chunky body and comfortable rubber grip house a pretty generous ink supply as well.  $7 for  3 via Amazon

For a more professional and refined highlighting experience, take a look at the Zebra Stainless Steel Refillable Highlighter.  With a full stainless steel body, cap, and clip, this highlighter has a very stylish look to it, plus it can take a pretty good beating.  Inside the stainless steel body resides a replaceable ink cartridge similar to the ink cartridges in fountain pens. $3 via Buy.com

The Textsurfer Classic Highlighters from Staedtler offer the ability to highlight directly on inkjet print without smearing, which is a very impressive feat.  In addition to highlighting inkjet text well, they are also available in a bevy of colors for those of you who like to color code with your highlighters.  $8 for 12 via Amazon

Anyone who is a fan of fountain pens has no doubt tried to fashion a highlighter out of one of their fountain pens.  Pelikan has made it easier with their new translucent yellow M 205 Demonstrator (Demonstrator is just fancy-talk for see-through in the fountain pen world) that comes with a big wide nib.  The nib isn’t quite wide enough to highlight the entire height of a standard 10 or 12 size font, but it will still be wide enough to make your text stand out.  Not available in the US quite yet, but it should be here soon.  See it at the official Pelikan website and  expect to drop about $120 for it when it does become available.

Lastly if it’s durability, environmentally-friendly, long-lasting ink is your thing, check out the Platinum Preppy highlighter with Noodlers Year of the Golden Pig highlighting ink.  This one requires a little DIY (Do it Yourself) spirit, but if done correctly, the 4.5 oz bottle of ink and replaceable felt tips should get you through years of highlighting.  About $20 via Writers Bloc

Illustrations by Jordan Awan.