Go ahead. Make a mistake.
Maybe erasable pens bring to mind your elementary school days and exchanging secret notes with your friends. But erasable pens actually have tons of practical uses that can make your life easier. Erasable pens offer the low-risk commitment of a pencil, but with the bold look of a gel pen.
If you’re looking for a pen for your goal setting planner, sewing projects, or bullet journal, erasable pens are a low-cost, convenient tool.
Wondering how erasable pens work? They use a special gel-ink formula that is sensitive to heat. So if you want to remove what you’ve just written, just use the eraser on your pen to start rubbing it away. The friction will start creating heat which will cause the ink to disappear.
Below is everything you need to know about erasable pens, including the different ways that you can use them and the best erasable pens for each category.
Benefits of erasable pens
You don’t have to be perfect. Did you spot a spelling error? Mess up a sketch? Thanks to erasable pens, you don’t have to worry about making any mistakes and breaking out the whiteout. You can just erase and get another pass at it.
Save paper. You don’t have to go through tons of paper to fix your mistakes or brainstorm new ideas. With an erasable pen, you can change your mind and reboot without wasting paper.
Maintain your rhythm. It can really disrupt our flow if we have to stop every time we make a mistake to grab the white out, and then wait for it to dry. An erasable pen conveniently removes our mistakes, without messing up our momentum.
Different uses of erasable pens
Here are some of the different uses for an erasable pen.
Planners. We’ve all seen those beautifully designed planner pages on Instagram and Pinterest. But in reality, we know that our handwriting isn’t always going to be legible or that our perfectly scheduled days aren’t always going to go according to plan.
It’s nice to have a planner tool that can give us some flexibility. Erasable pens are great for those times you need to readjust deadlines and appointments or fix any typos, without having to sacrifice style.
Habit tracking. Whether it’s tracking your fitness goals or books you’re reading for the year or meal planning for the week, erasable pens can help you log your progress. And if you accidentally log the wrong day, you can use your eraser and ta-da it’s gone. Plus, erasable pens usually come in a variety of colors, making them ideal for Bullet Journaling and tracking different habits.
Recommended erasable pen: The Pilot FriXion Erasable pen has a fine point, making it a great erasable pen for planners and bullet journaling.
Crossword puzzles. Erasable pens are perfect for crossword puzzles and other word games. You don’t have to worry about dull, faint lines like you would with a pencil, and you don’t have to worry about committing to your word choices like you would with a regular pen. With an erasable pen, you can go ahead and make as many mistakes as you want!
Recommended erasable pen: With its fine, .7 mm line, the ParKoo retractable erasable gel pen has been hailed as a great erasable pen for crosswords.
Notetaking/Studying. When we’re taking notes, we want a pen that can glide across the page easily, allowing us to take copious notes, without cramping our hand. And because we’re usually writing so quickly, we’re bound to make mistakes on the page. Erasable pens are great in that regard, allowing us to write quickly, and fix our mistakes easily.
Recommended erasable pen: The Papermate erasable pens come in a 10-pack and are designed with a comfortable grip, making it ideal for notetaking and studying.
Sewing projects. While erasable pens are not fabric pens per se, you’ll find that a lot of craft enthusiasts like to use erasable pens for their sewing or embroidery projects. Erasable pens can be used to trace over designs or maintain straight lines, and the ink will disappear once you apply the heat from an iron.
Recommended erasable pen: The Pilot Frixion Fineliner Erasable Marker Pens has lots of positive reviews on Amazon, and is noted for being great for sewing projects.
Things to avoid with erasable pens
It is not recommended to use erasable pens for legal or official documents, because you never know if the environment will cause the ink to disappear. So you definitely don’t want to sign a lease or contract with an erasable pen.
You also don’t want to use an erasable pen on an envelope or any document that requires your information to be legible, since erasable pen ink can smear or get wiped off.
How to take care of your erasable pens
Because erasable pens are sensitive to temperature, you don’t want to store them in extreme heat or cold. So don’t leave them in your car or on top of the radiator.
If your erasable pen has stopped working, it could be a sign that it’s run out of ink (erasable pens tend to use more ink than conventional gel pens) or that it’s been overheated. If it’s the latter, you can try cooling it (like putting it in the freezer until it cools), and then taking it out to let it get back to room temperature. Important note: make sure to refer to the company’s website before trying the freezer trick since different brands of erasable pens may have different needs.
