16 Oct 2013

muji erasables and pilot frixions: over a year on

One of the fears I know people have regarding erasable pens, is that they might fade as the years go by. For someone who bins their pages every year, that isn't a problem - but for those who prefer to archive their diaries, it is a justifiable fear.

This is why I decided to look back at my planning pages from 2012 to see how the Muji Erasables and Pilot Frixion pens have held up.

To show this, I have included two photos of a writing sample using the pens today, and a writing sample from my 2012 inserts.

First up, the Muji Erasables from the 5th of June 2012:


And now, the Pilot Frixion from the 1st of July 2012 (orange pen and the blue pen at the bottom):


And a sample of both pens from yesterday:

I'm not a fan of the ink flow from my Pilot Frixion pen and I've also found that the ink runs out quicker in the Frixions compared to the Muji Erasables.
As you can see, there is no difference seen for the Muji Erasables but with regards to the Pilot Frixion pens, there is a little bit of fading. How the Muji Erasables will hold up in another year's time is another issue (and one I will re-visit) but from the evidence I've just presented, the Muji pens are better than the Pilot Frixions. One thing to note is that I don't store old inserts near a heat-source; they sit on my bookshelf in a box away from direct sunlight and heating.


However, if you're particularly worried about disappearing ink, using a non-erasable pen will definitely be your best option (stating the obvious there).

6 comments

  1. I am really pleased you had these examples. I am not a fan of erasable pens for many reasons, your demonstration being one. Thank you for that. I also figure if I can erase it what is to stop someone else from erasing it? I am a skeptic in this area and recently ordered my first Frixion pen, only one. I decided to try one and review it for myself, but this demonstration really says a lot. Good posting, I hope a lot of people see it.

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  2. I'm always afraid of erasable ink for those very reasons, fading and disappearing! I still haven't found the Muji erasable pens (which would be great for my pocket notes instead of having to cross out all the time), but hopefully I'll stumble upon it soon.

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  3. Thank you very much! I've been using Frixion and this has changed my mind. I keep my planner and calendar pages forever, so archiving is important to me. Thanks again.

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  4. I don't really archive much, so I like to use erasables since I can keep my planner neat. That said, have you tried putting your old pages in the freezer? Does the fading disappear when you do that?

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    1. Hi, Nope, I've not had a chance to put them in the freezer but looking at how the ink has faded, it looks like the ink has just 'dropped off' as opposed to erased (if that makes sense). I'll try and see if I can find a zip-lock to put these inserts in so that I can freeze them x

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  5. Thanks for sharing this with us. I have been using my Frixion pens and Muji pens for a year now too, but I have noticed no fading/disappearing with my inserts. Maybe different Frixion pens are better than others? I hope this doesn't steer too many people away from them, because I love my Frixion pens. IMO - I feel that consistency is better than my MUJI erasable pens. But that's me.

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