Chanpory Rith
Oct 18, 2006
If you’re embarassed by mundane office supplies, check out TUL Dry Erase Markers. Part of OfficeMax’s new brand of affordable designer writing tools, these markers are surprisingly cute and clever. Each marker has a magnetic body that sticks to most whiteboards, a comfort grip, and a built-in eraser cap.
I get weirdly excited about such geekery, so I hopped over to OfficeMax and bought a 12-pack to test them. Here are my impressions:
What I like
My two favorite features are the magnetic body and built-in eraser caps. Both help ease the problem of losing markers and having to hunt for erasers. The triangular body is also a nice touch, preventing the markers from rolling off flat services.
In addition to functional enhancements, TUL’s also made some thoughtful aesthetic considerations. The visual design of both the packaging and markers is clean and restrained, avoiding garish logos and decoration. The color palette includes designer-friendly colors such as Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK). If they’re gonna stick to the whiteboard, they might as well look good, right?
At $18, the price for a 12-pack is also reasonable, just $5 more than a standard 12-pack of Expo markers.
What I don’t like
While the packaging was easy to open, the markers fall out too easily. Once it’s out of the box, it’s difficult to put it back in.
On a freshly cleaned whiteboard, l also noticed one marker didn’t stick so well to the whiteboard. It might have been a defect, but it’d be nice if future versions use slightly stronger magnets.
The bottom line
Despite very minor flaws, TUL Dry Erase Markers combine style and functional features to put traditional markers to shame. Instead of feeling shame, you’d be proud to show off these markers.
4 Comments
Jes
6:13 am
I visited the local OfficeMax last month on my birthday and saw this huge sign with my name on it. Obviously I ran to find out what it was..I opened fresh boxes of different ink/gel pens and markers. The designs cool depending on what cost range you buy. I did not buy anything, but i know that this line is on my Christmas list.
So instead of leaving with a box of the pens I asked for the memo pads that were there for you to test your handwriting. It’s hilarious to find out what your handwriting says about you, in a comical sense.
NORA
11:13 am
hi there:
Scott recommended I check out these markers, seems it has been awhile since you got them, any other dry-erase markers that you know about that are great??
:) thanks for introducing us to these cool pens.
Lesa
8:54 am
I love the colors and the fact that they are magnetic, however, often the caps do not get put on tight enough and they dry out. It’s a shame to spend $18.00 for markers that you only use once or twice because of this flaw.
MD
10:30 pm
Interesting post. I love the colors too. More interstinglgy,although people are turning away from this handwriting can be used to identify traits in human characters and personality. It is interesting how something so trivial can be used to tap in the human subconcsious. Source Graphology