If you’re out shopping for office supplies and you need to get more pens, you may notice that there are options for the size tip you can get on a pen. Two of the most common sizes are 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm, but which one is better?
Determining which size pen tip is better is all down to personal preference, but most people tend to favor 0. 7mm pens over 0.5 mm pens because the tip is a bit larger, so it creates slightly thicker lines. 0.7 mm pens also do not require as much pressure to be applied to the tip for the ink to flow out.
In this article, we will review the preferred uses for 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm pens as well as what kinds of pens are available in 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm tips. As a bonus, we will recommend the best 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm pens on the market.
Table of Contents
What Are 0.5 mm Pens Better For?
Although 0.5 mm pens have thinner tips than 0.7 mm pens, they are usually preferred by artists. For artists who appreciate a light touch and need to add fine details to their work, 0.5 mm pens are usually one of the best tools to use. Calligraphers and those who artistically design the written word also prefer 0.5 mm pens.
0.5 mm pens are better for people who have a lighter touch. Those who are heavy-handed in their writing can easily break the tip or cause the ink to bleed. On the other hand, those who have a light hand appreciate that there is little pressure required to get the ink to flow from a 0.5 mm pen.
What Are 0.7 mm Pens Better For?
The most commonly used pen for everyday writing is the 0.7 mm pen. It is perfect for those who have large or small handwriting. It provides a sturdy line that is not too thick. Writing with a 0.7 mm pen will produce clearly legible letters whether you have fat loopy handwriting or thin cursive.
Everyday use, from writing out grocery lists to jotting down thoughts in your journal to scribbling a quick love note to stick in your child’s lunchbox, is where the 0.7 mm pen excels. If you’re looking for something simple that will get the job done, 0.7 mm is the way to go.
What Kind of Pens Come in 0.5 mm?
Gel pens and rollerball pens typically come in 0.5 mm tips. Because of the nature of the ink, the 0.5 mm tip allows the gel pen to glide smoothly over the paper for a thin line effect. Rollerball pens are also ideal for making fine-tipped strokes with a 0.5 mm pen.
They are usually available as retractable tips because the finer tip can be easily damaged if a cap is replaced too aggressively. Although there are capped options for 0.5 mm pens, you just need to be extremely careful that you don’t break the tip and always replace the cap when not in use.
What Kind of Pens Come in 0.7 mm?
Rollerball and gel pens also come in 0.7 mm and so do some ballpoint pens. Ballpoint pens with a tip of 0.7 mm is typically one of the smallest tip sizes you can get. Rollerball pens are more common in 0.7 mm tips.
Similar to the 0.5 mm pen, 0.7 mm pens are mostly retractable to protect the tip from damage. However, they can be found as capped pens as well, though they are less common.
What Is the Best 0.5 mm Pen?
The highest rated 0.5 mm pen on Amazon is the Pentel EnerGel RTX pen. It boasts the smoothest writing and quickest drying ink of any rollerball pen. It comes in five different colors – violet, green, red, blue, and black – as well as the option of an assorted color pack.
True to Pentel’s advertisement, the highest praise from customers who have bought this 0.5 mm pen says that it dries quickly to avoid smearing and writes smoothly so that the pen doesn’t awkwardly skip around the paper.
To find out more about the Pentel EnerGel RTX 0.5 mm pen, click here.
What Is the Best 0.7 mm Pen?
According to Amazon reviews, the best 0.7 mm pen on the market is TUL 0.7 mm retractable gel pens. They offer a comfortable grip and a choice of sleek colors for the outer casing while the ink is a smooth jet black. They come in a twelve-pack with refill inserts so that you can keep the same barrel.
Although there are no extensively written reviews, it can be assumed that they excel in their job to write neatly and nicely as 90% of the reviews on these 0.7 mm pens are five stars.
Conclusions
When comparing 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm pens, you need to take into account the uses of each pen. In general, 0.7 mm pens are better because they can accommodate writers of all styles and create legible lines for letters. However, 0.5 mm pens are preferable to some artists and those who like a finer line for more detail-oriented writing.
Rollerball and gel pens both come in 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm tips, and some ballpoint pens also come in 0.7 mm. Both 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm pens are more commonly found as retractable pens to better protect the smaller, more fragile tip.
Amazon carries two of the top-selling pens on the market including the best-selling 0.5 mm pen made by Pentel and the best-selling 0.7 mm pen made by TUL. Both of these are gel pens that leave customers raving about their performance and sleek looks.
The next time you’re in the market for a pen, consider comparing the two size pen tips to see which one fits your fancy!