Alright okay, settle in. Let's talk about something you just have to have on your arsenal, my friend: the Sakura Pigma Micron Markers. 

This collection isn't something new to the party; in fact, these inks are so well-known they've amassed a proud cult following and are considered to be the most reliable permanent ink on the market.

I'm not sure how it took me quite a while to feature it here⏤these good stuff have been in my collection for the longest time (some for a few years, and some I repurchased recently). 

🔴 Note: If you think your eyes are playing tricks on you, I actually have 5 markers currently. Just when I was taking photos for the blog, I was almost done when I noticed I failed to include my 04 one. 

Let's go. ♥︎

LAYOUT

The Pigma® ink was invented 30 years ago by Japanese company Sakura. It's permanent, chemically stable, fade resistant, and pigment based that will not bleed or run even if you poured liquid on any surface it has written on (super archival!). 

Each marker is outfitted in light brown plastic body with a snap-on cap and a metal clip. Tip sizes go from 0.15mm to 0.50 mm. 

In this entry, we will only be featuring black tips (since those are what I currently have), but the Microns also come in blue, red, green, brown, purple, yellow, orange, rose, sepia, royal blue, burgundy, hunter green, blue black, and fresh green. 

QUICKNOTES

SAMPLES

If you check back on my previous bujo layouts, you will notice I've been consistently using some Sakura Micron goodness in finalizing lines and marking sections and categories.

(For the record, I'm not sure why the 04 seems thicker than the 05. I must've gotten a bad unit or have just ruined the tip through, what I'd like to believe, wear and tear or whatever, ha.) 

From my February 2022 bujo layout

From my May 2020 bujo layout

THE PEN-TO-PAPER TEST 

We will be testing and comparing tip sizes PN (plastic nib), 0.05, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.1, and trying them out through lines, curls, words, etc. We'll also see how they fare in terms of ghosting, bleeding, smudging, and smoothness. 

For reference, we will be using my PaperNotes Mini (80 GSM) in this test. 

For reference, we will be using my PaperNotes Classic (100GSM) in this test.

Finding: 

1. There's no visible bleeding and ghosting of sorts. It would be super useful for art journals, bullet journals, etc.  
2. In general, the higher the tip size, the smoother the ink goes. 

For reference, we will be using my basic steno dotted notebook from Plainpaca against the following on this one:

• Tombow ABT Brush Pen
• Crayola SuperTips Washable Marker
• Vience Retro Morandi Highlighter

In case you're wondering, I used the Zebra Sarasa Gel Clip 0.3 for the smudge test headers. ♡

Findings: 

1. The ink is not universally good under highlighters and coloring materials. (Did fare somewhat okay under the Vience highlighter.) 
2. Drying time can take a while. Observing the test above, you would probably want to wait more than five seconds before doing something else on it. 

THE YELLOW LEGAL PAD TEST 

pros

1. I'm in love with how vast the options laid out for the Microns from tips to colors (as mentioned in the Layout section), and I wanted to underscore that since it's a truly admirable fact. 
2. The ink is a miracle. It's all the good things and more in one little pen, I can tell you that much.  
3. Value for money. At first you may say there are cheaper alternatives for fine liners per se, but this is not an ordinary fine liner. The ink is super elegant it stays for a lifetime, and the ink does not run out quick. 
4. They're easily accessible. You can get a unit or two mostly everywhere⏤department stores, art stores, bookstores, online shops, etc. 

cons

1. Basing on the tests we did above, the markers aren't necessarily quick drying, which can lead up to being smudgy when paired with any highlighter or coloring material on top. 
2. These markers are non-refillable, which means when one runs out, you have to go get another. I think it's not good for the environment, that much plastic, and also refills tend to save you a lot of money in the long run. 
3. This isn't a common con, I guess, but since I have the tendency to really go hard on my lines, the tips can get a little distorted.

VERDICT 

ink flow

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price

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grip / comfort

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smudge

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accessibility 

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final rating: 4.8

RECOMMENDATION

You can find these markers everywhere, so I would suggest you visit the nearest store that carries stationeries and just try on one. I would recommend starting with the 0.3. ♡