Extend the life of highlighters, markers and pens with proper storage
11/23/2022
By Mike Thayer
You're at the office and you share desk space, you reach for a highlighter stored in one of those desktop pen/pencil holders and when you go to highlight something on an office memo, the highlighter is dry... UGH!
Shame on the office worker you share space with for putting a dry highlighter back in the holder and failing to break out a new one... That's kind of like drinking the last of the milk and putting the carton back in the fridge, ya' know?... But I digress... The dry marker thing was totally preventable. The highlighter dried out prematurely because it was stored wrong, tip up.
The only writing utensil that should be stored tip up is a pencil. It keeps the point sharp on traditional pencils and there's no snap off with mechanical pencils. With pencils, you don't have to worry about ink.
Highlighters, Sharpies, markers and pens should be stored tip down to prevent them from drying out. You've probably had that pen experience, you're writing, then suddenly, no ink... you think it's a dead pen but you look at the insert and there are gaps in the ink... Ink, air gap, ink, air gap... This happens when a pen or marker is stored tip up. You've been writing in black ink, but the only other pen option is blue ink so you don't reach for it... You try to shake ink downward, but that doesn't work.... You end up having to grab for the other pen and finish that note in a two-tone presentation.
Gravity is your friend. Storing markers and pens tip down keeps the ink in contact with the writing tip, extending the life of the writing utensil. That means ink always in the reservoir (pens) and felt tip fibers that are always moist (highlighters/markers) for those of you who live in Valley Center.
Exception to the rule. Dual-ended markers, if you have any of those, should be stored horizontally. That way, neither tip dries out prematurely from vertical storage.
And when it comes to organizing your pencils, pens, markers... If we're just talking about a typical office environment and you're not a crafter, artist or in some profession that requires a large arsenal of writing utensils, one or two simple holders will suffice. If you have to worry about clutter, then you have too many pencils, pens and markers. Personally, I'm kind of a minimalist and don't need a matching set of desktop holders and organizers. I'm good with an old coffee cup or a gifted decorative one I don't want to drink out of as shown in the image above. It holds a more than adequate supply of writing utensils.
Extend the life of highlighters, markers and pens with proper storage - "Upside Down."
$pend Wisely My Friends...
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