Technically, the full name for these pens is Kuretake Zig Memory System Millennium for Drawing & Scrapbooking but that is a mouthful. So, are we okay just calling them Zig Millennium Pens for the duration?
This set of five pens was recommended to me following my recent round-up of archival, pigment felt tip pens. Turns out the Zig Millenniums are budget-priced pens that offer all the same features of the more expensive brands and can often be easier to find in local craft and hobby stores.
I purchased this set of five on Amazon for the rock bottom price of $6.56 with free Prime shipping. The set included one of each in 005, 01, 03, 05 and 08 sizes which is a perfect size variety for me.
The pens are a wide barrel silver plastic — just a smidgen wider than a Sakura Pigma Micron. The Zig Millennium pens are 5.375″ long capped, just shy of 4.75″ uncapped and the cap will post making the pen 6.375″ long. The clip is metal and reminds me of the clip on the Pilot Precise V5. The Zig Millenniums are only available in black ink but, with these permanent felt tips, I find I only ever reach for the black pens anyway.
I’ve been using these pens regularly for over a week and the points have held up to various papers including over acrylic paint, watercolor brush markers, and colored pencil without being any worse for the wear. I’ll be curious how well the points hold up long term and if the ink lasts as long in the pen as other brands.
Colorwise, the ink is not as rich black as a Sakura Pigma Micron which is the gold standard at almost twice the price. Compared to other brands like the Copic Multiliners, Staedtler Pigment Liners and the Sharpie Pen, the Zig Millenniums are totally comparable in regards to how rich the black ink is. Actually, if I had to rank these felt tips by how rich the black ink is, I’d put the Zig Millenniums second only to the Microns, especially at the wider nib sizes.
With their wide availability and comparable pricing to Sharpie Pens, the Zig Millenniums are a great addition to your archival felt-tip pen collection, especially if you are looking for finer or broader nibs than are available in the Sharpie Pen.
I wonder if these are the same as the Zig Mangaka Outline pens? They look similar in construction, just of a different color. The Mangakas go for about $2 each elsewhere. If it’s the sam pen underneath, these really are a bargain at $6.56 for five!
Super interesting! I went to check them out at Amazon and these popped up. The look like they may be the same, but in color? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8TGBK/ref=pd_luc_rh_sim_01_03_t_ttl_lh?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . They colors look pretty basic/primary-learning, but still.
I believe they do have them in other colours; I have a ‘violet’ one (which confusingly has a pink-coloured plastic bit on the pen lid). That said, I agree with you that the black are more useful.
Thanks for doing this review – it’s really useful to see the different tip sizes compared.
They definitely come in colour versions, I just bought red, orange, and green from CultPens.