On one of the teaching listservs I’m subscribed to, participants were having their periodic row over using PowerPoint versus not using PowerPoint. But this time, rather than simply defending themselves, the PowerPoint users went on the attack noting that using the whiteboard was not exactly the idyllic world the non-PowerPoint users were making it out to be. Whiteboard markers, they argued, were often dried up, and colors other than black weren’t bright enough to see. Throwing away all that plastic is bad for the environment. And they stink! Literally.
While I enjoy my pixels, I’m not opposed to writing on a whiteboard. In fact, sometimes it’s exactly what the situation calls for.
I knew that there were low-odor whiteboard markers, but I wondered if anyone had gotten around to making refillable ones. A quick internet search turned up AusPen, an Australian company that makes no-odor, refillable whiteboard markers.
I promptly ordered a set. AusPen will ship anywhere except Canada or the U.S. For those of us who occupy all but the most southern section of North America, we can order from EcosmartWorld.
I chose the “Starter Kit.” Six markers, six refill bottles, and a little orange wrench come in this handy carrying case. If you’d like to forego the kit, you can order markers in packs of 6 or 12. Ink, or course, can also be ordered separately.
(Images courtesy of EcosmartWorld)
The markers are aluminum, so you feel like you’re holding something that’s going to last. The refill process is easy. Unscrew the marker and unscrew the ink bottle cap; if either is a little too tight for you, use the enclosed wrench. Squeeze 10 to 12 drops of ink into the marker. Screw the marker back together and replace the cap on the ink bottle. You’re back in business.
We have a locked cabinet in our classroom, so we just keep the set in there. With the carrying case, there are no worries about individual markers going missing. When you put them back in the case, you can see that a marker has been left out. That means you probably won’t have any uncapped markers lying around. If you do manage to leave a marker uncapped, AusPen assures us that it won’t dry out for another 72 hours.
The markers truly have no odor; they’re xylene-free. EcosmartWorld says the markers are “low, low odor” but my nose can’t pick up anything at all.
You have a nib choice: Bullet or chisel. The nibs are also replaceable so don’t feel like you’re making a permanent decision.
How do the markers work in the classroom?
I was really pleased with the brightness of the colors. With other markers, I found non-black colors tough to see. That’s not the case with these markers. Here’s a photo I took in my classroom. I don’t think the photo quite does these markers justice, but you get the idea. (The AusPen kit is bottom center; it gives you a sense of the size of the box.)
Cost-benefit analysis.
Office Depot sells a box of 12 low-odor Expo markers for $14.99. That’s $1.23/marker.
AusPen says each refill bottle holds ink equivalent to 40 regular whiteboard markers. With the starter kit, you get 6 filled markers plus 240 refills (6 bottles, 40 refills each), for a total of 246 markers. The kit is $69.95, so that’s $.29/marker – including the carrying case. Ink refills, when purchased separately, are $7.95, making each marker refill $.20.
Any way you do the math, refillable markers are less expensive.
Try them out.
I haven’t found an administrator yet who wasn’t interested in saving money. If you try them out, I’d love to hear what you thought of them!
Sue, thanks for the review – I write the blogs for EcoSmart Products. I’m so glad you can take advantage of the complimentary tickets to the Seattle Green Fest. Say hi to my sister, Kerry at the AusPen booth!
This is a great overview of AusPen markers. I like your picture of the inks on the board. Great idea!
Maureen
I *love* mine. No odor, easy to refill, long-lasting, always great color. AND…. quick and easy clean-up. My whiteboard stays WHITE, the track doesn’t collect bits of black dust, my hands stay clean, I no longer use whiteboard spray cleaner. They just clean up way better than Expos.
I’m thinking of buying a set to try out in the fall term, so I appreciate this review! Which nib did you use in your “demo” pictures?
I use the bullet nib. With repeated use, the nib gets flattened. Each nib actually has two, the one that’s pointed out and one that’s pointed in. When I did my first refill, I flipped the nib, too.
I really wish that I could order the 3-pen “Spring” pack to try them out. (http://auspenmarkers.com/admin/email/) But, seeing that I live in the States, that’s not an option for me–it’s 6 pens or none from what I can tell. I don’t see the point in buying 6 pens without the refill ink, but 6 pens with the refill ink is $70. A little on the steep side compared to the EXPO’s I picked up 4/$2 while they were on sale this summer at Walgreens. (I know–after refilling the dry erase marker many times, I recoup the investment. Just like if I drive a Prius for 10 years I eventually recoup the extra cost over, say, a Yaris. But, how do I know I’ll stick with it and refill the pens the necessary 200 times to make it worth the investment??) This had me wondering–has anyone tried using the refill ink with regular, disposable dry erase markers? They never seem to “wear out” or break for me–just run out of ink–so if I could refill them then they could, theoretically, last much longer. Also, if I could go on ink only, I think that I could get empty dry-erase markers for free from other teachers, thus immediately lowering my cost to the cost of one bottle of ink for the next 40 markers worth of usages.
Also–anyone tried mixing colors?
Just wondering. . .
Hi
we have developed an even better truely water based marker pen (blue, red, purple, green, black)
please email me your postal address, I will send u one for free to test it.
Please send me a free marker to try out. If the price is good We’d be interested in saving mulah! thanks. Send to Juan Lopez, c/o Hidalgo Elementary School, 601 S. 2nd Street, Hidalgo, Texas 78557.
I ordered a starter set from a US distributor and one of the pens (bullet point) was dry straight out of the package. All of the other pen tips broke down much faster than Expo bullet points. The distributor then sent me another set (now chisels) and again one of the pens was dry, straight out of the package. That is a usability success rate of 83%. Some teachers here in California would grade that at a B-.
None of the pens’ ink supplies even approached the life of the Expo pens I’ve used for years. I did a head to head, pen to pen comparison. It seems that the factory charge should probably last longer (or at least AS LONG) as an Expo. And nowhere do the Auspen product descriptions indicate how long a charge SHOULD last. Was I wrong to think that a charge should last more than a week? Expos, when properly cared for, certainly do in my classroom. Is one charge, for example, supposed to be the equivalent of one new Expo marker? It certainly is not. So 30 drops of their ink does NOT equal one Expo marker charge.
Additionally, the ink from chisel and bullet tips is not as evenly distributed as Expo pen tips distribute the ink. That is, with Auspen the lines (neither chisel nor bullet) are not as bold as the equivalent Expo lines. This mostly comes into play when drawing, for example, Venn diagrams or long lines (such as time lines, number lines, T-charts). In that case, the boldness of the lines (already dim in comparison) fade out after about 12 inches. This happens after a fresh recharge as well. This does not happen with Expo.
Also of note: The first set of six I received was made with aluminum bodies, the second set, recycled plastic. Of the plastic pens, two of them no longer seal securely, therefore allowing the ink to dry. The body of the pen does not twist securely to the head of the pen (that which is removed when refilling).
Etc.: The orange pen in the second set had dry orange goop on it, the removal of which essentially erased a small but noticeable part of its grid-printed label. The labels on most of these plastic-bodied pens are now, after three months of use, entirely scarred and ruined. The label on the red pen is actually closer to orange in color.
Image explanation: I started using the Expo markers on 12/6 (stored during winter break), and the Auspens were about a week old on 1/15. You see there were only five Auspens, as one of the black pens was dry. Notice the red Auspen ink is closer to orange. The green Auspen ink is faded (poor ink distribution by the tip, I suppose).
I was hoping to recommend Auspen to my fellow teachers, but I am afraid that they did not pass this test. BOTTOM LINE: Buy Expo markers on sale, take care of them, teach your students how to take care of them, and reuse the plastic bodies as pencil holders attached to a leg of your student desks. The inner diameter of the Expo marker fits two pencils perfectly. All you need is a hacksaw, a file to buff the rough edges, and some electrical tape or reusable zip ties.
Wow! I’m so sorry that your experience has been so different from mine, and thank you for commenting. I hope someone from EcoSmartWorld will chime in.
Sue, are you still using these AusPens, two years after the initial post? How are they holding up for you?
Yes, am I still using that same set. I’m not a heavy whiteboard user. I’ve replaced the nibs a couple times (nibs are reversible; two for the price of one), but I’m still on the original set of ink bottles. Black, purple, and blue are getting low, and I have new bottles here ready to go. What took a little while to get used to though is what to do when the ink in the marker starts to get low. With regular markers, you press harder. With refillables, try to break yourself of that habit. Low ink just means it’s time to refill. Once I made that change, my nibs started lasting a whole lot longer. Thanks for asking!
Thanks for your reply!
I’ve been using Pilot brand BeGreen V Board markers for about 3/4 of a school year. I spent $21.39 on the original 5-marker kit and 2 refills of each color (BRGBO). I also purchased 5 refills of each color ($26.55 including S&H and taxes) before the start of this school year. I estimate that each refill lasts 2.5 weeks with daily use. I am a math teacher and have used it quite a bit. The nibs are in good to great shape (I don’t know if they are reversible nibs).
The bodies are plastic and claim to be 91% recycled. The ink quality, in my opinion and some students, is as good or better than Expo.
Refills go for $1 each, which is comparable to Expo or other whiteboard markers.
For me the best thing about these markers (and it sounds like Auspen) is that they don’t smell and they produce much less waste.
I’d still be interested in refilling Expo brand markers as they are more common to buy in stores…and they will fit in my Mimio whiteboard/smartboard kit (that’s what Mimio designed their hardware around).
Also, I purchased these in the states, but I use them in Costa Rica.
I am experimenting more and more with using the smart board/whiteboard combination. I have a Wacom tablet that might replace markers as my first tool (before markers!). But somewhere I will find a happy medium if I can get Expo-dimensioned whiteboard markers that refill. Then I’d have it all!
Thanks for the comment, Jonathan!
I would like to try yuor water-based maker can you send me one? Anthony Record 820 Gentryway Reno, NV 89502
i have been a bit disappointed in my aus pens as well. I am a math teacher ( who would much prefer blackboards + chalk but my building was redone and converted to whiteboards 🙁 ) so I use these pens everyday all class. The ink doesn’t last very long and refilling isn’t always that easy. I can’t unscrew the tip off some of the markers so I can’t get more ink into those markers, and for the others, the ink is too thick and ‘globby’ after a refill. Changing the tip is also difficult and messy. I can’t use Expo markers because I am allergic to the chemical in those so I must use Aus markers.
Has anybody used the AusPen refills (or other refills) on any markers?
All the markers I have: cheap Bazic, Bic and Quartet, can be disassembled to get access to the ink…
Any other sources for cheap refill ink?
I have been using the pens for two years now and I am a maths teacher. The biggest advantage I find is that the ink comes off the board easily and does not leave smudges. They are worth the money just for that. I haven’t worked out how to change the nibs yet. Must have to apply significant force. The new ones keep the prinying on the outside of the pens better than the old ones that were soon just a blavk cylinder.
Jim Gall, Australia
Used Auspen for one whole year going on two now. The grid pattern is almost all but gone from the aluminium casing. The nibs (bullet) are not as hard and durable as would have liked and have softened and flattened quite a bit. Still love the refillability of it though. But it would not rank high on quality of line.