I began using this style of highlighter approximately 12 years ago. The main reason is that I was working at a job where I had gone back through the archives to find that every highlighted work was missing from text documents. I understood this to have happened because the "cheap" highlighters absorb into the paper fibers and eventually press out the ink. The Sharpie Accent Liquid pen allows for the actual color to lay over top of the ink (toner) on the page so 10+ years from now whatever was highlighted will still be there. I am not an expert on highlighters and have absolutely no affiliations with Sharpie. My experience is strictly that of an Accountant. Sharpie Accent Liquid Pen-Style Highlighters, 12 Fluorescent Yellow Highlighter(24425)
I'm one of those people who, when they find something they like, hopes that the manufacturer never changes it. This is one of those items.
The color is bold but doesn't bleed through the paper. I use mine to highlight and take notes in my Bible, so even though the paper is thinner, it doesn't show up when you flip the page.
I want to start my review by stating that these are the only highlighters I currently use, because they are the best ones available. I rate them more harshly because the shortcomings are easy to take care of, and Sharpie should have taken care of them by now. I've been using these highlighters for a little over a year now.
Pros:
The highlighters are very bright, which makes things you highlight really pop out (isn't this the point of a highlighter). They glide smoothly over paper, and the highlighter isn't very thick. The felt tip is angled, making it easier to highlight. You can also highlight with just the tip for small text, or the entire tip for larger text. They are available in multiple colors, and you can buy multi-color packs.
Cons:
1) Price, but you can argue that they are high-quality highlighters. This is true, but Sharpie is very sneaky about hiding the amount of ink you actually get per highlighter. There is a clear tube to let you see how much ink you have left. But more than half this tube is black and non-see through. This is so Sharpie can fill less than half the highlighter with ink, and you can't tell. That's why the price is such an issue, because you are getting only about 40% of the ink you should be getting. It is a really underhanded way to hide the amount of ink, and this is why they lose one star.
2) Another star is lost due to poor ink control. This doesn't apply to the yellow, but to all the other colors. When you highlight something, I would expect an even coating of ink. All the colors but yellow actually leave a big glob of ink at the end of a highlight. It looks terrible, and there is no reason for it to be like this. If this isn't an issue with the yellow, why is it an issue with all the other colors? It also wastes the small amount of ink you are given in the first place, so you have to replace the other colors more often. I think it just releases too much ink. This may be the reason for con #4.
3) I didn't dock a star for this next one, but it is a nuisance. Yellow and orange are fine, but green and pink are too dark. It can be a little difficult to see the text with these colors. I wish Sharpie made them just a little paler. The blue color is ridiculously dark, and almost unusable. I would avoid it unless you need a fifth color. It needs to be much paler (I hope you're listening Sharpie). I haven't tried the purple yet, and I have no intention to. I can only assume it will have the same issue of leaving a huge glob of ink at the end, and being too dark.
4) Sharpie also advertises that they are smear resistant, which is not true. You have to let the ink dry (slower than a lot of other highlighters). If you highlight something you wrote in pen, you will have to wait a while. I use quick drying pens as I write a lot and can't risk them smearing. They dry very quickly and I can't smear them with my finger. But the highlighter will still smear the writing unless I wait a few minutes first. I suggest you wait a while as well. Besides smearing the ink, the highlighter will also pick up the pen's ink.
If you are crazy about highlighting, and need something that sticks out and is easy to use, I recommend the yellow. It is the only highlighter I use, and recently ordered another box of 12. Though with the small amount of ink, you will be replacing them often. The orange is a maybe (the globs can be very annoying). The pink and green only if you really need them (globs + fairly dark). Avoid the blue one altogether (globs + very dark).
I don't do a lot of highlighting. I use them for marking professional publications and personal books. It is true that the ink does not leak through the page. That's the only good think about this product. What you can't tell by looking at them is that each highlighter has only a very small amount of ink - just as much as you can see in the clear part of the barrel. The last one I used lasted less than a week! Unless you have money to throw away, I don't recommend this product.
I love these! I don't know if they last longer or shorter than regular highlighters and don't care. I'm just happy they don't bleed through to the other side of the page. Very bright and easy to control how much space you want the highlighter to cover.'
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