Sanford Uni-ball Deluxe Micro 0.5-0.7mm Rollerball
So, today we have an interesting pen to take a look at. While I’m not a huge fan of rollerballs, they are the next couple pens that I have up for review (probably because I hold off reviewing them for as long as I possibly can). I picked a pack of these (slightly over-priced) pens at OfficeMax a while back when I had some reward points to spend and I had to buy something before they expired.
Uni-balls website lists these as being 0.5mm, but in my experience the line width actually varies slightly between 0.5 and 0.7mm. The ink helps prevent check-washing, is fade- and water-resistant, as well as being acid-free and comes in black, blue, and red. Other than the metallic painted barrel and strip which labels it as “Deluxe”, this pen actually doesn’t have any frills.
On the pro side, it does writer very, very smoothly, but in my opinion, the cons outweight the pros. There’s no grip at all, just black plastic section, the ink occasionally “blots” onto the page (definitely not good for a leftie like me), and it has an extremely slow dry time (about 15 seconds on the Leuchtturm1917 Dot Notebook I tested it on). Not on my “buy again” list…
Pens'n'Paper 
Dec 02, 2010 @ 18:13:39
These pens were great once upon a time – when there were very few “nice” options. But with better distribution of other options, there is really no need to spend good money on these.
Dec 03, 2010 @ 12:40:07
i was here. 🙂
Dec 04, 2010 @ 09:03:52
i agree, at some point this was the best there was. couldn’t have enough of them, but pricey for a “disposable pen”. there are better options out there now, and cheaper. hey, but thank you for the memories!
Dec 05, 2010 @ 21:40:53
I loved these pens and wrote with them for years. I also had the “blot” problem and finally gave up and went to refillable rollerball pens which are more expensive but seemed to use a better quality ink. I forgot all about these until this post. Thanks! Very thorough and accurate review. Enjoyed it!
Jul 21, 2014 @ 05:58:04
What’s up i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anywhere,
when i read this paragraph i thought i could also make comment due to this brilliant
post.
Oct 11, 2014 @ 22:46:34
very happy that you have taken the time to review the Sanford Uni-ball Deluxe Micro. I completely agree that this is a subpar writing instrument. However, I am very fond of this pen for sketching. Its not the best pen for drawing but it certainly has a lot of attitude. The pen is quite aggressive when pushed and can fend for itself while in the corner. Granted It does not do everything that I want it it to do( I have other pens for that )but its a damn good pen when its personality is revealed