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Post by Scrapper100 on Oct 8, 2014 19:18:00 GMT
Just curious if anyone has used them and if they work well. I am curious why they are so much cheaper than other alcohol pens. I ordered some last night on hsn but they won't ship until next month so I can cancel if the consensus is they aren't worth it. I thought it would be fun to learn to use them but hate to invest too much in them with copics and thought this might be a good option.
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kellynn
Junior Member
Posts: 56 
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Post by kellynn on Oct 8, 2014 19:30:25 GMT
I've been looking at these as well. I have seen mixed reviews...I would love to see a side by side comparison of alcohol markers and examples of the blending.
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Post by deltakaren on Oct 8, 2014 19:48:50 GMT
I like them and haven't had a problem with them. The only other ones I've used was the CTMH ones which I thought were so so. If you want to try them out you should go to the crafter's companion website and get their butterfly kit for $3.95 which includes 2 pens. You should be able to get them before they ship from HSN and see if you like them. Spectrum Noir |
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Post by Dictionary on Oct 8, 2014 20:40:19 GMT
Well I am going to be a prejudice review. I used copics for quite awhile before I tried these. I do not care for the way they blend at all. Why well because the tips are both hard point instead of a soft brush and also because they don't seem to blend smoothly to get more of a blended or seamless color blend. Now I do have a friend who bought them and likes them. She colors better with them than I do. I realize that's not much help in the end but if you haven't used copics you might be more inclined to use them and like them.
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Post by marienadine on Oct 9, 2014 1:33:17 GMT
I will be following this as I was wondering the same thing  |
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Post by Leone on Oct 10, 2014 2:26:00 GMT
HSN on craft day on Tuesday had quite a selection. They sure were less expensive than copics.
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Post by caribbeangirl on Oct 10, 2014 11:41:04 GMT
I started out with Copics and decided to try the Spectrums awhile back. I love them and have had no problem at all with them.
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oldcrow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,828
Location: Ontario,Canada
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Post by oldcrow on Oct 10, 2014 12:28:46 GMT
Well I am going to be a prejudice review. I used copics for quite awhile before I tried these. I do not care for the way they blend at all. Why well because the tips are both hard point instead of a soft brush and also because they don't seem to blend smoothly to get more of a blended or seamless color blend. Now I do have a friend who bought them and likes them. She colors better with them than I do. I realize that's not much help in the end but if you haven't used copics you might be more inclined to use them and like them. The first generation SN had lots of complaints but the second generation ones apparently have less problems and they now offer a brush nib. |
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Post by Scrapper100 on Oct 10, 2014 17:42:16 GMT
Well I am going to be a prejudice review. I used copics for quite awhile before I tried these. I do not care for the way they blend at all. Why well because the tips are both hard point instead of a soft brush and also because they don't seem to blend smoothly to get more of a blended or seamless color blend. Now I do have a friend who bought them and likes them. She colors better with them than I do. I realize that's not much help in the end but if you haven't used copics you might be more inclined to use them and like them. The first generation SN had lots of complaints but the second generation ones apparently have less problems and they now offer a brush nib. I wonder which version HSN has. I wonder if I still have it on my DVR |
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Post by deltakaren on Oct 10, 2014 18:38:23 GMT
HSN will have 2nd generation. The caps have a round color disc with the numbers. The old ones have square color discs on the caps and the caps are indented. I have still seen the old markers at Joann's and Michael's.
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tsabhira
Full Member
Posts: 250
Jun 26, 2014 3:38:01 GMT
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Post by tsabhira on Oct 11, 2014 23:56:13 GMT
Yeah, the Joanns usually have mixed stock, some old and some new. Don't buy the old ones; they won't take a brush tip!
I picked up a few sets of the second gen markers last summer because I really wanted a cheaper alternative to my Copics. I also picked up the brush nibs to go with them (super expensive). Didn't like blending with or without the nibs. The brush nibs are long and gummy, the ink bled, and the blending was just average. At the time, you were limited to packs of colors with pre-selected color ranges too, and the ranges had some erratic jumps that made blending even worse. Since then, I have seen them open stock on a few websites, so that problem is reduced at least.
The nicest thing I can say about them is that I really did like the turquoise colors (though not how they blended together) better than the turquoise range on Copics.
I am a huge cheapskate and I hate Copic snobbery, but I don't think Spectrums are worth it. Once you tally up the cost of the markers (even with a coupon) with the cost of getting the nibs and shipping (since you can only get them online), the cost of a SN marker is actually higher than a Ciao and not that much cheaper than a Copic at the usual ~$5 going rate.
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Post by htstepper on Oct 12, 2014 21:36:57 GMT
I noticed that Joann's carries these in sets now. My store must have started stocking these recently because I have never seen them there before.
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