Arteza Gel Pens are super affordable gel pens that strongly resemble the Uni-ball Signo DX (UM-151). The Arteza gel pens are super popular on Amazon, where they have excellent reviews.
The Arteza gel pens are most popular sold in a 60-color pack which sells for about $12. They are designed for use when making art, hence the wide tip size (Arteza oddly describes the size of the pen as “0.8 – 1.0 mm”)
The pack includes an impressive selection of:
- 7 standard colors (blue, black, green, purple, etc.)
- 9 pastels
- 6 multi-colors (which draw in more than one color)
- 6 neon
- 10 metallic
- 12 glitter
- 10 fluorescent
The Arteza gel pens are lightweight plastic pens with a plastic cap. The cone piece at the pen’s tip is not metal like on the Signo DX but rather shiny plastic, which makes the pen feel much lighter and cheaper than the Uni-balls. The body of the pen is triangular at the grip, but the pens are so light that they feel flimsy and no particularly comfortable to hold.
Another annoying part of the Arteza pens is that the cap doesn’t feel like it snaps on, rather it just presses into place. And then to remove it, there is no clean “pop” off, you just wrench it and it pulls off, often requiring some force. The plastic appears to be cheaply made and lacking quality.
The ink in the pens is acid-free and non-toxic (as per ASTM D-4236 and EN 71 standards). It’s not very fast drying for a gel pen, and it has a slightly watery feel to it as well as a watery appearance before it dries. This isn’t entirely bad though as the pens are surprisingly good at coloring in small sections of paper so long as you don’t write too fast or too hard. Going too fast/hard will cause railroading with the ink.
Arteza Gel Pens Review
Arteza’s gel pens are most notable for their incredibly affordable price — about $12 for 60 colors — but is it worth buying them, or should you spend more on something better? The closest competition to these pens are the Uni-ball Signo UM-151 and Sakura Gelly Roll, both of which cost about twice as much.
Overall the Arteza gel pens have OK quality and good consistency. The main area where they lack quality is in the body, which feels very light and cheap, and the cap, which doesn’t fit on the body well.
The ink Arteza uses is good, but not up to par with the Gelly Roll or Signo. The Arteza has a wet feel that is a little bit sludgy and prone to railroading. Railroading is common with a wet ink like this but the gloopy feel has to do with the ink flow which is acceptable but simply not as good as the more expensive competitors.
Arteza’s colors pop nicely and they all look quite solid. The main shortcoming with the colors is the metallics, which are not nearly as good as those from Uni-ball or Sakura. The rest of the colors, especially the fluorescents, will be good enough make almost all users happy.
While Arteza’s pens aren’t the best they still over excellent value for the money and will be good for outfitting classrooms, parties, and other areas were quantity and color selection is of the utmost importance and “good enough” writing quality works.
Arteza Gel Pens Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Arteza |
| Pen Type | Rollerball / Gel |
| Rating | |
| Barrel Color | Clear |
| Barrel Material | Plastic |
| Grip Color | Clear |
| Grip Material | Plastic |
| Country of Origin | China |
| MSRP | $0.50 |
| Still Sold | Yes |
| Similar To | |
| Refills | |
| Capped? Retractable? | Capped - Snap On |
| Clip? | Plastic |
| Weight (g) | |