Articles: pens

Choosing a pen looks trivial until several hundred of them have to be ordered. That is when the material, the colour and the way the logo is applied turn out to give quite different impressions and to wear quite differently.

Metal or plastic

A metal pen is heavier and reads as the more considered gift. It suits a client meeting or a folder of documents handed over at the end of it. Plastic is lighter, allows far more colour and works better where pens go quickly: trade fairs, a reception desk, a counter. Plenty of companies order both and use them in different situations.

A logo on a small surface

There is not much room for a mark, so a few things are worth settling straight away.

• Name only or name with contact - the fewer characters, the more readable the result.
• Printing or engraving - printing gives you colour, engraving leaves a lasting mark in the shade of the material itself.
• Barrel colour - a dark barrel with light lettering reads from a distance better than the reverse.
• Finish - a matt surface catches fewer reflections and fewer fingerprints.
• The refill - a pen that writes smoothly stays on the desk, a poor one ends up in a drawer.

Where a pen actually works

A pen is rarely a gift on its own. It usually travels with something else: it sits beside a form at reception, slips into a folder with a quote, joins a welcome set in a hotel room or goes into a parcel for a regular customer. So it helps to decide in advance where exactly it will end up. That settles how many you need and whether you want the heavier version, handed over one at a time, or the sort you give away without counting.

Start with the comparison of metal and plastic, since that decision settles most of the rest. Then match the colour and the marking method to the people who will be given the pens.