Lineco pH Testing Pen for Paper or Paperboard Products. | Easy to Test Paper for Acid, Turn Purple On Neutrality Papers

I occasionally run across a new brand of watercolor or mixed media where the listing says it's acid-free, but the pad doesn't say anything about it. I wondered if there was a way to test the paper that didn't involve grinding it up and putting it in Ph neutral water, and in my searches, someone on a forum recommended this, the Lineco pH Testing Pen for Paper or Paperboard Products.. I ordered one immediately. When I opened it up, there was a label firmly stuck over the part that tells what color to look for, so I came back to the listing and noticed a reviewer said this was just a purple marker. So I did a test. I used the marker on 3 pads of watercolor paper. All three showed a purple mark, which is the sign the paper is Ph neutral. Then I took one of those sheets of paper and gently applied lemon juice across the surface. When it dried, I tried the maker on it - and got a clear line, which means the paper is "unsuitable" or acidic. So yes, this pen does work. It works if you want to test your paper for Ph to make sure it won't yellow, become brittle or cause ink, watercolors or pencil to fade over time. Good news for me is that the very nice paper I got recently that didn't say it was acid-free on the pad got a purple mark from the test pen. One of the older pads that claimed in the listing to be acid-free but not on the pad ended up with a clear mark. Super product.

I really love this pen. I have all kinds of journals, sketchbooks, loose papers, and cardstock that I enjoy using for journaling and this pen is a fantastic tool to check anything that isn’t labeled as acid-free or that one isn’t completely sure about. A simple swipe of the pen on the paper will reveal whether it’s acidic or not - the line left on the page will instantly appear purple for an alkaline pH or, alternatively, instantly turn clear/transparent or yellow for an acidic pH. When it arrived, I spent a fun evening going through stacks of journals and paper and checking everything. My pen arrived with a solid purple tip (some seem to have light tips out of the package) but the marks it left behind on the pages changed color appropriately depending on the pH of the paper. I tested the pen on known (labelled as such) acid-free sketchbooks, journals, papers, and cardstock from The Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby), Peter Pauper Press, Recollections from Michael’s, and a few other random things and then to test for acidity I also tested the pen on some Moonster journals and old, yellowed (some nearly tan) notepads and notebooks that are definitely acidic and aging. The pen’s mark changed color appropriately - purple for everything labelled as acid-free: sketchbooks, The Paper Studio, Peter Pauper Press, and Recollections and then yellow or clear/transparent for old and yellowing notepads, notebooks, and Moonster - even though the tip of the pen itself was solid purple. I saw that some people were concerned about the color of the pen’s tip upon opening the pen for the first time, so whether the tip on your pen is purple or light when it arrives it’ll work the same regardless. An essential tool to keep on hand for anyone with an eye towards acid-free and archival-quality materials!

Works

Replacement for a previous Lineco pen that I used up. This has kept my scrapbooks safe for years. I like include memorabilia - tickets, brochures - in with my pictures, and after testing acidity I know whether they can be added directly to the page. Easy to use.

I did not know this existed. I have old photo albums that I needed to know if the ph was off.

So handy for testing out the acidity of paper which is important for artwork, and for packing precious things.

My first order had to be immediately replaced for being completely dry on arrival. The second pen, after being used for 3 quick pH tests in 2019---less than 10 seconds of open-cap time---was stored in a marker-appropriate way: sitting in a drawer on its side with the lid capped tightly. But when I went to use it in mid-2023---the marker was dead as a doornail. So, be warned. The marker will dry up. It will dry up between the time you first buy it and the time you need it later. It could be argued that it is not reasonable for me as a consumer to expect a marker to last from late 2019 until mid 2023---and perhaps the physical nature of the chemical materials that saturate the marker make it physically impossible to support marker age -- however, I can tell you that I have markers of *all* kinds that are over 15 years old that are stored correctly and that last *just fine*. And when I pay EIGHT DOLLARS for a marker...I expect it to arrive functioning, and I expect it to last! So...just a heads up...expect you'll have to return it if it arrives dry...and don't expect to be able to *store* it and then use it again.

I’m so glad I bought this pen! I’ve recently gotten into book binding and I wanted to make sure the materials I was using were acid-free. This does the job perfectly! 10/10

Worthless. Everything gets purple.

Tester l'acidité des feuilles de scrapbooking

12 quid for a pen - pfff. but it does the job

Works as described

der Stift funktioniert, aber ich musste mehrfach über das paier zeichnen, weil der Stift fast ausgetrocknet bei mir ankam, wie ein alter Filzstift eben.