Lineco pH Testing Pen for Paper or Paperboard Products.

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, theLineco 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.

Excelente

We used this to test the pages of our family bible and other paper products to determine their composition. This is information that is necessary to get the proper storage boxes and paper- ie. buffered vs. unbuffered boxes and paper.

This pen is easy to use. I use it to make sure the papers I use for stamp albums are acid-free.

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.

This acid test pen takes all the guesswork out of ... is this paper acid-free?I was pleasantly surprised to discover my cardstock I had purchased for random printing was already acid-free, too!This is now part of my indispensable tools for making books and journals. If I'm going to all this work to create nice looking things with important information within - I'd like it to still be nice looking and useful in 30 years to a grandkid!From here on ... everything must pass the PEN TEST.

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.

Great product! I needed to be certain a large selection of scrapbooking papers given to me by one of my kindergarten moms several years ago were acid free. This pen solved the problem for me....the beautiful papers are in book form sans cover, and I was concerned it was a wallpaper selection catalogue and perhaps not acid free. Happily all are acid free!