Tul Pen Overload!
I got home to work today to find a load of Tul pens! You may remember the awesome handwriting analysis that the Tul website is running right now from previous coverage here. Well recently I was contacted by the ad agency that created the handwriting analysis campaign and they provided a little background on Andy Bobrow the “Dr” who analyzes your handwriting at Tul.com. He is famous for his work with Malcom in the Middle and for a spoof documentary, The old negro space program, in which if you will, or if I may say he is really quite hilarious.
The Escape Pod is the agency behind the Tul campaign and I found some other work they have done including a funny Volkswagen commercial for Germany as well as some commercials for Sonic which tickled my funny bone. O yeah, did i mention one of their co-founders was the creator of the Whassup? Budweiser commercials? You may have seen a few of them or participated in your own remake from time to time. You can check out their work by visiting the “What We’ve Done” portion of their website.
Well The Escape Pod answered my plea for some free Tul pens and today I received 3 DOZEN high quality Tul pens! I ended up making a special trip to Office max the day after I first visited the Tul site and picked up a multicolor assortment of their retractable ball point pens. I am pretty sure this satchel of pens will last me for a few months, though I am planning on sharing some with my co-workers in the morning. Truth be told, I first found the Tul brand because my VP had one which wrote nicely and was purple, our school colors. If you haven’t had a chance to use a Tul pen I suggest you head down to your local OfficeMax and pick one up! The pens are for me anyway just plain fun to write with,and this is coming from a as digital as possible kind of guy.
I’ll also “Pay it Forward” to the first 3 people who leave a comment by sending a Tul pen your way!
I’ll leave you with my semi artistic shot of the pens which came in the mail today and a link to another on Flickr.
Josh Smith is a blogger, database manager and adjunct professor of business and technology. 
Well, no need to pay it forward for me. My trusty Google Alert just did its job and found your post, so I’m writing to say thanks for the kind words. Glad you like the campaign.
-Andy
P.S. May I plug my newest show, Hollywood Residential, on the Starz Network? No? Oh well, I just did. Check out http://www.starz.com/hollywoodresidential
Sorry for the quasi spam. Don’t know what came over me. It won’t happen again.
Andy Bobrow »
Thanks for the comment, It isn’t every day a celebrity drops in! Your new show looks interesting, I don’t get starz but I may have to see if I can wrangle a free trial out of Time Warner to check it out. Best of Luck!
Hi, Josh
I discovered the TUL pens at Office Max several months ago. I’ve tried only the 7mm gel pen and would like to try a 5 mm, but find they are available only in a 12 pack. I’m also curious to find out how their highlighters work - if they are as good as the gel pens, that would be cool!
Jean Ballew » Check your email, right now I only have Tul ballpoints but if you want one just reply with your address and I’ll get it on the way.
Hi Josh,
I recently discovered TUL pens from a guest who carried one with him when he visited my place. They seem to be excellent, I myself haven’t tried any yet but a few of my friends have had a “Wow!” reaction the first time they used one…. and that is something unexpected coming from using a tool as simple as a pen! (They hadn’t heard of TUL before using one) I am up north in Canada and I haven’t seen any Office Max stores around here, but they do carry them at Grand and Toy.
I Love the TUL .5mm gel pen!!!….i draw maps for a living and found these by accident, smooth line and allow me to write very small they do smudge just a touch but i can deal with that. But i cant find them anywhere in RED. I use lots of RED. Can you point me in any direction in finding PACKS of RED?…….Thanx
Ronnie » I’ll keep my eyes open for a pack of Red. If I find any or if I can get in touch with anyone I’ll let you know.
If you want a free ballpoint send me an email with your address and I’ll drop one in the mail to you.
Josh
Raahul Kumar »
Good news for anyone in Canada that they can still find some Tul Pens. If you want to email me your address I’ll send you a free ballpoint from Tul.
Do they make the rollerball pen in .5 mm, or just the gel pen? I normally prefer rollerball pens, because they seem to write smoother, but would be interested in trying one of their gel pens to see the difference. I have a .7mm rollerball pen, but that line width is a little to large for what I need.
hmm, I’ll look at my rollerball pens tmrw and let you know. If I have one in that size I’ll shoot you an email and I can drop a Tul pen in the mail to you.
Or if you have a .5 mm gel pen, that would be something I would like to try, since I don’t think they have the rollerball pen in a .5 mm size. Thanks.
The TUL .5 mm retractable pens (black) are the best pens i have ever used. I write extremely small and these are the best pens for my small writing. I would definitely recommend these pens. They are great for everyday use, and especially for notes at school. They never clog and are great.
I come by a Tul pen by default from a previous co-worker. It is awesome and I use it sparingly.
Hi Josh!
Came across your post while looking for the refills for these pens. I have been using the .5mm gel pens, black, for some time now, as a replacement for a freebie. The freebie was nowhere near this line of pens but it was the most comfortable pen I’ve used. Now that I’ve been using these gel pens, I’ve been handing them out myself to coworkers. Being in the public sector, I hate just throwing the pens away after the ink’s gone, but I haven’t found refills anywhere, including OfficeMax. Any suggestions?
@Peter Vazquez: hmm haven’t seen any around, I wonder if you wrote Tul if they would send you a few refills just for not throwing away extra stuff.
Hi ,
just thought I’d drop a line saw your post while I was looking to find out where to find a TUL pen. I came across the one that I have by accident and I love it. It’s almost out of ink and I was panicing to find another one or at least a refill. I draw a lot and this pen is awesome for detail work. I have to hide it from co - workers, so I need to pick a couple just in case it walks off!
Well, I am a bit bummed out…I have two purple retractable medium point and both have skipped since I started using them a few weeks ago…do you have any suggestions? The ink just isn’t flowing….
Love TUL pens mine just ran out of ink and I’m totally lost without it. By all means I would love for you to pay it forward and would be most grateful. I’m an artist and have found that I can achieve some killer detail lines with a TUL.
Thanks again!
YO!
hey did you score the free pens from the agency or tul? just wondering my girlfriend loves the pen. things are pricey these days so any freebies help.
Has anyone found packs of these pens in the colors? I love the purple pens! But can’t find them….
Where can you buy REFILL INK In Los Angeles Ca.. THANK YOU
I haven’t yet found any refills.
I love these pens just as anyone, however, the Purple pen never seems to either last or write well from the beginning, and with that being a favorite color of mine…I’d like to know how to contact the TUL company and let them know.
Hi! Interesting site!
LOVE the TUL pens. I have purchased 2 big pacs of the multi-colored ones - blue, black, purple, green, and red. I, too, would like to have a pac of all red ones! Especially since I have had two of the red go bad on me. There’s ink in the barrel (I can see it) but the point is shot. I use the 7 mm. Also, I have had the same thing happen to 2 of my purple ones. I would love to contact the company and tell them about this. I use my pens A LOT!
It’s my favorite pen. I loaned one to a friend at a conference last fall and she immediately told me, “you’re not getting this pen back. Don’t even ask for it.” She was sold too!
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Wow, so although I will most definitely not be getting any pens, I still wanted to comment on these pens. I found one at the cafe I work at and “adopted” it as my own as it is the best pen I have ever used! I love it! I will be buying some for sure, and I am excited to hear that they have more colors!
I love the TUL purple pens….I’m a bit of a purple nut and I wish they came in 12 packs of purple (medium) ..anywho..I love the way glide across the page (except when I’m writing checks) I also teach 8-9 year old kids and they really like the purple pen marks over the standard red…I’m kinda known as “I bleed purple”…go ECU Pirates!!!! Good luck with your campaign…
I also love these pens. But, I’m extremely disappointed that Office Max doesn’t offer refills. The design and comfort of these pens is great, but why should we throw away the barrel whenever the ink runs out? I suspect that these pens could be used for years if we could just refill the ink cartridge. Office Max advertises that we should all become more environmentally responsible - so how about it, Office Max? Refills please!
I’m glad I tried the regular retractable pen before the gel pen. I have tried two red gel pens and they have leaked everywhere ~ over me, my document I was editing, but I think I missed the leather chair.
I hope these gel pens are just a bad batch, but I have to admit I wouldn’t take the chance again.
Sorry folks.
I am a supply sergeant in the United States Army and have used any and every type of pen made. Traveling all over the world I have used some unfamiliar name brands too. Now, I found a .5mm TUL in Iraq and gaurded that pen for 15 long months through the heat and wearing in my combat uniforms. This pen made it home safely. I found the TUL line at OfficeMax and was in heaven. Since then I have bought every make they have and am constantly in OfficeMax awaiting something new. This pen is wonderful and I will never use another brand….and by the way, these pens do not smear if you use TUL highlighters……Thanks Tul for making my demanding job so easy!!!
Just want to inform the readers that TUL also makes permanant and highlighters as well. These pens are definitely worth the price and they also make mechanical pencils, staplers, scissors, tape dispensors and other stuff that are really cool. I really want to own some stock in this company.
Josh,
I, too, love the purple Tul pens. If you ever discover that they make a 12 pack in just purple, I would want to be on that list of getting them. I don’t want to use any other pen or any other color.
I am an assistant merchandise buyer at a local college bookstore. We were sent a sample of the tul ballpoint stick pen, and I love it. My boss wasn’t interested in expanding our stock at the time, but now I too find myself looking for a refill. My online search, led me here. Since I’m not having any luck finding refills myself, I’m going to ask my boss if she can help me order some. For you and your readers, I’ll let you know what I find out.
I bought a 12 pack of Tul black “Fine” ball point pens at office max a few weeks ago. I just opened the package and none of them work. They will write for half a second and then go blank. I like how they look and feel, but they just won’t write. Any suggestions?
Never mind, I got it working. I tapped the ball point on a hard surface (harder than I normally have to to get a pen working) a few times and the ink started flowing. Writes pretty smoothly now.
I found the TUL pen whitle brousing thru the OFFICE MAX store. I LOVE THIS PEN!!! However the down side to it is the tip ALWAYS BREAK OFF. Why I do not know. I have to keep a refill in my bag at all times. I am not a hard writer so I done think it is from that.
I have shoped around in search of a pen that hold the same quality and feel. (writting experiance) NONE to be found.
So I am wondering can some one please please please in form TUL to develop a better tip that wont fall off so that I can contenue to use the TUL pen (MY FAV).
thanks
Ms. Alice