First, thanks to everyone who entered for making this one of the most successful giveaways that we’ve ever had!

It was exciting to see the entries pouring in, and we had our fingers crossed for each and every one of you (yeah, we know that wasn’t quite rational but we wanted everyone to win).

Now, a bit of bad news.

TonyB – me – dropped the ball on the Twitter part of the giveaway. Instead of noting each tweet as it came in, I figured I’d simply search the hashtag when it was over and run that list through Random.org. Except that, apparently, there is no reliable way to do searches for older tweets. All the searches turned up no results, when we know there were many entries.

We’ll get to what we’re going to do about that in just a minute.

You want to know who did win.

1. For the blog giveaway, the winner was Anne (nytetiger). She will receive:

• Artline Drawing System Pens 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 0 .4, 0.5 and 0.8mm
• Artline Calligraphy Pen 1.0mm, 2.0mm, 3.0mm, 4.0mm
• A Wallet of 8 Artline 200 0.4mm Fine Pens in assorted colours.
• Artline 7810 1.0mm Ballpoint pen
• Artline 660 Fluorescent Highlighter

2. For the Facebook giveaway, the winner was Zenpen (Shirley). She gets:

• Artline Calligraphy Pen 1.0, 2.0, 3.0,
• Artline Multipen set of 6 assorted colours 0.3mm tip
• Artline Geltrac wallet of 5 assorted colours
• Artline 999XF Silver Marker
• Artline 999XF Gold Marker

As always, thanks to Random.org for helping us choose the winners.

Now, as for the Twitter giveaway, first we apologize to everyone who has entered over the last two weeks. We hope you’ll forgive us for the boo-boo.

But we still have an Artline prize pack, and we really want to give it to someone.

So, jump on Twitter between now and 6 p.m. EST (US) tomorrow, and tweet the phrase “Tiger Pens Giveaway.” One of you will be randomly selected to receive this:

• 12 assorted Artline 200 fine 0.4mm pens

Winners, please use the ‘Contact’ link at the top of the page to send us your mailing addresses so we can get your prizes in the post.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

A while back, the good people at the excellent Quo Vadis blog wrote about a question online retailers hear all the time: What’s the deal with shipping charges?

Hopefully they won’t mind if we follow in their footsteps because our customers outside the UK often want to know the same thing.

Let me just start by saying that shipping charges are as much a point of frustration for us as they are for you. The whole idea behind Tiger Pens is to offer great pens at great prices. Anything that adds to the cost of our pens – and inconveniences our customers – is a hindrance we don’t want.

Unfortunately, shipping charges are a necessary evil.

Here’s why:

In the UK, our shipping options are more limited than they might be in the US, as private carriers are, to be frank, prohibitively expensive. If we could find a cost-effective private shipper along the lines of UPS or FedEx to deliver to our customers outside of the UK, we would, but so far, no luck in that regard.

What we’re left with is Royal Mail, which is sort of like the US Postal Service, but with more labor strikes.

Royal Mail gives us two options for shipping internationally, such as to customers in the US. One is shipping with tracking for £10 (roughly US$16). The other is shipping without tracking for slightly cheaper.

As Pete the Pen Warrior, owner and operator of Tiger Pens, says:

We do not use this as there is no proof to the customer that we have posted it, and if the items go missing, we cannot claim any compensation. As a reputable company, we do not believe that this is in either ours or the customer’s interest.

So, we ship all orders via Royal Mail, charging £7.50 in the UK and £10 for international. There is no profit for us in the shipping charges, and when you factor in handling and some additional shipping-related expenses, it actually results in a slight loss.

(We offer free shipping in the UK on orders over £10.)

So while we would love for our many fans in the US and abroad to visit our site and order just a few refills or a couple pens at a time, as our UK customers do, we know this is not feasible for most of you. As much as it pains us, the only thing we can suggest at this point is to wait until you have a large enough order to make the cost of shipping worth it…if and until there is a better solution.

We value all of you who visit the blog, like us on FB and interact with us on Twitter. Please know that we will continue searching for ways to offer you the best possible values on all your favorite pens.

And by all means, if you have any thoughts or suggestions on delivery in general or shipping charges in particular, let us know!

Being pen people, we aren’t crazy about that whole ‘picture is worth a thousand words’ thing, but sometimes, we have to admit the photos just speak for themselves.

And it was a good weekend for finding cool pen-and-paper pictures. Here are some we enjoyed, and we hope you will like them, too.

(via Insane in the Membrane)

(via Life. In Plain English)

(Sharpie and a button for writing your resolutions, via Notcot.org)

(pen and watercolor of a Matroyshka doll, via Perduliar)

(via Peak Pen)

Matthias at Bleistift discovers the Chung Hwa 6903 pencil in Shanghai.

Cheryl at Writer’s Bloc peeks inside the Fabrica Pocket-in-a-Pocket notepad.

Julie at Pens Paper Inks…Whatever offers the DeAtramentis Black Edition for your consideration.

Alex at Economy Pens recommends the Pentel EnerGel X 0.7mm Violet.

Terri at Filofax Fixation confesses her newfound obsession with the Lamy Al-Star.

Yochanan at Multi Pen Dimensions checks out the SK-Sharbo +1 multi-pen.

Dave at Seize the Dave gives good marks to Rohrer and Klingner Verdigris ink.

JJ at Penagerie grouses about the Paper Mate Sharpwriter mechanical pencil.

Rodney at GreaseMonkeyHands receives a Namiki Sterling Dragon as a gift.

PenandPaperHoarder dismantles the PHX-1: Design Tool Set.

OK, we’re understanding people, we really are. But the Guardian has published a piece that puts forth the idea students are so unused to writing by hand that it stresses them out to do so on exams.

C’mon…seriously?

From the Guardian:

For the moment it seems that the pen and paper are here to stay, but examiners are aware of the strain written tests place upon students. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, English tutor at Oxford University, says: “Inevitably, anxiety is sometimes voiced that students are now so used to typing they can’t cope with a three-hour handwritten exam.”

Students use keyboards almost exclusively for classwork, then are required to use pens and/or pencils on written essays during exam times. Apparently, that makes their hands hurt and slows down their ability to answer questions.

Writer Rebecca Ratcliffe says:

In the run-up to my undergraduate exams, I was advised by tutors to practice speedy handwriting. Some even claimed that candidates can’t write as much these days as their counterparts did in previous years, though no data is available to prove this.

UK school officials have suggested doing away with handwritten portions of tests, while some schools have given students the options of using laptops (although few students seem to take that choice, according to the Guardian).

Yes, writer’s cramp is real. We’ve all experienced it. Usually, it’s a result of practicing the ‘death grip,’ either from bad penmanship habits or from using a cheap ballpoint that doesn’t write smoothly.

And yes, writing by hand does require a bit of a different mental process than keyboarding. Research has consistently shown the two activities engage different areas of the brain.

(Oh, and there may also be a link between good handwriting and better grades.)

But has it really gotten to the point where it’s simply too much to pick up a pen for a few hours of test-taking?

Instead of abandoning a fundamental form of communication – one that is going to persist in one form or another until the end of time – there might be some better solutions. Such as encouraging students to handwrite some work throughout the school year. Or teaching them how to write properly in the first place. Or even just using ergonomic pens.

They’re students, after all. Writing is a basic part of education.

• The LA Times reports that a new device expected out this summer will allow you to write with a pen on paper and transmit everything you write to your iPad in real time, exactly as it appears on paper.

The iNotebook itself really is the combination of an iPad app, the case, a transmitter/recorder and a special pen that connects with it.

How it works is that the transmitter sits above the page and watches you write with the special pen via infrared sensor and records what you write. Then through the app and a Bluetooth connection with your iPad, it shoots over your words — or doodles — in your very own hand almost simultaneously.

The downside: There’s no optical character recognition. So what you write is what you get. As a result, there may be no visual character recognition either, depending on your handwriting.

The $150 device could be useful for saving notes, phone numbers, etc. but no word yet on how well pen writes, or how well it doesn’t.

• Japanese pen maker Sakura put out a press release earlier this month announcing the release of a new one-stop calligraphy pen.

According to Sakura, the Pigma Calligrapher is:

 …a unique, all-in-one, durable lettering art tool that produces crisp edges and sharp hairlines in 3 nib widths and 6 Pigma ink colors. This disposable pen has a hard nylon nib that withstands heavy pressure and constant use, and still provides a reliable, smooth ink flow from edge to edge.

Sakura says the pen is a cost-effective tool for beginning calligraphers because it eliminates the need for refills and multiple nibs.

Interestingly, Sakura started out making crayons nearly 100 years ago and claims to be the first company to have created gel-based ink.

• It’s a common question: Can you poison yourself by writing on your skin with ink?

The answer is not really because the amounts of toxic substances in inks are so small that you would have to ingest large quantities (as in cups full) just to make yourself slightly ill.

However, the student paper at the University of Alaska – Anchorage decided to look into the matter and came to the conclusion that writing on your skin can be quite dangerous.

For instance, a blue gel pen uses a chemical called copper phthalocyanine (I’m glad this is written and I won’t have to try to pronounce that). Its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) states that it is “hazardous in case of skin contact.” I think that’s straightforward enough.

But wait, that’s just the pigment. What about the solvent? It’s the component of the ink that makes sure all the ingredients stay together and you don’t get one liquid flowing out before another. Gel pens use a solvent called ethylene glycol. Its MSDS is even freakier than copper phthalocyanine’s. Even though its carcinogenic (cancer causing) effects aren’t classifiable for human or animals, its mutagenic effects sure are. And wait, there’s more! They’re specifically mutagenic for mammal’s body cells.

A little, um, over the top…but hey, we’re just glad they’re still interested in writing on something with pens.

• Paper Mate is running an all out marketing campaign to promote its new InkJoy pens, using the gimmick that theirs is the world’s most stolen pen.

According to Media Post:

The effort…includes TV ads on cable channels Bravo, HGTV, Oxygen, TLC and TNT. There is also a digital buy on tap across multiple properties, including Facebook and Twitter, as well as social media and word-of-mouth. There are also in-language websites for each country.

Scott Crist, global director of marketing for Paper Mate, tells Marketing Daily that the last time the company ran TV ads was in January 2010 around the Winter Olympics in limited U.S. markets on select NBC stations.

“Paper Mate has strong brand equity around the world but we’ve been a little lackluster with our advertising and promotion over the last few years,” he says. “The InkJoy launch is helping communicate a new, more modern Paper Mate in step with today’s more value-minded consumer.”

The article also reports that women are the No. 1 buyers of Paper Mate products.

Time is running out to get your name into the drawing for a chance to win one of 3 sets of Artline drawing materials. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the contest to learn how you can enter.

We’ve been picking up some new readers lately, so it seemed like a good time to give our new friends a little idea what they can find on the Tiger Pens Blog.

We’re all about ink pens here, from fountain to ballpoint, and the ways that people use them, whether for writing, office work or creating pieces of art. Occasionally, we’ll touch on notebooks and paper, but there are several excellent blogs that do it so well, we usually leave it to them (we’re looking at you, Notebook Stories, Rhodia Drive and a dozen others).

Our favorite pens are the ones that are relatively inexpensive, reliable and comfortable to use – gels and rollerballs and hybrids from Pentel, Uniball and the like. We’re also fans of novelty pens, or just about any kind of pen that is ‘different.’

In keeping with our love of pens and their uses, we run several regular features on the blog. In no particular order, they are:

Pen Reviews – Fair, honest assessments of the newest disposable and refillable pens, as well as the classics that deserve a new look once in a while. Yes, we probably sell most of them, and, if we like a pen, we’ll tell you…but if we don’t like one, we’ll tell you that, too.

Giveaways – Pens are great fun…and FREE pens are even funner, err, more fun. So, every month, we set aside a special package of pens to give to one of our readers just as our way of saying ‘thanks’ for visiting. If you discovered our blog through one of the giveaways, welcome, and we hope you stay a while.

Totally Random Pen Stuff – This is an occasional feature comprising news about pens coming to market, pen-related stories in the media, and mentions of interesting pen collectors, as well as other miscellaneous pen nuggets of interest.

Conversations About Handwriting – Pens aren’t much good if we don’t use them, and handwriting is one of the most common uses of pens, so naturally we follow the chatter on this topic with great interest. Our occasional handwriting feature collects tidbits of news and opinion on handwriting, from features on handwriting teachers to the handwriting practices of presidents.

Inappropriate Uses of Pens – Some people do the craziest things with their pens…things that pens were clearly not intended to do. Sometimes, they are amusing, other times, mind-boggling. We collect those stories, and once in a while, post them for our readers’ enjoyment.

Penthusiasm! – There is a wonderful, vibrant community of pen enthusiasts online who happily share their endless knowledge of pens through blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Every week, they write dozens of posts about pens, pencils and paper that are, by turns, amusing and fascinating. Each week, we try to round up some of the best ones and share with our readers, in case there is something they’ve missed.

Blog Reviews – Each month, we try to select one pen- or paper-related blog to feature as an outstanding blog. We choose them based on…well, basically, their ‘wow’ factor. If they often have posts that we read, then say, ‘oh wow, that was cool!’ then there’s a good chance we’ll review them at some point.

Guest Posts – We’re continually amazed at the level of expertise or just plain enthusiasm of some in the pen community. When we come across someone who writes brilliant pen posts, whether reviews, anecdotes, or obscure finds, then we invite them to post on our blog, both to help spread the word about them…and to impress our readers with our nifty pen friends.

Tiger Pens News – It’s no secret that we sell pens, but the last thing we want to do is flog our products too much on the blog. This blog is first and foremost about providing our visitors with informative and entertaining posts about pens and pencils. But once in a while, we get in a new product, or have a special deal running that we really want to share with as many people as possible. When that happens, you’ll read about it here. Just not too often.

One thing we’ve been thinking about is adding a regular feature on artists and theworks they create with pen-and-ink and pencil. So many of you seem to be quite talented, and we love seeing the drawings and sketches that you post on your sites and on Twitter. Whether a new visitor or a regular reader, please let us know what you’d think about seeing a regularly featured artist on the blog.

And, if there is anything new or different that any of you would like for us to try, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send an email using the ‘Contact’ link at the top.

The blog is here for you, so we want it to be exactly what you want.

There are a lot of artists among our readers, so we’ve decided we wanted to do something special for you guys this month.

Instead of the usual blog giveaway, we’re going to have 3 contests. One on the blog, one on Twitter and one on Facebook.

The prizes are awesome packages of Artline drawing pens.

1. OK, for a chance to win the blog set, do like usual and leave a comment at the bottom of this post. The winner, chosen at random, will receive this:

• Artline Drawing System Pens 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 0 .4, 0.5 and 0.8mm
• Artline Calligraphy Pen 1.0mm, 2.0mm, 3.0mm, 4.0mm
• A Wallet of 8 Artline 200 0.4mm Fine Pens in assorted colours.
• Artline 7810 1.0mm Ballpoint pen
• Artline 660 Fluorescent Highlighter

2. For those who haven’t “liked” us yet on Facebook, you can get a chance to win the second set by going to our Facebook page, clicking like, and then coming back here and leaving a comment letting us know you did it. (That means you will leave two comments…one for the blog giveaway, and one for Facebook.)

Sorry, this one is just for new likes. If you’re already a fan, enter the blog and Twitter contests.

The randomly selected winner gets:

• Artline Calligraphy Pen 1.0, 2.0, 3.0,
• Artline Multipen set of 6 assorted colours 0.3mm tip
• Artline Geltrac wallet of 5 assorted colours
• Artline 999XF Silver Marker
• Artline 999XF Gold Marker

3. Or, for a chance on Twitter, just tweet this between now and the end of the month, “#TPjan-competion Just entered Tiger Pens biggest competition yet…check it out. http://bit.ly/xr7V0G”

That random winner will end up with:

• 12 assorted Artline 200 fine 0.4mm pens

It’s that simple. Three chances to win just for being a Tiger Pens reader.

All three contests will be open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Jan 31. The winner will be announced Feb. 2.

Don’t waste any time, though. Get your entries in, and get ready to win.

Good luck to all.

Nina at Nina Johansson explains why she uses Noodler’s and Platinum inks for drawing.

John at John a Lookin’ Around discovers the Noodler’s Ahab Flex nib fountain pen.

Andrew at Stationery Review loves his first fountain pen, a black Lamy Safari.

MJ at MJ Monaghan reveals his quest to find the perfect pen.

Pencil Talk displays the very tiny World Press Cartoon pencil.

OfficeSupplyGeek shares his buyer’s remorse over the Pilot G6 gel pen.

Heather at A Penchant for Paper offers faint praise for the Pentel Fiesta 0.5 mm mechanical pencil.

George at My Supply Room shows off his set of vintage Lindy pens.

Andrew at Economy Pens unboxes the Retro 51 Hex-O-Matic ballpoint pen.

Leigh at My Life as a Verb thinks the Kaweco Sport Chess Print is cute.