Anyone with Copic marker experience?

#1

Not sure if this is the correct forum but it seems to be the closest.

I purchased two sets of Copic markers from Amazon, the grey sketch and the color tone sets. Both are roughly $35 a piece and seemed to work great upon arrival. My problem is that after only a few uses they are dry or almost dry. I pulled off the nibs of a few and the reservoirs are empty. Even the ones I rarely used. Is this typical? Was I supposed to also purchase the ink refills as well? If so, thats another $40 for each set on top of the original cost of the markers.

I think they are good markers but I am disappointed because I feel like I got a bit ripped off.

#2

That doesn’t sound right at all, regardless of what brand you bought. New markers should not run out so quickly. Even with heavy use, they should last you at least a few months.

You might want to check with the retailer and find out how long those markers have been sitting in their warehouse. Also, make sure you are closing the caps completely every time.

FYI, I have a set of Pantone Tria markers that I’ve had for over 20 years, and believe it or not, works perfectly still. Only a few very often used colors have run low, while the rest work just fine. I do need to clarify that I stopped using them around 2001, and have only brought them out once every several years to do a little craft work, so they haven’t really been used. But the fact they are so well sealed in their caps and all the ink are still abundant, says a lot about what a well-design set of markers is capable of.

#3

I’m assuming that when I pull the nib off that there should be literally liquid ink in the marker reservoir? I just received a brand new Copic marker, removed the seal, pulled the nib, and again, while the nib is wet with ink, there is no liquid ink in the marker itself. Is this normal?

I’m beginning to think maybe it’s my expectations that are off because this would make 10 of my markers that don’t contain ink outside of the nib.

I guess at this point, I’m looking for clarification.

#4

It’s not just liquid ink inside the markers–it’s actually a big cylindrical sponge inside the marker that’s soaked with the ink, so no, it’s not supposed to drip or pour out at all. If you’ve ever seen a inject printer’s ink cartridge, it’s pretty much like that. If you are having problems, you should just contact Copic’s tech support and ask them what’s going on with your markers.

#5

Contacted Copic and got the clarification I needed. It’s just like you described with the sponge. Copic won’t help me because its about 3 weeks past the return date so I’m stuck.

So it seems that my gray sketch set is already drying up and I haven’t used it much which is disappointing. I went ahead and ordered a refill for the particular color that is most dry.

If my other markers dry up this fast then I don’t think I’ll be using this brand much longer given the costs involved.

Thanks for the help.

#6

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Copic multiliner