Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Pens for Your Brand

Choosing the best pens to represent your brand is no minor thing. These pens will not only make a major difference in terms of first impressions, but they are also important when it comes to lasting impressions, as they tend to be kept by recipients and used time and time again. So how do you choose the right pen?  

Why Offer a Promotional Pen?

Promotional pens are a great way to share your brand in a way that is memorable and appealing to customers. Business cards and pamphlets can deliver a lot of information, but they are typically thrown away shortly after they are received. However, customers are more likely to keep pens and other promotional products, especially quality pens, around their home and office and continue to use them for years. This means that each pen gives you years of positive impressions with each customer that takes them home! 

Unique and Memorable: What Type of Pen Should I Use?

While there are a lot of pen types to choose from, such as gel, ballpoint or jotter, the right type really comes down to how and where you expect the pen to be used. Here are the pros and cons of some of the more popular pen types: 

• Ballpoint: Ballpoint pens use a thicker oil-based ink that is effective for neat and precise lines, making the best pens for businesses and legal firms.
• Gel: Gel pens flow more freely with their water-based ink, offering bold lines and a smooth writing experience. These pens are fun for school and personal use.
• Rollerball: Rollerball ink is even thinner than gel ink and is very similar to the ink used in fountain pens. These pens are also great for note taking and personal use.

Want to learn more about ink and tip types? Check out our blog post that dives deep into the pros and cons of different types of pen tips, and our other blog post covering the benefits of rollerball vs. ballpoint ink. 

The Importance of Choosing Colours

When deciding your colours, you want to take into account both your brand and the feeling you’re trying to convey. For example, brands like Coca Cola would be expected to use red and white in their branding, because that’s a major part of their company’s image. Similarly, you will want to use colours that fit with your company’s chosen branding colour scheme. Any time you deviate from that palette, make sure you’re staying close to your brand image. Some options to consider include: 

• Bright colours: Are you a fun and exciting brand? Are you all about getting customers to smile and engage? Bright colours help attract attention to your logo in a way that brightens up your customers’ day.
• Muted colours: Do you want to come across as sophisticated and professional? Are you working with serious subject matters that neon colours just don’t fit with? Stick to darker, muted colours that are as timeless as your brand.
• Metallic colours: A little shine can go a long way in attracting attention, and metallic colours pair especially well with luxury brands, tech companies and modern trends.
• Natural colours: Dusty browns, pastel greens and eggshell tones are great for businesses looking to show their all-natural side. Whether you want to convey an eco-friendly message or highlight your natural credentials, these colours will do the trick.

Digital or Sustainable: Pick the Right Style

The design of your promotional pen is about more than just looking professional, it’s an ambassador for your brand. From the colours to the materials used, you want your pen to carry the feel of your brand just as much as your logo. Here are a few of our popular pen designs to guide you through how to choose a pen style: 

Aloha Bamboo Pen 

Made with real bamboo as part of the design, this trendy pen is perfect for businesses that want to emphasise a sense of nature in their brand. Spas, boutique hotels and destination attractions can especially benefit from this touch of natural wood in their giveaways.  

Metal Alpha Soft Touch Pen with Stylus & Rose Gold Trim 

For modern brands that want to display a cutting-edge style, the Alpha pen is a popular choice. This model features a stylus attachment on the plunger for writing and swiping on touchscreens — perfect for tech brands. It also comes in a variety of bold colour options so you can customise according to your brand. Finished with a soft touch rubberised finish and a rose gold trim that is ideal for luxury brands, this is one of the best pens for getting customer attention. 

Design Wrap Colourama Pen with Metallic Trim 

Does your brand have a lot to say? The design wrap style allows you to fully customise your pen barrel with either your own art or one of our 99+ free design templates. Whether you want something designed for a festive event or have some gorgeous art to show off, these pens are the key to showing off what your brand can really do. 

Professional vs Ordinary: Looking at Brands

Do you want your company to be represented by a tried and true brand? Here are some popular pen brands that we carry that will display your unique logo and imprint with all of the quality materials and design that these brands are known for: 

• BIC®: Perfect for your every day branding, BIC® produces dependable, quality pens that your customers are sure to enjoy. No fears of smearing, skipping or other writing problems with this top-quality brand!
• Parker®: A common brand for business styles, Parker® produces top-quality ballpoints, jotter pens, fountain pens and more, perfect for professional first impressions.
• Waterman®: Famous for their rollerball and fountain pens, this luxury brand is perfect for making bold first impressions with business partners, executives and your favourite customers.
• Pens.com Collections: We offer a wide variety of pen styles, from trade-show trendy to luxury designs. Check out our popular selections to find the style that best suits your brand!

By using styles created by trusted brands, you can be sure your pens will be popular with customers and clients.  

Choosing a Pen to Fit My Distribution Plan

Are you planning to send your pens with your newsletter, or distribute at your next event? Before you order your promotional merchandise, you want to make sure that you take into consideration the following factors: 

• Material Costs: Are you planning to distribute a lot of these at a trade show, or deliver in person to impress a major client? Save your luxury pen styles for your favourite customers and select pens that are colourful and affordable for quick and bold first impressions.
• Colours: While you want to stick close to your company colours, you need to keep your distribution method in mind. If you need to attract a crowd at a distance, bolder and brighter colours are ideal. For in-person meetings, muted versions may give a better impression.
• Imprint Size: If your pens are accompanying a pamphlet or other documents, all you need are pens with your company logo. If being distributed alone, you’ll want space in your imprint for your company name and/or website link.
• Delivery: How soon do you need your pen? It’s better to order as soon as possible not only so you can have everything ready in time, but also to avoid any delivery delays, for example around Christmas and other major sales seasons. Make sure your order will come in time before completing your order.
• Order Size: While you may prefer to place a smaller order for special gift pens, you save a lot of money in the long run by ordering in bulk. Even if you have leftovers from your event, those leftover pens can be used for special giveaways and promotions on your website, or be reserved as rewards for high-performing employees.

Designing your own custom pen is no small feat, but we do our best to make it fun and intuitive here at Pens.com. Use this guide as a launching point to your own creativity, and take the time to find the very best pens to represent your brand. Need more ideas? Keep reading through our blog posts for more customisation tips that will bring out the best in your branding!