Custom Uni-ball Gel Pens with Your Logo

What makes a gel pen different

A ballpoint uses a thick oil-based paste that needs pressure to transfer. A gel pen uses a water-based ink with pigment held in suspension, so it flows at a much lighter touch and lays a darker, more saturated line. The practical consequence for a promotional pen is that people keep using it: a gel that writes without effort stays on the desk, and a scratchy ballpoint goes in the bin with your logo on it.

The second consequence is the one procurement cares about. Because the pigment is particulate rather than dissolved, it lodges in the paper fibers and cannot be lifted out with water or the solvents used in check washing. Uni-ball calls this Super Ink, and it is the reason banks, title companies and law firms specify these rather than whatever is cheapest.

Which gel pen to order

If you want the one everybody recognizes, order the 207 Gel Pen. Nine barrel colors, 0.7mm, refillable, and the pen most likely to be on the recipient’s desk already. The White 207 is the same pen with the barrel that gives an imprint the most contrast.

If your handouts or forms are printed on gloss, order the 207 PLUS+. Its Super Ink Plus+ formula is denser and dries faster, and it is the only gel here that behaves on coated stock. Everything else will smear on a glossy sheet.

If the writing has to survive a scan or a fax, order the Gel Impact at 1.0mm. It is roughly a third wider than the standard 207 and unmistakably legible on a shipping document or an intake form.

If your brand palette is muted, the Zento range is the quietest design we carry, on a barrel with a soft grip made from 76% recycled material, in three palettes of four colors each.

If your logo has a long wordmark, the uni-ball one carries a 2 inch imprint, among the widest in the whole catalog, and its metal clip doubles as a paperclip. The Gel RT has the same 2 inch area at the volume end of the range.

If the pen is meant to be kept, the 207 Premier is refillable, in a silver barrel with a cushion grip. The recipient reorders refills instead of replacing the pen, so your logo stays on the desk for years.

Imprint area across the gel range

Choose by imprint width before you choose by barrel color, because the range is wider than most buyers expect. The 2 inch styles are the uni-ball one and the Gel RT. The 207 family runs 1.5 inches. The smallest gel imprint here is 1.375 inches. If your mark is a symbol plus a company name, that difference decides whether the name is readable at all.

The Gel Impact Capped is the one gel with a second imprint position on the barrel, which is the clean way to run a logo and a website without crowding one location. A second position means a second setup charge.

When a gel pen is the wrong choice

Gel ink is wetter than ballpoint ink and needs a moment to set. If your recipients are filling in carbonless multi-part forms, a gel will not transfer to the lower copies reliably, because those need the pressure a ballpoint applies. Order a Jetstream instead: its low-viscosity ink dries at ballpoint speed while still reading like a gel.

Left-handed writers drag a hand across the line they just wrote, and a standard gel will smudge for them. If you know your audience skews that way, the Jetstream or the 207 PLUS+ are the safer picks. Gel pens also use ink faster than a ballpoint, so for an event where thousands of people sign in once, a ballpoint costs less and lasts the day just as well.

Ordering

Every pen here is printed with your logo in one color in one location, included in the price. Minimums depend on the style, most between 150 and 250 pieces, with price breaks shown on each product page. Production time is listed on each product page and counts from your approval of the free proof. Send vector artwork (AI, EPS, PDF or SVG) and we will show you the imprint at actual size before anything is printed.

Also see the pens with fraud-resistant uni Super Ink, custom Uni-ball rollerball pens and the full custom Uni-ball pens range.