For this reason, Profeco carried out a study who recently published in Consumer Magazine of August.
What did the study consist of?
There are cheaper products and others from more luxurious brands. But, in general, the Federal Consumer Protection Office qualified three things:
– Performance according to the use for which they were created.
– Characteristics related to its useful life.
– Specific content, depending on the type of product.
In addition, “in each product, its presentation and information to the consumer declared by the manufacturer and/or marketer was evaluated,” Profeco said.
The best pens according to Profeco
In the case of blue ink pens, Profeco analyzed the holes to identify defects such as burrs. The quality of the writing was also evaluated to see if there were ink bleeds or stains during use.
Linear meters of writing and performance were measured and the useful life of each pen was analyzed, after 1,000 cycles of use.
These were the results:
In the case of pens with a retractable mechanism, the one that has a button to store the tip under the casing, the best were the following:
The BIC/Crystal classic
Priced at $49 for 12 pieces, it is a pen with no finishing flaws, excellent writing quality, and achieved optimal performance after 3,308 linear meters of writing.
Bolex/medium
It is a Mexican brand with a model very similar to that of BIC, but also with performance and writing quality qualified as excellent by Profeco. The price of these pens is $34 for 12 pieces. A price that has to be paid to access 1,891 meters of linear writing for each pen.
Bolex/GRIP
This presentation is also flawless and its quality and performance qualify as excellent for Profeco. Of course, they last a little less, since they can write 1,747 linear meters. Although this is offset by a lower price of 24 pesos for 12 pieces.
Pentel
But if we are talking about cheap pens, there is this Mexican brand rated as excellent in quality and writing performance. It is enough to write 1,909 meters for a price of only 17 pesos for 12 pieces.
OfficeMax/Midpoint
Another option is the Chinese-made brand, with excellent quality and writing performance, but with fewer linear meters of writing, only 1,515 for an average price of more than $54 for every 12 pieces.
In the case of pens with a retractable mechanism, no options rated as excellent were found. Although the Zebra brand did get a Very Good rating on write performance. These pens cost $299 pesos for 12 pieces.
The worst rated pens were the Office Depot and MAE brands, one for not reaching 700 meters of linear writing and the other, made in India, for having the lowest writing performance.