Working in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, one is likely to run into about 10, to 15 mistakes in that time frame. This is most likely why my boss has box loads of Bics Wite-Out Shake’n Squeeze Correction Pens. I’m assuming though that he’s never actually used them himself; otherwise this would no longer be the brand of choice here in the office when it comes to white out.
Before I tell you about my experiences with Bic Wite-Out Shake’n Squeeze Correction Pens, I figured I may as well go ahead and let you know how to use this nifty white out device.
This was copied directly from the wite-out pen itself:
1) Shake well before use
2) Remove Cap
3) Push Down Firmly on tip and squeeze on barrel
4) Use just like a pen
5) Recap after each use
Also squeezed on the side of the in bold print are some warnings about the product. In my opinion it makes this pen seem a little scary.
CAUTION: FLAMMABLE (This is in Bold Small Print)
– KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE OF FLAME
– KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN
– DO NOT SWALLOW OR INHALE
– WARNING: Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating or inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal
They seemed to of forgotten a few other warnings actually, but I will get into that at the very end of this review.
So… lets get into how well Bic wite-out shake and squeeze pens worked for me.
For one, every now and then, after shaking and squeezing with all your might, the pens tip sometimes doesn’t allow any wite-out to flow.
This led me at one point, into thinking that the wite-out was empty. Yet when I shook the pen, it was clear it was a fully loaded pen. What gives!?
Secondly, one squeeze either fixes an error, or makes an even bigger error.
If you haven’t used this product before, don’t just assume you can shake this pen, and then just easily squeeze the wite-out onto your mistake, and it will be all fixed. This won’t happen!
Read on…
The first squeeze you take will ALWAYS squirt out clear liquid, that looks like some sort of bird poop type substance, onto your paper. It’s a mess that can’t be fixed. You may as well print up a brand new document and start from ground zero.
So mywarning is to ALWAYS squeeze the first squeeze out onto an old piece of paper you don’t need to make sure you get out all of the gooshy bird plop liquid phlegm.
-Mind you; even if you used the pen 2 hours prior, always do the bird poo test squeeze onto another piece of paper before using it on the actual document. The clear runny liquid crap comes out every time. Even if you may think you got it all out in the first squeeze, odds are, you didn’t.
Probability: 8 out of every 10 squeezes will guarantee a bird poop mess.
Third on my list of warnings is the bubbles. This is why you should never just squeeze this wite-out onto your document. Bubbles sometimes spray out in gag loads which will result in ruining your paper worse than it was before.
Probability: 6 out of every 10 shots will contain bubbles.
Lets move onto the wite-outs visibility. Now if you got a good squeeze in, with no bubbles, or runny bird dookie type substances, (It does not happen often, but on a rare occasion it does) the wite-out itself will cover the entire mistake with a nice perfect white color, and you have a nice well finished coat that you can now write on once it is dry.
Probability: 1 out of every 30 squeezes will result in a perfect white out.
-If you let the wite-out dry with bubbles, the document looks ruined, and the mistake will still be visible.
-If you let the white out dry with the clear gooey phlegm on it, the mistake will be very visible, and the wite-out color will dry a cloudy grayish type color.
With all of this said, even if you do happen to get a nice smooth coat on top of your mistake, good luck writing on it later.
Dry time for me has always ranged from 4 to 7 minutes, depending on how large a squeeze I squirted out.
Once your wite-out is dry, you can now write in pen over the error, and fix it. Or so one would think.
This is the big warning the pen forgot to include. ONCE YOU USE THIS PRODUCT, DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT WRITING ON TOP OF IT!
That’s right people, if you don’t believe me, test it for yourself, if you’re willing to loose a few bucks, that is.
Once you try writing on top of the dried out wite-out it will crack, and scratch off almost 99% of the time, making your finished piece look like garbage.
So if anyone ever hands you a Bic wite-out shake’n squeeze pen, throw it away, once you use it, that’s where your document is going anyway, right to the trash.
If you made a mistake, and this is all you have available, you may as well just start all over again.
Another issue I have with Bic wite-out pens is how the tip where the wite-out flows from sometimes dries out.
There are a few methods you could use to get it working again, I’m sure. (Just don’t take a lighter to the tip, like some people do with pens- this stuff is flammable)
When you’re sitting at your desk and your stupid wite-out pen has a dried up tip, you figure you may as well squeeze the hell out of it to get the pen to work again. Think first, do you really want to get up, go find soap, and a dish rag, to wipe your desk clean? Of course not. But if you try to squeeze the pen too hard you may end up with a big mess.
After cleaning up the mess and you manage to get the tip to work again, congratulations! That does not happen often, give yourself a pat on the back. Most of the time the tip is so clogged up, and dried out, you will have to throw the whole thing away; regardless of how full it is.
-Keep in mind, dried out tips STILL happen even if your a super neat freak, and you never leave the cap off of it, except for when you’re using it.
Overall I would have to say that I do not use this anymore, even though the boss continues to buy it in box loads. I just wish he’d see for himself that this stuff is junk, and perhaps switch brands. Until then, I’ll let the pens grow dust on them in my bottom desk draw.
Recommendation:
No one. Avoid the poopie pens.
