Pantone | Letraset Tria Markers
Pantone | Letraset Tria Markers
The Pantone Markers are one of the best layout markers I ever had. First, I got some of the latest version, the Letraset Tria Markers. These markers are great because of the three different nips: broad, fine and extra fine. However, the ones I like a little bit more have only one broad nib, but they are oldschool! That means: nice smell, smooth and soft felt nib and, as far as my experience is, the colors blend better together than the alcohol-based markers. I found these some five years ago in an art material store. These markers date back from the 1980s and they sold them for cheap because nobody really wants them. They had also markers of this type with fine nibs, but they were already dried out. Anyway, the up-to-date Tria markers are also top quality layout markers.
Several Pantone/Letraset Tria Markers. The majority dates back from the 1980s.
Below are three versions of Pantone Markers: the modern Letraset Tria Marker, the 1980s Pantone and the 1970s Pantone Color Marker. The latter has a great 1970s design (note the different “Pantone” lettering), the barrel is made of glass and it still works!
Pantone Color Marker from the 1970s, Pantone Marker from the 1980s and one from the late 1990s/early 2000s.
Notice the glass barrel of the 1970s version…
I found the oldest marker just five years ago in Paris. I went to a art supply store which I had been to already in the early 1990s (back then I was looking for the Artline Poster Markers which were impossible to get in my home town in Germany. Well, they had the Artline Markers in Germany in the 1980s, but they were mostly racked by writers and so they discontinued selling them). This time, I had no interest in the Poster Markers; I just checked what they offer. I found this 1970s glass-bottle Pantone among newer ones and want to buy them. The staff told me, that they are sorry, but they don´t sell markers like these one. I tried to explain that I found that marker in their store but they apparently thought I took this one from home as an example for the kind of marker I was looking for… So what could I do? They didn´t want any money from me, gave me the marker and after some minutes I just decided to left the store without paying…
Broad chisel nib from the Letraset Tria Marker
Fine and ultra-fine nib of the Letraset Tria Marker.
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where to get new pantone number pens?
Are the Letraset Tria markers alcohol based? I wanted to refresh them, and wasn’t sure from your posts whether they were or weren’t.
Well, the double-ended Tria Markers (broad/fine/ultra-fine) are as far as I know alcohol-based. Letraset doesn´t use harmful solvents in their products any more. The older markers ( the ones with only one side and white caps) are solvent based.
So it depends on the type of marker you have. BTW: You may use alcohol in old solvent based markers; as long as the barrel of the marker isn´t made of aluminum (alcohol in combination with some solvents may cause the aluminum to corrode).
I recently went to a local art store and they showed me the letraset tria marker. After showing me it’s different nibs, the shop assistant brought an aerograph to be used with these markers. It was fueled by a gas can (similar to a spraycan) and it worked by throwing air to the thin (not the thinnest one) nib, creating a spraycan-like stroke on the paper.
I have 49 of these pens that I am wanting to sell. If anyone is interested in buying them from me, I’d love to hear from you. I am in Australia. They are the ones from 1980 I think
are they still available?