white substance in package but idc I cleaned them off and 10/10 they are still the best fattest smoothest most pigmented utensils money can buy. They are the opposite of the fine tip felt pens (also love those, but not this brand havent tried theirs) and they are a staple forever needed in all places I keep pens.Greatest pen ever. Wish it came in more colors as a set. Very smooth, perfect glide, effortless writing and no leakage or gooping when writing, perfect smooth line. Only thing could make it better would be if it was a click pen, but they sell those as well.I’m a pen fanatic and this one met all my criteria for a good pen. It holds well in my hand and it’s glides across the paper, it’s perfection.These are absolutely the BEST pens I’ve ever written with. I’m somewhat of a pen snob, and have searched for years trying to find one that writes smoothly, with a bold tip, that’s comfortable to write with. These are the pens. They wrote so smoothly if you didn’t see the letters as you wrote them, you would think it’s not writing at all. HIGHLY recommend, especially if you spend quite a bit of time throughout your day writing. They are worth the money. I promise.This review is now edited!here is my original review.========The pens arrived ok. I write a lot to a lady in England and she has trouble reading dim light black ink writing. I often write 6 to 10 pages in one letter. I was happy to read the pens are supposed to write a line 2.5 miles long.She loved the darker pen darker writing.HOWEVER!--- On computer printer paper, the pen often skipped part of a word. a whole part of, say, an "h" would not appear. Also, the pen felt like it was writing on sandpaper! there was no smooth writing. If I pressed down harder to make every letter appear, the "sandpaper" feel of the writing would only get much worse! Like writing *on* sandpaper!---I must have written two long letters and then the ink became very faint. I saw that the pen had run out of ink! the pen cartridge is clear so that I could obviously see that the pen had no ink. In only two letters and perhaps a bit of writing here and there, the pen was gone. 2.5 miles? not unless 15 to 25 sheets are made up of 2.5 miles of ink! At this rate, my nine pens left will be gone by spring!--Also. I tried writing on "college" lined paper. a thinner paper than of the computer printer paper. the blue ink showed quite clearly on the backside of the sheet, so much so that I could not write on that side without making a confusing mess! How could she even read that side, like there were two letters superimposed on each other and one letter was in mirror reverse!I must be someone with a two-star review, one of the few. maybe with certain types of paper and "light", short letters, this pen will shine. Not for my needs though!============My updated review. 5 stars!why?When I discovered that this pen ran out of ink, so quickly, I threw it out. Since my meal menu orders should be in an easy to read ink, I went back to the box to get another pen. At least these pens are good for that! the box contained 10 pens, there are 9 left, I removed another pen."WHAT!", I exclaimed to myself! This second pen was a different pen! It matched the image of the pen on the cover of the box. All nine remaining pens are the "correct" pen that I ordered.Somewhere a Mistake was made. I was reviewing the "mistake"! I will not fault the store as I think that my original order was for three pens! Mistakes are often made in packaging. I get a set of plastic "silverware" when my meal comes. Often there is a spoon or fork missing and even sometimes like two spoons! This in a sealed plastic wrapper with a napkin and salt/pepper.So then, later, I wrote another page of my current letter project to my penpal lady in England using this pen.what a difference. The pen writes smoothly, with no paper drag. The color is a bit lighter thus the ink might indeed last the advertised 2.8 miles. No bleed-through to the other side of the paper either. The pen felt good in my hand. I then upped my rating to five stars.freestoneI bought one of these pens at a college book store and I very impressed with how smooth the ink flows from the pen without smearing. I of course checked to see if Amazon carried this brand and I am very happy that I was able to order more of these pens. I am a pen junkie and I absolutely love these pens. I am definitely going to purchase more in the future.This is my favorite ballpoint pen ever. After using it for a month or so, I threw away my other ballpoint and rollerball pens. It's comfortable to hold. It writes smoothly. But best of all, it never smudges or leaves little spots of ink. I read about this in a New York Times review of best pens. It was definitely the cheapest of the pens in the review, but it earned its place. I am never buying another pen for everyday writing. This is a keeper.I absolutely love these pens, I'm apply a lot of pressure when writing and these glide so well across the paper!Nö, mit diesen Kulis schinden Sie keinen Eindruck. Wenn das Ihr Anliegen ist, dann sollten Sie sich die edlen Schreibwerkzeuge aus dem Premiumsegment anschaffen. Damit können Sie sich dann auch in Buckingham Palace blicken lassen.Wenn Sie aber den ultimativen Schreibkomfort im schnöden Alltag genießen wollen, z.B. beim Röten von Schülerproduktionen oder bei der Erstellung und schriftlichen Bearbeitung anderer meist ziemlich unliterarischer Wortansammlungen, dann erleben Sie genussvolles Schreiben in Reinkultur.Die Kulis liegen rutschfrei in Ihrem Pfötchen, und dann gleitet Ihre Hand mühelos über das Papier. Sogar Einkaufszettel werden zum puren Spaßerlebnis. Bei Klausuren hängt das Vergnügen allerdings auch vom Grad der Vorbereitung ab. Schlimmstenfalls blamieren sie sich im Gleitflug über das unbarmherzige Papier.Probieren Sie erst einen Stift aus; die anderen Farben schaffen Sie sich von ganz alleine an. Diese Kulis haben Heroin-Potential: Man kann süchtig werden nach ihnen.Kaufempfehlung? Na klar!I have previously used these pens and found them to be helpful in improving my handwriting . Unfortunately most of the pens in this box didn’t work or ran out within a few days. They are “scratchy’ to use when writing. So disappointed. Would not recommend.The quality of these pens are truly outstanding and well worth the higher price tag. Not only extremely comfortable to hold, they glide smoothly and deliver the most vibrant colours.This set would make a great gift to students; my son and nieces are well delighted and noticed the exceptional quality.In my personal opinion, these are the most comfortable pens around.With that being said...I’m not a fan of the wide tip. My writing is quite small and I find writing with this pen very difficult as a result. This is just a personal thing though. The overall quality is excellent.Can see this suiting most people, but unfortunately not for me. The search continues!I love these pens and they last a long time. They are really comfortable even when you write so much they don't hurt your fingers like most pens do