My experience with V Board refillable markers (and how to capture whiteboards)

As a professor at a teaching college, I write on whiteboards a lot. We have school-issued markers, but the ones in the classroom are always spent and its hard to locate them last-minute. So, I’ve taken to buying my own supply.

What I used to use. Look at the chisel tip. Yuck. Also, this runs out of ink really quickly and therefore generates a lot of waste.

I’ve been getting the bulk black markers, namely the Expo Low Odor Chisel Tip Dry Erase Markers, Black in the 2 Dozen box. However, I’ve been bothered by the chisel design (prefer bullet points), thin lines, and how fast I burn through the one-time use markers, generating much more waste than I like.

Check out that bold, bullet tip.

V Board Master Refillable Markers: My Choice

The 5 colors of the V Board Master pack.

So this winter break, I started looking at better options. As I was reading up on options, I came across Yuri Malishenko’s post All you need to know about whiteboard markers, which was really helpful.

I ended up going with the V Board Master refillable markers because they:

• are made from 91% recycled materials
• cut down on waste via refillable ink ink cartridge
• bold bullet tips
• the pack comes with the colors I primarily use on on the board.
• were relatively affordable.

No other marker had that combination of properties.

Impressions over the last 30 days

Four weeks into the semester, I’ve found myself exceedingly happy with the pack.

Below is are a couple of samples of how I go about using these markers. Yes, I still need to work on my penmanship.

Sample board snapshot using the V Board Master markers, showcasing the colors and visibility. Here we were going over a basic version of Locke’s idea of how we acquire knowledge of the outside world.

Snap of extended writing so showcase how the markers perform. This image was processed through Microsoft’s Lens app.

As you can see, the markers perform well, especially under extended writing sessions.

Workflow of Lens app

These markers, with their bold, defined strokes, make for excellent Lens captures.

Microsoft has created the best document capture app in Lens. It excels at snapping whiteboards, processing them into simplified images and placing them in various formats for later use.

I use Lens to capture what I write on the board for ADA notes purposes and my own records as I have a composite over-prep+spontaneous lecturing process and this helps me reflect and improve upon what I’ve done from class to class.

Initial Capture and Final Result (students were asked to draw their culture’s ideals of masculinity and femininity, if you are wandering what the hell is going on)

Refilling

While I’ve been happy with the performance of the markers, I’ve run the black and blue markers out of ink.

Bone dry!

After the first month of heavy use, the markers have gone from thick, bold strokes to faded, weak lines that don’t show up well at the back of the classroom and on Lens snaps.

So I need to find some refills and perform surgery.

Ordering direct from Pilot will save me $90–$108 per year.

At first I was pretty frustrated — especially as I looked up refills on Amazon. Blue + black refills would cost about $10. That doesn’t make for a very economical marker, if I’m spending $100-$120 per year on refills.

However, after I placed that first order, I decided to look on Pilot’s site. Lo and behold, they had the refills for $1 each and free shipping if you order $6 worth of stuff or more! So, I grabbed 3 each for a total of $6 total. Ordering direct from Pilot will save me $90–$108 per year.

Refilling the pens was a snap, well a twist, pull, push, and snap. Seriously, that was it.

Overall, Pilot V Board Master markers are excellent & responsible buys if you use whiteboards on a regular basis.