Brand Highlight: Sharpie®

This brand is ubiquitous! We turn to our favorite Sharpie® marker for permanent, bold, reliable writing on just about any surface.  

  • Home: No home is complete without a Sharpie at the ready—for labeling storage boxes, doing crafts with kids, preparing packages for mailing, and writing on surfaces far afield from plain old paper, such as plastic, cardboard, metal, wood, and more.
  • School: No student is truly prepared without a Sharpie in hand—for labeling notebooks, naming folders and subject dividers, and identifying shoes, clothing, and sports gear for quick return.
  • Office: A workstation without a Sharpie is like a desk without a chair. A plain ballpoint pen is just fine for note taking, scribbles, and signing, but when you need your words to loom large for a long time, on folders, boxes, notebooks, and sticky notes, a Sharpie does not disappoint.

Below we break down the story behind the Sharpie brand, and what makes custom Sharpie pens a great choice for daily visibility.   

History of the Sharpie Brand

Atlanta, Georgia is where the magic—the permanent ink magic—began. In 1964 Sharpie launched the now iconic Sharpie pens and markers. The ink in a Sharpie permanent ink writing instrument is classified as “permanent”—this means it will not come off with water, will adhere to most surfaces, and uses an ink formulation including dyes, pigments, or a combination of ingredients that give the ink permanent properties. Depending upon the type of Sharpie ink used, the surface the marker is used on, and exposure to sun and other elements, the ink in a permanent custom Sharpie marker or pen can last from several months to several years and much longer. 

Manufactured by Newell Brands, the current Sharpie collection includes all types of ink colors and point sizes, including retractable tips, paint markers, highlighters, keychain minis, and even non-permanent ink such as gel and rollerball. 

Just like their products, the Sharpie tagline, Write Out Loud, inspires expression, creativity, and boldness.  

What Everyone Loves About the Sharpie Brand

“Anyone have a Sharpie?” is the refrain you hear when what your words absolutely, positively need to stick and stay. Sharpie makes the custom Sharpie pens we count on when we need our notes to show up on almost anything and not come off.  

  • All Purpose: The classic permanent marker promotional Sharpie pen can write on metal, paper, plastic, glass, and wood. Resins and surfactants in the ink give these markers the ability to adhere to all kinds of surfaces where other inks cannot.
  • Job Site: Then there are the Sharpie Pro permanent markers, which work under the toughest conditions. They can mark on wet, oily, dusty, abrasive, and nonporous surfaces.

Tip: Much like a regrettable tattoo, a Sharpie fan, on the rarest of occasions may find themselves in a permanent ink bind. In this case, there are a few concoctions to be considered in service of removing permanent ink. These include rubbing alcohol, hairspray, and nail polish remover, to name a few. But as one would imagine, using rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover on a sheet of paper, piece of clothing, or cardboard box, may remove permanent ink but is also likely to make a mushy mess of the object underneath. 

How You Can Use Sharpie Promotional Products

For branding that lasts, choose a permanent marker that’s a staple among all age groups, events, and industries. Custom sharpie markers associate your small business with a proven brand that’s built to go the distance. 

  • Schools: What every teacher can use more of? Sharpie markers, or course! Show teacher appreciation or kick off a new school year with custom Sharpie pens in every classroom. Include the school name or an encouraging messaging like “We heart our teachers,” or “[School name] spirit is here to stay,” or “Education: the gift that lasts forever.”
  • Employees: Start new employees off right with markers they can count on—logo Sharpie pens  customized with your imprint so they can feel part of the team and ready to go.
  • Meetings: No brainstorm is complete without sticky notes and Sharpie pens. Kick off a strategy session or seminar with personalized Sharpie promotional markers for each participant. Your attendees leave with creative juices flowing and your brand in hand.
  • Auctions, Galas, Fundraising Events: Maybe you’re in charge of a silent auction table, or the registration desk for an annual fundraiser. If the occasion involves fundraising, a pen cup filled with promotional Sharpie pens helps get every guest in a “giving” mood.
  • Customer Service Counters: When you leave a customer service counter with a custom Sharpie pen, everything seems a little better. That win-win spirit is awakened with a quality permanent marker such as the Sharpie brand delivers. “Keep the pen” takes on a whole new meaning when it’s one they’re sure to keep track of.

Popular Sharpie® Promotional Products You Can Customize

Put the proven Sharpie brand to work for your small business, with promotional Sharpie pens your customers will keep close. A few favorites: 

Sharpie® Ultra Fine Point Permanent Marker: For architects, engineers, scribblers, and students partial to study sheets jam packed with notes, this Sharpie marker is the right choice. 

Sharpie® Metallic Marker: Put some glam in your Sharpie giveaway with this metallic marker, customized with your logo.  

Sharpie® Twin Tip Permanent Marker: This Sharpie works double duty, and your brand does, too, when you customize this two-tip marker.  

For branding that lasts, put promotional Sharpie pens in every pen cup! See all our custom Sharpie pens and markers and add your imprint to the one that suits your style and purpose.  

Karleen Wise Andersen

From marketing tips to product recommendations, I’m here to help small businesses be their best.

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