Copic Markers & other nice pens under pressure on airplanes

Loie

Hi all! I fly a lot. As an ink artist I live for my fancy pens. In the past I have never found a pen that's impervious to the pressure of air travel (ironically, not even "Pilot" brand pens)  

I'm about to buy my very first set of Copics (Sketch 72a yeahh!!) but I'm worried about damaging them in air cabin pressure. As markers they're probably a bit less prone to exploding than a fine line pen, but I still want to do my due diligence.

Is there any way to protect pens against air pressure? 

And in general, have you found pens that are immune to this?

SandyMcC

Posted on Facebook by Jennifer Dove, one of the most experienced and talented Copic teachers I know:

I hand carry all my markers. Don't hand carry refills though. I just let TSA know they are my "art pens". No problems. As for blobbing. This happens with change of altitude or over full markers. No need to uncap and recap unless coloring on the plane. This just fixes internal marker pressure. As for ones that blob already. Remove excess ink by dobbing on paper towel. It should stop it. Also taking off both caps helps too.


And another time she responded:  If the caps are on secure it won't be an issue with blobbing. As for security...hand carry. Send them through X-ray with bag open because they always want to look at them as it looks strange on camera. If they ask they are "art markers". Even go as far as stamping some images and place in bag so they can see you color. Don't travel in handcarry with refills. You should have no problem. I do it all the time. It's not a loose liquid in the markers. It's in a foam like product. Don't stress over it. Nervous people raise red flags 



(I know from attending her retreats, she also recommended uncapping them inside a ziploc bag JUST in case they released any ink due to pressure changes).

Loie

What a thorough answer, thank you so much! Following her on fb now  

SandyMcC

Oh good!  She's AMAZING. Her web site has a kazillion colored cards and I often use her site to select color combinations and see how she's handled light sources for shadows and such (my weakness!  lol)   

Here's her blog: http://just4funcrafts.com/

SandyMcC

And you're welcome!