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The Best Pastel Highlighters

Pastel highlighters make it easy to draw attention to important concepts without being overwhelmingly bright. In this guide, we go over our favorite pastel highlighters that add calming colors to your notes and print-outs.

We picked a handful of colors for each recommendation and used them in the writing samples below. These colors have lighter hues in comparison to typical highlighters. Our picks may come in other colors, some of which are more saturated.

The Best Pastel Highlighters: Staedtler Textsurfer Classic Highlighters
The Staedtler Textsurfer Classic is our top choice for the best pastel highlighter.
The Staedtler Textsurfer Classic is our top choice for the best pastel highlighter.

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The Staedtler Textsurfer Classic is our top choice for the best pastel highlighter. In our tests, we found that it slightly smudged fountain pen ink but other writing instruments didn’t budge. Because of its smear-resistant ink, you can use all the pens in your pen case without worrying about making your notes or documents look messy.

Its flat, rectangular body won’t roll away, and its large size means it has an impressive ink reservoir. Since it comes in sets of four or six, you don’t need to pick out your own complementing colors.

Pastel Highlighter Recommendations
The Best Pastel Highlighters for Books: Pilot FriXion Light Erasable Highlighters
Pilot FriXion Light Erasable Highlighters are excellent highlighters for books.
Pilot FriXion Light Erasable Highlighters are excellent highlighters for books.

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Pilot FriXion Light Erasable Highlighters are excellent highlighters for books. We’ve found that they aren’t as wet as other highlighters, so their inks don’t soak through thin or absorbent book pages. However, they do take a long time to dry completely.

Like other writing instruments in the FriXion lineup, they’re “erasable” with heat. By rubbing the highlighter ink with the rubber “eraser” on the back of the barrel, you can remove any mistakes. We’ve found that rubbing highlighted sections doesn’t lighten the printed text, but the paper can become discolored or wrinkle.

Students who are constantly highlighting thick textbooks should consider using the Pentel Fitline. Its chisel tip is flexible, so it stays flush with curved pages. It also has a bullet tip on the other end.

The Best Pastel Highlighters for Color-Coding: Zebra Mildliner Highlighters
There are few highlighters that come in as many colors as the Zebra Mildliner.
There are few highlighters that come in as many colors as the Zebra Mildliner.

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There are few highlighters that come in as many colors as the Zebra Mildliner. With so many to choose from, you can easily color-code your notes—but don’t overwhelm yourself by highlighting with too many colors! To highlight effectively, pick out a few colors and use them consistently. You can swap out color palettes for different subjects so all of your highlighters get some use.

Mildliners are also available as double-sided brush pens and single-sided Mix highlighters. If you want to add a fun twist, try dipping them into Mildliner no Moto Ink Bottles.

Perhaps the Mildliner’s only flaw is that it smears most inks. We recommend pairing it with ballpoint pens or using it on laser-printed documents. You can also read our guide to see what pens work well with it.

The Stabilo Boss Original is also available in a ton of pastel colors, including nature-inspired hues. It has a chunky, flat body that’s comfortable to hold, and it won’t roll away from you, either. Like the Mildliner, these highlighters smeared gel ink, fountain pen ink, and inkjet-printed documents.

The Best Pastel Highlighters for Studying: Marvy PastelLiner Highlighters
Marvy PastelLiner Highlighters make sure that your handwritten notes won’t get smudged.
Marvy PastelLiner Highlighters make sure that your handwritten notes won’t get smudged.

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Marvy PastelLiner Highlighters make sure that your handwritten notes won’t get smudged. In our tests, they didn’t smear ballpoint or or rollerball inks; graphite didn’t budge, either. They did smear gel ink slightly, but not enough to make writing hard to read. Like all of our pastel highlighters, the PastelLiner did smear fountain pen ink. Remember that ink formulas vary, so you should always test the highlighter with your preferred writing instrument to make sure they work together.

Unfortunately, the PastelLiner’s cap doesn’t post on the back of the barrel, so be sure to keep it in a safe place.

The Best Pastel Highlighters for Kids: Epoch Kobaru Sweet Tapir Scented Highlighters
Epoch Kobaru Sweet Tapir Highlighters are great options for kids, or kids at heart.
Epoch Kobaru Sweet Tapir Highlighters are great options for kids, or kids at heart.

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Epoch Kobaru Sweet Tapir Highlighters are great options for kids—or kids at heart. They make studying a little more fun with their inks, which are lightly scented to smell like fruit or sweet treats.

The double-sided highlighters have two chisel tips with contrasting colors. The inks are lighter than other pastel highlighters and don’t smear pen inks or graphite. The thin, flat bodies are comfortable to hold and won’t roll away if you set them down.

The Most Unique Pastel Highlighters: Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighters
The Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighter features two chisel tips on the same end.
The Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighter features two chisel tips on the same end.

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The Kokuyo Mark+ Dual Tone Highlighter features two chisel tips on the same end, pairing a pastel hue with a more saturated version of the same color. To switch between the two, just rotate the highlighter in your hand. You can also hold the tips perpendicular to the page in order to create thin lines with both colors.

If you prefer contrasting colors, try Kokuyo Beetle Tip Dual Color Highlighters. They use the same tips as the Mark+.

Like the Kokuyo Mark+, the Sun-Star Ninipie has two tips on the same end—but one of them is a fineliner! You can highlight and take notes without needing to reach for a separate writing instrument and losing your train of thought.

The Best Precise Pastel Highlighters: Staedtler Triplus Textsurfers
Staedtler Triplus Textsurfers have flexible bullet tips.
Staedtler Triplus Textsurfers have flexible bullet tips.

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Staedtler Triplus Textsurfers combine pastel Staedtler Textsurfer inks (found in our top choice) with Triplus Fineliner bodies. Their bullet tips flex with pressure, so you can underline key terms with a light touch or press down harder to highlight entire sentences. Their slim, triangular bodies guide your fingers into a tripod grasp, and they won’t roll away when set down, either.

The Monami Essenti Twin Highlighter has two chisel tips, one of which is only 2 mm wide and works well for highlighting marginal notes. Of course, it also has a wider 4 mm tip on the other end for larger text.

The Best Pastel Highlighters for Print-Outs: Uni Propus Window Soft Color Double-Sided Highlighters
The Uni Propus Window Soft Color Double-Sided Highlighter is our favorite for printed documents.
The Uni Propus Window Soft Color Double-Sided Highlighter is our favorite for printed documents.

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The Uni Propus Window Soft Color Double-Sided Highlighter is our favorite for printed documents, whether from a laser or inkjet printer. Additionally, its chisel tip has a clear window that lets you see exactly where you’re highlighting; other than print-outs, we also recommend these highlighters for left-handed writers. A fine bullet tip on the other end works well for underlining or circling.
The Best Retractable Pastel Highlighters: Morris Justclick Pastel Retractable Highlighters
If you’re regularly losing your highlighter caps, try using Morris Justclick Pastel Retractable Highlighters.
If you’re regularly losing your highlighter caps, try using Morris Justclick Pastel Retractable Highlighters.

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If you’re regularly losing your highlighter caps, try using Morris Justclick Pastel Retractable Highlighters. The tip extends and retracts with a quick click of the top button. There’s a ball valve in the tip that seals the opening and keeps the ink from drying out when the tip is retracted.

We also like Writech Retractable Highlighters. They use bleed- and smear-resistant inks, and the spring-loaded clips are easy to slip over notebook covers.

Test Results
Dry Time and Showthrough

We tested each highlighter for dry time and showthrough. We used a yellow color, and if it wasn’t available, we used a similar hue (such as orange). Showthrough is when the shadow of the ink is visible on the back of a sheet. We didn’t experience bleedthrough—when the ink seeps through the paper—with any of our highlighters, but there may be bleedthrough on more absorbent papers.

For our tests, we used 75 gsm Kokuyo Campus Sarasara. This loose leaf paper is like a higher quality version of the filler paper you can find at office supply stores. It’s more resistant to showthrough and bleedthrough. Inks will take a little longer to dry on it, though.

Smearing

Some highlighters can smear writing instruments. We always recommend using oil-based ballpoint pens because their inks are very unlikely to react to water-based highlighters.

However, if you prefer other writing instruments, we tested our highlighter recommendations with different inks on 75 gsm Kokuyo Campus Sarasara Loose Leaf Paper. Inks take longer to dry on this paper than on standard copy or filler paper, but not as long as other fountain pen friendly papers. Inks are less likely to smear when they’re allowed to dry, and we let each ink dry for five minutes before highlighting.

We used the following writing instruments for our tests. Other pens, inks, and papers may react differently.

For each test, we used a yellow color, and if it wasn’t available, we used a similar hue (such as orange). Other highlighter colors may affect inks differently.

Pastel Highlighter Comparison Video
Conclusion

Pastel highlighters call attention to important information without being distracting. What’s your favorite pastel highlighter? Let us know in the comments below.



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