Feasibility Study: Pens Group Seven: Erick Hernandez, Thomas McCullough, Wendy Grogg, Bredric Berry

Introduction College students need school supplies Students tend to look for the most affordable items For this study, we chose to compare the cheapest of different brands of pens The brands consist of: o PaperMate o Pentel o Uni-Ball o Pilot

Rating System For this study, Group seven decided that each member rate the pens on a scale of 1 to 4 o The brand in first place received a score of “1” o The brand in second place received a score of “2” o The brand in third place received a score of “3” o The brand in fourth place received a score of “4” Each member’s scores are added and the pen with the lowest rating wins that test o Lowest possible score being a “4”(Best) o Highest possible score being a “16”(Worst)

Overview of Options and Criteria For this study a standard had to be established to compare similar pens The criteria consists of: o The cheapest package of each brand o Black ink Figure 1: 4 Brands of Pens

Test 1: Methods and Results First method of testing involves price To conduct test 1: 1.Compare the four brands to determine the cheapest pens and the number of pens per package dd Figure 2: Pricing

Test 1: Methods and Results Results: Rating : BrandPricePens per PackageUnit Price PaperMate$0.9412$0.078 Pentel$0.982$0.48 Pilot G2$2.672$1.335 Uni-Ball$2.972$1.485 Table 1: Prices BrandRating Paper Mate4 Pentel8 Pilot12 Uni-Ball16 Table 2: Rating

Test 2: Methods and Results The second method of testing involves the smear of the ink. To conduct test 2 1.Write a simple phrase on regular notebook paper with each pen 2.Rub a hand across the phrase several times to simulate what would actually happen. 3.Repeat the process for accuracy. 4.Rank the pens from least amount of smear to greatest amount. Figure 3: Smear Test

Test 2: Methods and Results Results : Uni-Ball gave no smear and PaperMate had a barely visible smear. Pilot had the greatest smear. Uni-Ball won the smear test. BrandRating Uni-Ball4 Paper Mate8 Pentel12 Pilot16 Figure 4: Uni-Ball won Table 3: Smear rating

Test 3: Methods and Results The third method of testing involves clarity and the quality of the ink. For this test, a study was conducted on how clearly each pen wrote To conduct test 3: 1.Choose one person to write a simple phrase on regular notebook paper 2.Vote individually on the quality and clarity of how each pen writes Figure 5: Clarity Test

Test 3: Methods and Results Results: Group seven observed that Uni-Ball is the most legible and precise. Pilot had thickest font while Pentel had the thinnest. PaperMate did not write smoothly BrandRating Uni-Ball7 Pilot8 Pentel10 Paper Mate16 Table 4: Clarity Rating Figure 6: Clarity test winner

Test 4: Methods and Results The fourth method of testing involves comfort. Students often consider the comfort of a pen before purchasing. To conduct test 4: 1.Hold each pen to decide the comfort of the pen. 2.Rank each brand from most comfortable to least comfortable. Figure 7: Uni-Ball Figure 8: Pilot Figure 9: Pentel Figure 10: PaperMate Figure 10: Bredric holding Pentel Figure 11: Bredric holding Paper Mate

Test 4: Methods and Results Results: PaperMate lost the test as the worst pen in regards to comfort because it had no gripper. Uni-Ball won the comfort test. BrandRating Uni-Ball6 Pilot8 Pentel10 Paper Mate16 Table 5: Comfort Rating Figure 11: Comfort test winner

Conclusions PaperMate pens are the most cost effective. Uni-Ball exceeds its competitors in all other categories. Even though Uni-Ball had the highest cost, its superior results show that the extra money goes a long way. PaperMate, being the cheapest, ranked last in every other category. BrandPrice RatingSmear RatingClarity RatingComfort Rating OVERALL RATING Uni-Ball Pentel Pilot Paper Mate Table 6: Overall Rating

Recommendation Our feasibility report compared the Pentel, Uni-Ball, Pilot, and PaperMate pen brands. Through each of the different tests, Uni-Ball resulted as the pen with the best score. The Uni-Ball pen has the best overall rating when comparing o Price o Smear o Clarity o Comfort Figure 12: Uni-Ball is the best pen to purchase