These were some of the alternatives I looked at:
- Le Plume
- Sharpie
- ShinHan
- Bic
- Copic
- Spectrum Noir
When you are looking at purchasing alcohol markers I think you need to really evaluate how much you plan on using them. This will skew the numbers tremendously. For some a set of Sharpie or Bic markers would be a perfect choice as they don't need allot of colours and won't use them so often as to have to replace them. For others having a marker that can be refilled and nibs changed will be the most cost effective.
| Brand | # Colours | Refillable | Nib Replaceable | Price |
| Le Plume | 35 Colours and one blender available | No | No | $2 |
| Spectrum Noir | 168 Colours | Yes | Yes | $2-3 |
| Copic Ciao | 180 Colours | Yes | Yes | $5-7 |
| Sharpie | 24 (some are limited edition) | No | No | $1.50-2 |
| Bic | 36 Colours | No | No | $1.50-2 |
| ShinHan | 204 Colours | Yes | Yes | $4-5 |
I have used the LePlume Markers. They were actually the first kind I purchased as they were readily available at my local Michael's. I personally did not enjoy working with them. The nib seemed a bit unwieldy for me.
I have used Sharpie and Bic markers in a pinch but because of the limited colours I did not make this my go to marker.
I have had a set of ShinHan markers for about a year. I think it might just be me but I find it hard to get the same blending effect as my Copic markers.
Copic Ciao have been my favourite to work with for some time. It was a long process to grow my collection though as up until recently they were not sold in my area and I had to rely on Ebay and Scrapfest to make my purchases. I liked the Copic because it seemed sensible to me to purchase a marker that I could keep using indefinitely by refilling it using Various Ink refills and Copic Nibs. Our group had started collecting Copics as well as we have been learning the various techniques but at $6-7 a marker it's hard for many people to build a workable pallette.
Over the last few days I have spent allot of time researching Spectrum Noir markers. There are a ton of free resources for this line and the price point makes it more appealing for the average crafter, like me. For this reason I have listed my Copic and ShinHan Touch markers on my clearance site and I have ordered the Spectrum Noir Collection. This way the ladies in the group can get 6 markers in a pack every month instead of 1 or 2. Using this method we will all have complete sets in no time at all.
