Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils, Non-Photo Blue, 12-Count - 20028

I use these Col-erase Prismacolor pencils to mark books I read plus significant words in my Bible. As such they need to be erasable in case I make a mistake. I chose this brand since the lead is fairly soft and is very erasable. It is ideal to mark my Bible which is printed on onion skin thin paper. It does not rip the very thin paper. Another brand I ordered just to try out is a lighter blue and requires a lot of pressure to make a mark. The lead is too hard. The current Col-erase Prismacolor blue 20044 pencils are made in China; they have not completely replicated the formula of the original ones made in the USA. I have one of those, they have softer leads, and are ideal for making lines and shadings in books. This Chinese made version is a dark blue just like the original ones and stand out on the printed page, yet lets one read the black text underneath the shading. In any case, the Chinese copies are the best available at this time. The erasers work well also. Oh yes, you really get a box of 12 good erasable blue pencils.

The pencils graphite aren’t too hard or too soft in highlighting and underlining my bibles. Haven’t tried the erasers yet, but am sure that would work well if needed. I have this product in both blue and red.

Love these pencils! I use them to lay down the basics of a drawing before using paint or pen. Lead is nice and strong, doesn’t crumble like some brands do. Takes a sharp point, too. Erases easily and provides a subtle guide that seems to almost disappear when other media are added.

I love the quality and the value, but it's so hard to see the color on the paper without pushing hard. I wish they would sell the Blue color in single packs again.

Genuinely a Prismacolor:Prismacolors are made in Mexico and this is made in Mexico.Genuinely a Non Photo Blue Pencil:It has a very hard blue lead made for the initial drawing phase that goes underneath the finish lines. It's meant for a light touch. This is not a typical, soft Prismacolor that's meant for coloring and spreading color. It is an extremely light in line and not meant to be seen other than to guide your final drawing after you've worked it out with the blue pencil.Easy to sharpen and doesn't break easily because of its hardness. (That said, ever since Prismacolor moved manufacturing to Mexico, leads are known to break in the chamber of the wood during manufacturing, so every now and then a chunk of lead will slip out of the wooden part. Doesn't happen to me that often but enough to not be a rare occurrence.)Erases easily. If you use the same pressure you would for a typical quick pencil line and don't force it down it erases better than a graphite pencil.Warning: If you use this pencil under you ink lines, don't use an eraser to erase the blue lines to clean up the final or you will find that a bit of your pen lines that lay on the blue pencil will come up with the pencil lines leaving a grainy look to your ink. You are best off leaving the work as it is, to keep your pen lines crisp, and handling their disappearance with your scanner or graphics program.Hope this helps!

These non-photo blue pencils are really good and are great for sketching. If you've never used them before, the idea is that they are very light and don't show up in photocopy. So you can sketch with this blue pencil and then just ink or pencil on top of this with a nice clean line and not worry about having to erase your sketch. It helps keep your art looking cleaner. This pencil is designed to make a very light line that is almost imperceptible. I have a very heavy hand when I draw, and even then the blue is fairly light on the page. This is not a pencil for coloring. Although you probably won't find much need for erasing, the included eraser on the pencil does a great job of cleaning up mistakes without tearing the paper or leaving smudges behind. Overall, these are some high-quality pencils and are great if you plan on doing cartooning or comic book style illustration, or have any need of a non-photo pencil.

I use these pencils for sketching and for writing, the latter mostly editing. The lead is extremely smooth and consistent, it holds a point well and the colour is a lovely contrast to white, cream, or yellow paper. Even the eraser is pretty good, usually the weak link in modern pencils.

As an art major I loved and trusted the Prismacolor brand of colored pencils and used them religiously. Now that I am teaching my son to draw I wanted to get him a non-photo blue sketching pencil because he has had problems with sketching lightly with regular pencils and cannot erase his tentative lines so they do not show. Based on experience I thought the Prismacolor brand would be a good choice.Previously, I have always purchased the round barrel colored pencils without erasers by Prismacolor and found them to be creamy and blendable and lovely to work with. However, for my son's benefit I thought the eraser would be a benefit, so I tried this different faceted barrel style, but the difference in the hardness of the colored lead makes them completely unusable.Both my son and I were unable to produce a mark/line that was visible without severely damaging the drawing paper and even then the lightness of the line was hard to see. The scored/engraved marks on the page trying to get a colored line cannot be called writing/drawing and cannot be removed.I read some of the other reviews and just couldn't believe that the lead would be this hard and impossible to use based on my years of prior experience with this brand. Both my son and I were very frustrated and disappointed. Unfortunately I have a 12 pack of totally useless pencils unworthy of the name Prismacolor.