Twelve fineliners in a hinged clear case, from the Mont Marte Signature range. The label states the specification in three languages and every claim on this page comes off it: Soft grip, Odour-free, Xylene free, Water-based, 0.4mm fine tip, 12 pc.

One width, twelve colours — the exact opposite of a black drawing set. A set of nine black nibs is bought to build one image in one colour at different weights; this is bought so that everything on a page can be a different colour at the same weight. Timetables, revision notes, mind maps, bullet journals, margin corrections, labelled diagrams — all of it depends on the colours reading as equals, which they only do if the line is the same thickness throughout.

0.4 mm is the width that survives on ordinary paper. Go finer and a fibre tip drags on the cheap fibrous stock most Pakistani registers and copies are printed on; go broader and colour-coded notes turn into a poster. At this width the pen writes cleanly on a register page and still reads across a room on a chart.

Three of the pack's lines matter more than they look. Water-based is why these behave on paper rather than punching through it the way a solvent marker does. Xylene free and odour-free are stated by the maker, and they are the reason a set like this is fit for a classroom or a study table where a solvent marker's smell would fill the room within a minute.

The case is not packaging to throw away. It is a hinged plastic box with a clip that holds shut, so the twelve stay together in a bag instead of scattering to the bottom of it, and the pens sit visible in a row when it is open on a desk.

Rs. 1,950 for twelve, which is about Rs. 163 a pen. Cap them as you go — a fibre tip left open is the usual reason one colour in a set dies before the rest. Cash on Delivery is available across Pakistan, and stock, your city and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

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