How to Take Advantage of the Heat-Sensitive Nature of Erasable Pens (Rethinking -- AND Making the Most of -- Erasable Pens)
By The Treasure-Sharer
This is the second part of my series on erasable pens. I can't believe that deciding to review these pens has forced me to go so in depth, as I had really just intended to say that they worked, that they erased pretty decently, and that I recommended them... until I found out how they DON'T really work, and how many problems they have caused people who were unaware of the important details about them that were not disclosed to them, even in fine print. (Read Part 1 of my erasable pen series, "Getting Transparent with Erasable Pens From Temu," to learn more about the erasable pen deception, to avoid experiencing the problems that other such pen users have already experienced from using heat-sensitive erasable pens without knowing how they work, and learn other potential dangers and things to be cautious of when using them.)
I really wish that heat-sensitive erasable pens were marketed as such, and that their heat-sensitive mechanism was disclosed outright, because I believe that this would be more ethical, and would attract people to buy them BECAUSE they were heat-sensitive, rather than incorrectly being led to believe that they truly erase ink, like I had initially thought.
Honestly, for the right price, I KNOW I probably would have bought some as novelty pens, just because the idea of having heat-changeable pens seems cool to me. I already like color-changing pens, scented pens, glowing pens, and other pens with cool features, but understand that they can sometimes end up being sold for stupidly-high prices that I don't feel justify their fun features that aren't even practical for daily use, so I can see why the marketers for such pens have decided to package and promote them in a way that would make them feel more useful and applicable to the average user (hence, refering to them as "erasable," which would allow them to reach out to, and potentially convert, would-be pencil and white-out buyers to their products).
I would like it better if they were touted as and referred to as heat-sensitive pens, and have their potential for temporary erasure be given as one of their potential uses (for very specific cases), as opposed to their primary use-case.
But of course, pen manufacturers want sales, and pitching these as "erasable" makes them seem a lot more practical and multifunctional than they really are. Obviously, a lot more sales can be made of something that can be used every day, like an erasable pen, than of a for-fun pen.
My advice is to approach and use the pens as heat-sensitive pens, rather than erasable ones, to get the best use out of them. I think that if you come into them knowing in advance how and when the ink will disappear, you can do things with the disappearing/reappearing qualities that can be super-useful, super-unique, and super-creative, and can also help reduce spending and waste.
When I first found out that the erasable pens I'd bought from Temu were heat-sensitive, I felt stupid for not knowing that before I'd already ordered three different sets, angry that the ads I'd seen hadn't explained that the ink only temporarily disappeared, and motivated to try to think of uses for heat-sensitive pens, as I didn't want to have to return my sets if I could think of some good-enough reasons to keep them.
Ultimately, I decided to return all the sets, but I did manage to both think up my own ideas and compile ideas from others about uses that might make these pens worth it -- to the right person.
Read on to learn ways that you can consciously take advantage of heat-sensitive pens -- rather than have their ink's fickle nature backfire on you -- organized into more-general categories.
And if you do decide to buy a set for yourself from Temu and haven't already signed up for an account there, then please use my referral link, to get a $100-value bundle of coupons when you sign up.
Making the Most of Hand-Me-Downs/Taking Hand-Me-Downs to the Next Level
In my family, hand-me-downs were so common that pretty much all the clothes I wore until a certain age were handed down from my sister, cousins, and aunts. I honestly didn't even know how to choose my correct clothing sizes when I finally got chances to shop for myself in late high school.
I know that people hand down clothes, but erasable pens allow many more items to be handed down and reused, which I'm sure my parents would have appreciated, had the option been available to them back then. Not only can the pens' ability to have their ink disappear with the application of heat maximize the number of times that certain items can be used (better fitting today's environmentally-conscious mindset), they also allow families to stretch their dollars, and save in more areas.
For example, because heat-sensitive ink can be made invisible by exposing it to high temperatures, this opens up the possibility of reusing many types of items, such as work- and game-related books, by making already-used and filled-out books ready to use again, by allowing for quick and easy erasure of whole pages and books, simply by placing them on or over a hot surface like a radiator or steamer, placing them in a dehydrator or oven set at the lowest temperature, or even by placing hot foods or beverages on them.
As a test I did on the erasability of the heat-sensitive pens I bought from Temu showed (see my review of erasable pens to see the full test), however, the pens did not erase completely, and marks can still be seen on the paper, as you can see from the test page I wiped with steam, featured blow. If you can work with that, and don't mind not having books and other items completely blank, then the pens can totally be used to reuse items.
Below are some examples of ways that using heat-sensitive pens can allow items that would normally only be used once to be passed down potentially multiple times to extend their use:
1. Reusing old workbooks/practice books
You know those books and worksheets where we had to practice printing and handwriting the alphabet, words, numbers, etc.? I think they could be reused again and again easily with an erasable pen, both for the same person, or for siblings, relatives, or friends. The reason I feel it's easier to do with an erasable pen than with a pencil (like the kid in the image, and many others, have grown up using) is that the practice work can be removed by using a blowdryer or other heat-emitting device to go over the pages, making them blank again, thereby saving the time and trouble of having to erase everything with an eraser. It would also preserve the integrity of the paper, since the paper wouldn't lose fibres through being rubbed with an eraser.
I think that workbooks could even be sold with such pens to make them reusable, though the fact that cold temperatures bring all the writing back would need to be disclosed.
I think that so much paper and so many workbooks could be saved and maximized by doing this.
Even if the ink does not disappear completely, I think it's good enough for something involving practicing a skill, where you don't care to keep your work for memories or for future reference.
Rocketbook is an example of a company that takes advantage of erasable pens to make reusable notebooks, planners, sticky notes, and more, allowing the content to be scanned, saved, and shared on the cloud network before being erased, and allowing their products to be erased and used again and again. They used specially-designed paper that allows the erasable ink to be wiped off with water.
2. Reusing educational activity books
My dad used to buy me Disney activity books that were filled with math problems and other activities. They could have easily been wiped of my past work and reused by my younger sibling later on, if we'd thought ahead and used erasable pens on them.
If you're like me, and would have liked to keep your filled-out books as a memento of your childhood, then I'd probably just use regular pens. However, my books have disappeared and were probably thrown out or recycled by my parents, so I think that they may as well have just reused them.
3. Reusing Mad Libs books
If you don't know what Mad Libs are, they're stories with missing words, where you are asked to choose words from certain categories (like nouns, names, actions, colors, etc.) in advance, that will be used to fill in the blank spaces in the stories, and create oftentimes hilarious outcomes. You can see examples on the Mad Libs official website. I really enjoy Mad Libs, and think that books of Mad Libs could be used again and again by the same person, family, or group of friends, if an erasable pen were used on them.
If there were a story that people wanted to save, they could simply write over them again in regular pen to preserve it, but make the others temporary by heating either individual pages, or the entire book.
4. Reusing crossword and word search puzzles/puzzle books
You can share the same activity books or puzzles from newspapers among adults in the same fashion, by filling out answers using erasable pens, and wiping them of filled-out responses after, using your chosen heat source. It could also enable you to fill out crossword puzzles using pen, if you prefer using pen to pencil.
Keep in mind that old answers might still be a bit visible, as, in my experience, usually a bit of the ink stays on the page at spots, so if that bugs you or whoever else will be using the book, then it might be best to allow whoever cares about things like that to fill out a puzzle first, or take turns on who goes first.
5. Reusing Sudoku puzzles
I've never filled these out myself, since I hate math and number problems, but you could extend the use of your Sudoku books in this manner by erasing filled out/finished number grids in one go, using a heat source.
6. Reusing coloring books
You could reuse the same coloring books again and again, using erasable pens (or erasable markers or highlighters, if you have those). This would allow you to see the same image with different colors, and play around with them, or pass them on to someone else to do so. I'm not sure if the different layers of color would combine to form a mixed color when cooled, as I haven't tried, but that would be fun to experiment with.
You can click the following link to see a video of someone demonstrating coloring, erasing, and coloring again a car, using an erasable pen and blowdryer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfT-OLlFxxk
7. Reusing labels
If you like organizing, but don't want to waste money buying sticker labels over and over again, then you can erase what you wrote, and reuse the labels.
I am ultra-lazy, and if I've previously labeled a storage container or bag, then I prefer to just cross out old labels and write new ones on whatever space is left over on the previous labels. I've even run out of space to write in and just stopped recording new dates, too busy to be bothered with looking for new sticker labels, or with making my own, with cut-up paper and tape.
I think that it would have been a lot easier to stay on top of labeling if I had used disappearing ink, since it would have left me blank spaces on the labels to write on again. This would only work on items that aren't kept in the freezer, fridge, or cold storage, and are not kept near sunny or heated spots.
8. Reusing travel activity books
If you road-trip or travel a lot, and have kids who you don't want to have glued to their electronics, you could invest in some roadtrip/travel activity books, and have your kids fill them out in erasable pen. Depending on the activity, some could be redone (like tic-tac-toe), or, if you have multiple kids, you could buy different versions of the books, and get your kids to swap books when they're done filling them out. Just find something hot to heat the pages you want to wipe clean.
I would think you would need to keep the air conditioner on in the car during hot days, though, as I've read many comments from people who have had things written in erasable ink disappear after being left in hot cars.
Art Experimentation
For artists, there are so many cool things you could do with erasable pens.
9. Design experimentation
If you are a designer who likes to sketch your ideas by hand, you can get a better idea of how your designs will look in different colours by drawing the outlines in regular pen, and coloring them in with erasable pens, and experimenting with erasing and coloring with different colors and combinations until you find one you like.
10. Making winter images that only appear in cold temperatures
I saw a comment on a YouTube video I watched suggest using erasable ink to draw winter images on clothing, that would appear when worn on cold winter days. I think that could potentially be an innovative way to turn boring plain pieces into much cooler ones, depending on one's level of artistic talent. I'd personally be too scared to try it myself, for fear of potentially ruining my clothes, but it's definitely a cool idea, for those with the right artistic capabilities.
I think it would be less worrisome to just make winter images on paper, that appear when exposed to cold. This could make for a cool art project to try with students at school. Making art to hang outside the house, or using erasable pens on outdoor murals, might also produce very cool effects.
11. Making hidden and double-image artwork, where a second layer of images can be viewed by exposing the artwork to cold.
This is similar to the winter image idea, but allows more room for creativity.
Working with drafts
12. Drafting organizational plans
As an article on when to use an erasable pen and when to avoid it suggests, event planners could use the pens to make rough drafts, and be able to move around schedules and seating arrangement charts in pen, though I would rewrite them in regular pen once finalized, either tracing over the final versions, or rewriting them out, to avoid the potential accidental erasure or reappearance of important information.
13. Practicing signatures and autographs
Most people sign signatures and autographs with pen, not pencil, so if people want to practice, but not waste paper, they can use erasable pens to do so, apply a heat source to erase their practice signatures, and reuse the paper to practice some more.
Producing cool effects for shows and games
14. Performing magic tricks
As dfferent Youtube videos have shown, you can perform prediction-based card tricks using the pens, by hiding your prediction with regular pen, inside fake predictions written using erasable pens. You can use a lighter to make the fake prediction disappear, leaving behind the correct predictions.
See an explanation and example of how to do this kind of card trick here: https://youtu.be/fEIMATd9TTg
15. Constructing puzzles and riddles for games
An article called "How to Use Heat-Reactive Pens in Your Next Adventure" shares a number of good ideas for how to use erasable pens in constructing adventure games. For example, you can camouflage a secret message by writing the message with regular pen, and then covering it with the erasable pen ink, and instruct players to use a supplied heat source, which will make the erasable ink disappear, and leave behind the actual message. See the article for more ideas: https://www.constructedadventures.com/how-to-build-a-treasure-hunt/2021/9/19/how-to-use-heat-reactive-pens-in-your-next-adventure?srsltid=AfmBOopMgIpmRvbNvdNyuD_kwW4SFEwc8XlwCjVdn6y7Z3PNkJRKRGCU
You can also see an example video of how to construct a hidden message with heat-sensitive pens here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr-H9LznKWE&t=34s
Making romantic gestures
16. Making creative marriage proposals
I read in an article about "The Science Behind Frixion Erasable Pens" that, before the pens became viable to sell as erasable, they had been used for novelty items, for such things as paper cups that would have a flower pattern appear when filled with cold drinks. I thought it might be kind of cool to use them to write a marriage proposal on something, and make it appear magically with cold, like, for example, using it to write on a wine glass and filling it with ice cold champagne, and having the words "Will you marry me?" appear as the champagne (or other drink) is poured, for an interesting surprise effect. I haven't tested this, but I know that the pens I bought from Temu brought the writing back instantly after I placed it in the freezer for a few seconds. I think it would be interesting to see someone come up with a cool way to play with this concept.
17. Sending romantic messages
My man's ex used to trade notes with him in elementary school, but their notes would sometimes need to pass through multiple hands in between before getting to the right person. To minimize the chance of the notes being read by snoopy people, I would heat-wipe them and have my lover put them in the freezer to see them after.
Also, if you meal-prep refrigerated lunches or pack refrigerated leftovers for your partner to take to work, you can include a love note with them that they will appear after refrigeration, as a sweet surprise.
These are just some examples of how you can use heat-sensitive pens to aid your romantic endeavors. Your creativity (and ability to search the web for more ideas, if you're stuck :P) is the limit!
Educational Aids
18. Helping kids transition from pencils to pens
For kids who fear making mistakes with regular pens, heat-sensitive pens could help them get used to working with pens, though it should be made clear that these are just to get them used to the idea of working with ink, and they should be told the difference and the consequences of using erasable pens, and how they shouldn't be relied on for daily use or confuse them for regular pens.
19. In art classes
I think it would be cool to buy sets as art tools to enable kids to use them as an additional medium to explore their creativity with, for example, using them to make two-layered images, or to create for-fun secret surprise message art with.
20. Unlocking freer expression
Kids can explore drawing and writing with less fear of making mistakes if they know that the mistakes can be erased, which can make them more willing to try new things. It should be demonstrated to them that the ink isn't permanently erased, so that they don't lose pictures and work they intended to keep by accident.
As I discovered while writing my erasable pen review, and included examples of in my article, laminating artwork has resulted in kids' work disappearing, although some laminated work has been saved by placing the pieces in the freezer.
21. Opening up possibilities for sketching and doodling
Drawing in ink lets one doodle using different colors and pens with different size tips, lets one draw with less fear of screwing up, and more.
Marking cloth
22. Marking parts of fabric that won't be seen
Like I wrote in my review of erasable pens, many problems have been experienced from using erasable pens for sewing and quilting, but because a lot of people like to use them anyway, I advise that they stick to using them on the back of cloths, and on other sections that will not be visible, as they do not wash out, and can reappear at cold temperatures. Comments in an article about this subject recommend using washable markers for this instead.
Conclusion
As I mentioned, I actually returned all my sets of erasable pens, because I don't really need them for any of the uses I listed, but if you're a parent with a big family; an artist, teacher, or art teacher; someone who really cares about reusing items (whether to save money or help the environment); someone who likes doing creative things; or someone who resonates with any of the potential uses I have listed, then you could do a lot with playing with the heat-sensitive nature of the erasable pens sold on Temu. I bought the ones I did from there because of their low price and the large color range available to buy as sets. I don't think I could justify the high cost for them elsewhere, even if I did make use of them in the ways I have listed, but Temu's low prices make them feel more reasonable to purchase.
If you haven't read my Part 1 article reviewing erasable pens (and those from Temu specifically), then I would, however recommend doing so before deciding if you want to buy any, and/or which sets to go with, as I had a few funny experiences with my orders that you will want to know about -- like receiving a set of retractable pens that didn't retract at all! :O (The other sets worked fine, though.) You can read my reviews of three erasable pen sets from Temu here: Getting Transparent With Erasable Pens From Temu.
If you decide that you want to take advantage of the cheap pen prices on Temu and haven't signed up for the platform yet, then please use my affiliate link here: https://temu.to/m/ubwjywyuh4x, to receive a $100 coupon bundle offer that you can use to save even more on your orders with, when you sign up.
See you in my next post! :)
