Zebra has been a prominent company in the stationery world since the early 1900's, and brought a lot of innovative products to the market, including but not limited to their famous Mildliner highlighters.
In the late 1990's, Zebra had been experimenting with releasing pale colored products which did not succeed as the general public said they defeated the purpose of highlighters, which was to make writing pop out brightly. Eventually, they released the Mildliner highlighters in 2009 and the mix of the cute colors, simple body designs, and dual-tip function that made these skyrocket in popularity compared to their past releases. In Japan, they especially had a big impact in the sphere of working women, who appreciated the aesthetic design that added cuteness to their daily work. This big success marked the rise of popularity in pale, muted tones, which was only continued as bullet journaling and more soft aesthetics really took off internationally.
Today, Zebra has 8 sets of highlighters, with a total of 40 (41 if you include Copper from the Neutral set, released only in America) colors. The 5 color sets are Mild & Fluorescent, Deep & Warm, Cool & Refined, Bright Colors, Mild & Friendly, Gentle Mild, Natural Mild, and Calm & Mild. All the colors are also available in singles, which makes it easy to mix and match your own collection or simply replenish your favorites!
The traditional Mildliner pen is dual tipped, with one end having a chisel tip and the other having a fine bullet tip. The bodies traditionally carry the logo and information about the pen, but Mildliner will also release limited edition decorated bodies from time to time. Zebra has recently expanded the Mildliner family to include the Mildliner Brush which has a brush tip and then the same fine bullet tip, and the Mildliner Fine which feature a harder fine and extra-fine point on each side. They also made ink that allows you to make gradient designs with the brush pens!
These highlighters are used within the stationery community for a lot of things, including note-taking, bullet journaling, and coloring. We conducted a smudge test to see how they performed on top of gel, ballpoint, and fountain pen ink. We wrote with several nib sizes for each category, and let them dry for 10 full seconds before highlighting.
The highlighter performed best over oil-based ballpoint pens, so we'd recommend using those or letting the writing dry for around 10 minutes before highlighting if using the other two types, although since they are water based a small amount of smudging will happen regardless of dry time.
The Zebra Mildliner is a cherished favorite for so many reasons, but the gentle and muted colors and cute packaging are definitely two of the most beloved features. To learn more about Zebra Mildliner's history, watch the smudge test in action, and more, watch our video below! Thanks for reading!
