Faber Castell Markers: Five Listings, and Two Are Not Theirs
Five products in this catalogue carry the Faber Castell brand string, and two of them are Posca markers filed under the wrong name. That leaves three genuine listings and 4,506 buyer ratings, which is the thinnest evidence base of any brand page on this site. Everything below is scaled to that, and the limits are stated rather than papered over.
Faber-Castell carries 700 searches a month across 48 keywords at a keyword difficulty of 0, with faber castell markers at 200. Demand is modest and the catalogue behind it is smaller still. The page sits in markers for art and drawing, and the first job is to say exactly what the data contains.
Five Listings, Three of Them Faber-Castell
| Listing | Ratings | Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitt Artist Pen 167115 India Ink Pens, Pack of 4 | 3,732 | 4.7 | $10.99 |
| DuoTip Washable Markers, 12 Markers, 24 Colours | 735 | 4.6 | — |
| Shake and Paint Markers, Classic, 6 Count Dual Tip Acrylic | 18 | 4.8 | $18.50 |
| uni Posca 186510 Marker, Fine Bullet Tip | 17 | 5.0 | $4.72 |
| Posca Acrylic Paint Marker, Medium, Fluorescent Pink | 4 | 5.0 | $3.99 |
The bottom two rows are Posca products carrying a Faber-Castell brand field. That is an Amazon catalogue error rather than a Faber-Castell product, and it matters here because those two listings hold perfect 5.0 ratings from 21 combined reviews. Any brand average that includes them is inflated by two products the brand did not make.
Stripped of those, Faber-Castell in this catalogue is three listings and 4,485 ratings, and one of the three — the Shake and Paint set at 18 ratings — carries too few reviews to say anything about. The evidence base is effectively two products.
The Numbers, With Their Caveats Attached
Faber-Castell's median price is $7.86 against a site-wide median of $13.99, which makes it the cheapest brand in this batch. Its median rating is 4.8 and its mean 4.82, against a field median of 4.6 and a field mean of 4.501 across 4,346 rated products. On paper that is the best rating performance on any of these brand pages.
It is also five data points, two of which are somebody else's pens. Sharpie's 4.7 median rests on 217 products and 1,088,963 ratings. Mr Sketch's 4.8 rests on four products and 46,155 ratings. Faber-Castell's 4.8 rests on 4,506, and roughly 83% of those belong to a single listing.
The honest reading is that the Pitt Artist Pen is very well regarded and that nothing else here has enough evidence behind it to rate. This page will not convert a small sample into a brand verdict.
What the Pitt Artist Pen Actually Is
It is a pigment liner carrying India ink, not one of the eleven chemistries scored in the matrix below. India ink is carbon pigment in a water base with a binder; it dries waterproof and lightfast, which is the opposite of what a water-based dye pen does, and it is why the pen is sold for inking rather than colouring.
| Marker type | Paper | Whiteboard | Chalkboard | Glass | Wood | Metal | Plastic | Ceramic / mug | Rock / stone | Fabric | Skin | Car window | Cardboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent Solvent dye ink. Bonds to porous surfaces, sits on top of non-porous. | ◐If… 250/mo Bleeds through anything under 100 gsm. 24,394 buyer reports mention bleed resistance, 51% of them negative. | ○No 30/mo Bonds to the board. Needs a dry-erase marker over the top or solvent to lift. | ○No 10/mo Permanent on a porous chalkboard. It will not come off. | ◐If… 560/mo Sits on top and scratches off with a blade. Not weatherproof. | ◐If… 30/mo Feathers along the grain on bare wood. Seal it first. | ●Works 1,000/mo The classic use. Bonds well and survives handling. | ◐If… 200/mo Adheres, but rubs off under friction on smooth polypropylene. | ◐If… 80/mo Sits on the glaze. Wipes off with alcohol; not dishwasher safe. | ◐If… no measured demand Absorbs into porous stone and dulls. Paint markers are the honest choice. | ◐If… 4,360/mo Permanent, but stiffens the weave and bleeds on thin cotton. | ○No 160/mo Solvent ink. Not formulated for skin contact. | ○No no measured demand Will not come off tempered glass without solvent. | ●Works 30/mo The labelling default. Bleeds through single-wall, which rarely matters. |
| Dry erase Oily release agent keeps pigment from bonding. Wipes dry off non-porous only. | ○No 300/mo No release surface. It smears and never dries. | ●Works 10,880/mo The intended surface. 33% of 18,792 erasability reports are still negative — ghosting is real on older boards. | ○No 430/mo Porous board ghosts permanently. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ●Works 4,280/mo Glass boards erase cleaner than melamine. Streaks more with cheap ink. | ○No no measured demand Absorbs into the grain and stains. Use a paint marker. | ◐If… 90/mo Works on a painted steel board, not on raw metal. | ◐If… 10/mo Only on a gloss laminate. Matte plastic holds the pigment. | ◐If… no measured demand Works on glazed tile. Wipes with a dry cloth. | ○No no measured demand Porous stone stains. Use an acrylic or paint marker. | ○No 510/mo Stains. 510 searches a month ask this; the answer is no. | ○No 130/mo Not formulated for skin. Use a body marker. | ◐If… 40/mo Erases dry but runs in rain. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ○No 250/mo Absorbs and never dries. Use a permanent marker. |
| Wet erase Water-soluble paste. Stays put until wiped with a damp cloth. | ○No 40/mo Water-soluble paste never dries on paper. Use a permanent or fine-tip marker. | ●Works 120/mo Stays put under a sleeve or a hand. Needs a damp cloth. | ◐If… no measured demand Works on a sealed chalkboard, ghosts on a porous one. | ●Works 10/mo The menu-board standard. Damp wipe removes it cleanly. | ○No no measured demand Bare wood drinks the paste. Seal it, or use a paint marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Only on a sealed or painted surface. | ●Works no measured demand Excellent on laminated overlays and sleeve protectors. | ●Works no measured demand Wipes off glaze with water. | ○No no measured demand Porous stone absorbs it. Use an acrylic or paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Runs in the wash. Use a fabric marker. | ○No no measured demand Not formulated for skin. Use a body marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Rain removes it, which may be the point. | ○No no measured demand Soaks into the board and never dries. Use a permanent marker. |
| Alcohol Alcohol-carried dye. Blends, but soaks and feathers on absorbent stock. | ◐If… 1,820/mo Feathers and bleeds on anything but marker paper. 1,820 searches a month are people looking for the right stock. | ○No 10/mo Stains melamine permanently. Use a dry erase marker. | ○No no measured demand Porous board absorbs the dye and stains. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ◐If… 90/mo Beads on glass and wipes off with alcohol. Not a glass marker. | ◐If… 170/mo Absorbs into bare wood like a stain. Some people want that. | ○No 60/mo Beads and rubs off. Use an oil-based paint marker. | ◐If… 270/mo Streaks on gloss. Works on primed styrene for models. | ○No no measured demand Beads on the glaze. Use a paint or acrylic marker. | ○No 10/mo Soaks in and dulls. Use an acrylic marker. | ◐If… 900/mo Bleeds into the weave and is not wash-fast. | ○No 900/mo Alcohol dye, not cosmetic grade. Use a body marker. | ○No no measured demand Wipes straight off tempered glass. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ◐If… 10/mo Bleeds heavily unless the board is coated. |
| Acrylic Water-based pigment with binder. Opaque, dries to a film. | ●Works 570/mo Opaque on black card, which is what 570 searches a month are asking about. | ○No 100/mo Dries to a permanent film. Use a dry erase marker. | ●Works 370/mo Opaque on black. Needs alcohol to remove. | ●Works 460/mo Dries to a durable film. Bake ceramic-safe ranges to set. | ●Works 90/mo Sits on the surface without feathering. | ●Works 250/mo Adheres and stays put. | ●Works 410/mo The standard choice for 3D prints and models. | ◐If… no measured demand Needs baking to survive washing. Check the range. | ●Works 90/mo The rock-painting default. | ◐If… 1,690/mo Stiffens the weave. Heat set and expect a hand feel. | ○No 310/mo Not cosmetic grade. Use a body marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Permanent on paint. Only on glass, and only with care. | ●Works 10/mo Opaque and does not bleed. |
| Paint Pigment paint, water or oil based. Opaque on dark and non-porous. | ●Works 250/mo Opaque, no bleed. | ○No 30/mo Dries to a permanent film. Use a dry erase or wet erase marker. | ●Works 390/mo Opaque on black. Water-based ranges wipe with a damp cloth. | ●Works 3,870/mo 3,870 searches a month. Water-based wipes off, oil-based stays. | ●Works 270/mo No feathering, full opacity. | ●Works 990/mo Oil-based is the industrial standard. | ●Works 610/mo Adheres to most plastics without primer. | ◐If… 120/mo Not dishwasher safe unless the range is bake-set. | ●Works 290/mo Weatherproof once sealed. | ◐If… 3,160/mo Stiff and only semi wash-fast. | ○No 1,000/mo Not cosmetic grade, despite 1,000 searches a month asking. | ◐If… 2,350/mo 2,350 searches a month. Water-based only, on glass only, never on paint. | ●Works 10/mo Opaque and clean. |
| Liquid chalk Water-based pigment. Wipes off non-porous, stains porous. | ○No 130/mo Soaks and buckles the sheet. Use a paint or acrylic marker. | ◐If… 1,060/mo 1,060 searches a month. It works but needs a damp wipe, not a dry eraser. | ◐If… 2,370/mo 2,370 searches a month. It stays put and needs a damp cloth plus scrubbing on porous board. | ●Works 3,430/mo 3,430 searches a month. The intended surface. Damp wipe removes it. | ○No 30/mo Stains bare wood. Seal it, or use a paint marker. | ◐If… 160/mo Only on sealed or painted metal. | ◐If… 10/mo Only on gloss. | ●Works no measured demand Wipes off glaze. | ○No no measured demand Stains porous stone. Use an acrylic or paint marker. | ○No 160/mo Stains the weave. Use a fabric marker. | ○No 10/mo Not formulated for skin. Use a body marker. | ●Works 1,170/mo 1,170 searches a month. The car-window standard. Washes off with soapy water. | ○No no measured demand Soaks into the board. Use a permanent or paint marker. |
| Fabric Textile dye or pigment, heat-settable. | ◐If… 100/mo Works but bleeds; the ink is made for fibre. | ○No no measured demand Stains melamine permanently. Use a dry erase marker. | ○No no measured demand Stains porous board. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ○No no measured demand Beads off glass. Use a paint or chalk marker. | ◐If… 10/mo Absorbs unevenly along the grain. Seal it first. | ○No 20/mo Will not adhere. Use an oil-based paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Rubs off under friction. Use an acrylic marker. | ○No 120/mo Beads off the glaze. Use a paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Absorbs and dulls. Use an acrylic or paint marker. | ●Works 24,430/mo 24,430 searches a month, the largest single cell in the matrix. Heat set it or it fades in the wash. | ○No no measured demand Textile dye, not cosmetic grade. Use a body marker. | ○No no measured demand Textile dye beads off tempered glass. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Absorbs into the flute and spreads. Fine for a label, not for artwork. |
| Body Cosmetic-grade ink formulated for skin contact. | ◐If… no measured demand Works, but it is an expensive way to draw on paper. | ○No no measured demand Stains melamine. Use a dry erase marker. | ○No no measured demand Stains porous board. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ○No no measured demand Beads off. Use a paint or chalk marker. | ○No no measured demand Absorbs into the grain. Use a paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Beads off. Use an oil-based paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Rubs off. Use an acrylic marker. | ○No no measured demand Beads off the glaze. Use a paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Soaks into the stone. Use an acrylic marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Will mark clothing and is not wash-fast. Use a fabric marker and heat set it. | ●Works 4,290/mo 4,290 searches a month. Cosmetic-grade ink, the only type formulated for it. Durability is the weak point: 378 reports, 170 negative (45%). | ○No 10/mo Textile dye beads off tempered glass. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Absorbs into the flute and spreads. Fine for a label, not for artwork. |
| Washable Water-soluble dye designed to release from skin and fabric. | ●Works 40/mo The kids-and-coloring default. | ◐If… 500/mo 500 searches a month. Works on the board, needs a damp wipe. | ○No no measured demand Stains porous board. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ●Works 1,480/mo 1,480 searches a month. Washes off with water, which is the whole point. | ○No no measured demand Absorbs and stains the grain. Use a paint marker. | ◐If… 260/mo Rubs off with handling unless the surface is sealed. | ◐If… 80/mo Wipes off gloss, but stains matte plastic. | ●Works no measured demand Rinses off glaze. | ○No no measured demand Soaks into porous stone and dulls. Use an acrylic marker. | ◐If… 1,360/mo 1,360 searches a month. Washes out of most cotton, not out of everything. | ●Works 750/mo 750 searches a month. Designed to come off skin with soap. | ●Works 500/mo 500 searches a month. Rinses off with a hose. | ◐If… 410/mo Absorbs into the flute unless the stroke is light. |
| Dot / dauber Water-based dye in a sponge applicator. | ●Works no measured demand The intended surface for toddlers. | ○No no measured demand Pools and smears on a non-absorbent board. Use a dry erase marker. | ○No no measured demand Stains porous board. Use a liquid chalk marker. | ○No no measured demand Pools and runs off. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Absorbs into bare wood and blooms. Seal it first. | ○No no measured demand Pools and never dries. Use a paint marker. | ○No no measured demand Pools on the surface. Use an acrylic marker. | ○No no measured demand Pools on the glaze. Use a paint marker. | ◐If… no measured demand Absorbs unevenly unless the stone is sealed. | ◐If… 10/mo Not wash-fast. | ◐If… no measured demand Washable formulas only; check the label. | ○No 10/mo Pools and runs off tempered glass. Use a chalk or washable marker. | ●Works no measured demand Absorbs cleanly. |
Eleven chemistries are scored above and a pigment liner belongs to none of them. What can be said from chemistry: India ink on paper works, which is the only surface the pen is sold for. On a non-porous surface — glass, glazed ceramic, metal, a whiteboard — it beads and wipes, so those are not its jobs. The matrix names who owns them, and in every case it is a different brand.
The buyer reports describe the waterproofing directly.
"Impossible to use over course water color paper. They are water fast and do not move when wet." Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen 167115 India Ink Pens, Pack of 4
"Nice range of tip sizes for intricate designs and more bold line art. Nice dark black ink that does not appear to fade, smear or run." Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen 167115 India Ink Pens, Pack of 4
That first quote is a complaint and a specification in one sentence. The buyer wanted an ink that would lift and blend with a wet brush, and got one that will not. Anyone laying alcohol marker or watercolour over a line and wanting the line to survive needs exactly this behaviour; anyone wanting to soften a line does not.
What Buyers Report
The sample is small enough that every topic total is worth showing rather than the top six.
| Topic | Reports | Products | Negative | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | 41 | 1 | 7 | 17% |
| Versatility | 33 | 2 | 2 | 6% |
| Durability | 28 | 2 | 14 | 50% |
| Colour | 25 | 1 | 6 | 24% |
| Bleed resistance | 19 | 1 | 4 | 21% |
| Tip sizes | 19 | 1 | 3 | 16% |
| Drying time | 16 | 1 | 7 | 44% |
Under 200 mentions in total. For comparison, Sharpie's quality topic alone carries 13,519 and Ohuhu's 14,361. These rates are indicative and no more, and the sensible way to read them is as a direction rather than a measurement.
Bleed resistance at 21% negative across 19 reports is the most interesting number, because the site-wide figure is 51% across 24,394 reports. A pigment liner putting down very little ink through a narrow porous point is the format least likely to soak through, and the reports agree.
"These pens are awesome. They don't bleed through pages, and they write smoothly. The different sized tips are good for doodling and writing." Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen 167115 India Ink Pens, Pack of 4
"These pens write smoothly without any clumps or skipping. Great for artists." Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen 167115 India Ink Pens, Pack of 4
The Washable Line Is the Weak One
Durability at 50% negative and colour at 24% both belong mainly to the DuoTip washable set, and its reports are the only genuinely negative block in the brand.
"Dry out quickly and even after putting in water as instructed they don't have much life in them. Ordered crayons washable markers instead." Faber-Castell DuoTip Washable Markers, 12 Markers, 24 Colours
"The colors are dull and the markers write as if they're dried out- except they aren't- they're just poor quality. I will not buy these again." Faber-Castell DuoTip Washable Markers, 12 Markers, 24 Colours
Washable markers as a type report drying time at 872 mentions and 72% negative across this catalogue, so a water-based dye pen drying fast is category-normal rather than brand-specific. The colour complaint is separate: washable dye is engineered to release from skin and cotton, and an ink formulated to let go is an ink that cannot be as saturated as one formulated to stay. Crayola leads that category with 209,447 deduplicated buyer ratings, and a buyer who wants bright washable colour has better-evidenced options than this listing.
What Faber-Castell Leads Here
Nothing, and the catalogue is too small for it to. Permanent goes to Sharpie, dry erase and wet erase to EXPO, alcohol to Ohuhu, acrylic to Posca, paint to ARTISTRO, liquid chalk to Chalkola, fabric to Zenacolor, washable to Crayola, dot to Do A Dot Art! and body to BODYMARK.
What it holds is one very good pen at $10.99 with 3,732 ratings and 4.7 stars, doing a job — waterproof pigment linework at four widths — that almost nothing else in this catalogue does. That is a narrow recommendation, and it is the only one the evidence supports.
What a Pigment Liner Is For
An India ink liner is the pen that goes under everything else. It lays a waterproof, lightfast line that alcohol marker, watercolour and acrylic can all be worked over without lifting it, which is why the format exists alongside the colouring pens rather than instead of them.
That job is compared across brands at drawing markers, and the paper it belongs on at journal markers. The Pitt set's four widths in one $10.99 pack is an unusually cheap entry into it, and its 21% negative bleed rate against a site-wide 51% is the number that supports the recommendation.
The trade is that it does exactly one thing. It does not blend, it does not cover a dark surface, and it does not come off anything. A buyer wanting colour has to buy a second product, and this catalogue holds no Faber-Castell colour marker with enough reviews to recommend.
What Would Change This Page
More listings, and a corrected brand field on the two Posca products. Five records with 4,506 ratings between them cannot produce the complaint rates, price distributions and category rankings that this site publishes for brands like Sharpie or Posca, and a page that presented them as if they could would be dressing up a sample of two.
If Faber-Castell's fuller marker range appears in a later scrape, the figures above get rebuilt on the same basis as every other brand here. Until then the 700 searches a month landing on this page get an accurate answer about one excellent pigment liner and an honest statement of everything not known.
Frequently Asked
Five questions from the 48 keywords in the Faber-Castell cluster, answered from three genuine product records and 4,485 buyer ratings.
How many Faber-Castell markers are in this catalogue?
Five listings carry the brand string and two of them are titled as uni Posca pens, so three are genuinely Faber-Castell: the Pitt Artist Pen India ink set, the DuoTip washable markers and the Shake and Paint acrylic set. Together they hold 4,506 buyer ratings.
What is a Pitt Artist Pen?
A pigment liner carrying India ink, sold in four widths in one pack at $10.99 with 3,732 ratings and 4.7 stars. It is the brand's most-bought listing here by a wide margin. Buyers report it as waterproof once dry: 'They are water fast and do not move when wet.'
Are Faber-Castell markers highly rated?
Its median rating is 4.8 and its mean 4.82, the highest mean measured on any brand page in this set, against a site-wide median of 4.6 and mean of 4.501. That figure rests on five listings and 4,506 ratings, so treat it as promising rather than proven.
Are Faber-Castell DuoTip markers any good?
They are the weak listing here. Durability draws reports at 50% negative and colour at 24%. One buyer wrote: 'The colors are dull and the markers write as if they're dried out- except they aren't- they're just poor quality.' 735 ratings sit behind it against the Pitt pen's 3,732.
How much do Faber-Castell markers cost?
The median is $7.86 against a site-wide median of $13.99, which makes this the cheapest brand in this batch by median. The range runs $3.99 to $18.50, and the two cheapest listings are the mislabelled Posca singles rather than Faber-Castell products.