The problem with gel pens is that sometimes they are nothing more than a thin magic marker. Paper Mate 0.5 writes very thin and almost like a ball point pen. However they can be pricy. I tried Tru Red because they are a lot less expensive. But the saying goes you get what you pay for. The writing is not that smooth. It can be erratic and blotchy sometimes. After I use up the pens I bought I will go back to Paper Mate.