There are many options to copics. In my country (Argentina they are totally unaffordable for our currency and abusive taxes). I have a few copics, but honestly, Kurecolors inks are better IMHO, also if you can get Shin Han art markers, they are incredible good too! I guess the only thing right now that makes copic unique is their big color chart, once other brands can offer a wider range, I don't think they will be ruling the marker kigdom anymore!
@@Trish_Carmichael Ohuhu ofrece también una gran gama de colores!! Aún así lo malo que en mi país (México) lo venden al doble del precio original, pero por la cantidad de marcadores que ofrece por el precio, me parece buena inversión, por ejemplo la bolsa de 216 colores en Amazon está a 5099 pesos por el momento, aunque en la página oficial lo venden a 165 dolares aproximadamente. La caja de 120 (la cual quiero) en la página oficial está a 99 dólares. Lo malo que no venden todos los colores de forma individual en su página, por lo menos, el blender siempre está. Según he escuchado que puedes pedir repuestos si llamas, pero no estoy tan seguro de ello.
I read some comments on their official Instagram from worried customers and they kept replying with some robotic reply said the same thing over and over. Basically they were like the longer spout makes it easier to pour in and the bottles are more recyclable? It's better for the earth. I'm like better? People are running out of ink faster now meaning double the bottles? What a bunch of malarkey!
I KNOW RIGHT. like it’s not better for the environment if your making them smaller so we can buy more. Ide go through 3 of these AT LEAST a year, while I’ve been using the same old ink bottle for haft a year. I’m so done with Copic, and I’m not buying anymore from them. So stupid
FYI I did email the Copic company prior to the new refills coming out and they informed me that prices would be lower- but doesn’t look like this has happened- it is to be noted that Copic are a lot cheaper in Japan (sketch Are $5 Aus 3.80yen ) but have noticed that the refills in Japan have not come down in price - still 3.80yen from what I have seen on utube Japan Copic shops. I think one of the main issues is that Art shops around the world have a large profit margin on copic’s - I have also noticed hear in Aus that the old refills that were $10 and are now $13 - so not fair on the consumer.
wow that is a huge price difference" 380 Yen is like 3€ and buying copic markers here is like 7-8€ per marker! That is a huge profit that sellers make. even when considering import taxes. Means if I ever decide to try copics I'll buy them when I'm going on a trip to japan
I just started investing in copic so to hear this ticks me off. But I'm sure for those that are fully invested it really does. It's kinda like food when the want to raise prices they will instead make ounces or quantity less but c'mon Copic that's cut in half. Geez!
Copics are undoubtely quality markers... They weren't so cheap before, and the ink is, in fact, more pricey now. Sure enough the company are convinced this is still a fair price because of the quality, but this is getting ridicoulous... Although there are still many copic users worldwide, I have heard that so many artists into comic, manga and other art styles like these have switched to digital art. They are not even lightfast, as the majority of alcohol-based stuff. So, with a decreasing number of customers, no lightfastness, a price that was already high, they are making the ink refills even more expensive. Bold move! Looks like a sort of harakiri.
exactly, I have to always take a look for them and struggle to find them on my table placed next to similarly looking copic markers, so I try to stay focused on my artwork but this searching for something will throw me out of my working process
Can't afford them. Not sure if I would buy them if I could because they can't be worth the money. If they sat in the stores drying out the price would be proper. But thanks for your work as always.
I think Susan they are like all art supplies, they can only be valued by how much use you get from them and then the productivity value which is connected to the same statement. If you are inclined to use markers as an artist and not on a professional basis but more the way I use my art supplies which is for myself, I would wholeheartedly agree with you and tell anyone there are much cheaper alternatives out there most of which are almost identical to COPIC. For example, since Spectrum Noir started using Japanese brush nibs on their Illustrator markers and with a palette of over 200 pigments, I would highly recommend those over COPICs for most getting started with markers or those just creating art for themselves. Same with the Art N Fly Brush markers, they are so much cheaper than COPIC but their quality is exceptional; the only area COPIC have over Art N Fly is in Palette size but Art N Fly are expanding their palette all the time with a new set just released bringing their palette to about 150 ish of the top of my head. Stylefile are another quality marker just short on the palette. But you are totally right, if you purchase COPICS and use them once in a blue moon they are absolutely a waste of money for any artist in that situation with much more cost effective alternatives available. If you buy 36 markers for £20 or $20, using them every now and then isn’t going to be a concern for you, however, if you purchase 36 markers of the same pigments for £168 or $168, well that will stick in your throat not using them and any artist would drive themselves nuts knowing that they spent that much on a product that just isn’t being used. Thank you so much for your comment Susan always appreciate your support and feed back.
I have about 1/3 of the Copics, but now switched to buying the Bianyo and Art n Fly, both with good nibs and refills. Luckily they are not the only game in town. Plus no alcohol markers are lightfast. I think they are taking advantage of ppl that invested when there were no other options.
Glad this is being talked about! As someone who invested into this brand fully ( I got the whole set... and I had almost completed my collection with the refills...however, they never had in stock the ones I had been missing), I was incredibly disappointed and furious at copic when I learned they decided to downsize the ink and keep the price at an already ridiculous amount. Unfortunately now, I feel as though I have wasted a good chunk of money on this brand. I don't see it reasonable or logical to pay (the same/higher price) for smaller refills. WHY?! Why did they have to do this?! I supported this brand, and loved so much to create art with these markers....but when I heard the news of this.. honestly, it was a huge soul crusher. I actually stopped doing art for some time because of this... because, well, markers were my main material used. I loved using markers. So now I question, and have continued for so long.... Should I just get rid of them and move on? I am leaning more towards yes, yet, it is a huge loss to me. :/ I am saddened... why copic??? I wish all well to those who read my rant as well as those who didn't. ^-^ I hope your day is going well!!!
I feel like maybe use up the ink you till it’s all gone or use pliers like me to squeeze the small bottles. I don’t like the price point either, I’m hoping that they will change it later. Don’t let that stop you from making art, try new mediums like color pencil. :D
I think you hit the nail on the head, there are so many really excellent companies coming forward with much cheaper alternatives and I think it is really going to damage COPIC. I think if COPIC don’t want a mass exodus of customers on their hands, they are going to have to come up with an alternative. As you can see from a lot of the comments on this video that COPIC have stated they done this for environmental reasons. This is nonsense in my opinion as we are talking about the level of ink supplied not the material used or shape of the new bottles. When companies start using a serious subject like climate change as their reason for taking more money from customers, they have to provide proof and evidence for their claim as opposed to simply expecting us to go... oh well, this is in the name of climate.
I'm not using markers but I'm curios and looking for cheap ones to try it out at the moment. The price thing copic is doing reminds me a lot of apple products. offering the bare minimum for super high prices and being able to do that because they are "top notch". well apparently other brands like ohuhu or touch or spectrum noir a very very good alternatives. so i do hope tose will step up more
You are so right about they way COPIC are doing things and how they compare to Apple, excellent analogy. You are also so right about other markers certainly matching or in the very few cases, surpassing COPIC when it comes to quality and certainly pricing. There is no doubt about it, taking on COPIC is no easy task, they are the industry standard when it comes to comic book artists, illustrators etc. But marker companies such as the ones you mentioned, a Ukrainian marker I have just reviewed called Sketch Marker, Stylefile Markers, Arrtx Markers and Art-N-Fly Markers are all real viable options over COPIC. The one that tops the list currently is Sketch Marker, COPIC have 358 Color’s whereas Sketch have 448. Until recently the two things that gave COPIC the edge over the budge ranges was their Brush Tip and the Color range they have, but with regards to the Brush Nib lots of markers have excellent quality nibs and as I’ve just mentioned Sketch Marker now exceed COPICs extensive Color range. I hope it gets COPIC to look at their pricing and maybe bring them down a bit. Thank you so much for your comment and support I really appreciate it.
This makes me really sad, I love copic but I think what they are doing on this end is a really bad move I don’t think I’d care at all if I could still buy the larger container or if they just changed the shape but I live in Canada and it’s like 11$ for an ink refill and I’m not looking forward to having to spend the same amount for around half of what I got. I love this brand but I’m very unhappy with this new change
I don't use alcohol markers, but honestly if I ever want to give them a try I'm going with something significantly cheaper than Copic. I've got to ask though, why would you need to stick with Copic if you're professional? Even if you already have the pens, you should be able to buy refills from other brands for a lot of the colours - and if they don't match exactly, you could probably mix the shades you need. I think that could definitely be worth a try if the increase in Copic prices is causing someone problems...
I totally agree with u and Ohuhu is like 10 times cheaper like its 0.40 cents per marker and they are BETTER than copic they have MORE ink they have SOFTER brush and they have very nice colors and the biggest point a LOTTTT cheaper .
Well, im using shinhan Markers Touch . When I started to notice Copic, they were toooooo expensive. But I bought some. Touch were similar, less expensive. I started to adore tham. And they have a 20ml refill. I hope they will not change it. And we didn't have something of that quality markers in market here at that time. Its more than 10 year's ago.
Thank you for this video. I was so amazed when I opened the package containing my new marker refills I nearly fainted! I thought I ordered the wrong thing! Very disappointed with the new container, and not nearly as easy to use, plus not having as much ink (nearly half!) Not buying any more refills. If I do get any more Copic (doubtful) I will just buy a new marker and save myself the hassle. I wonder if the Pandemic is to blame for this as well, since I am having trouble getting Copic ink in the first place.
Well, you're not being too harsh for sure, it's pretty disappointing to see them get even more expensive in the long run as they already were the highest price out of all the alcohol markers available afaik. It baffles me that even a professional would bother with them with this eyewatering price since they're just dye and aren't even lightfast. I'm not that much into alcohol markers since I prefer other media, but I do own a few of different brands. There's approximately 2ml of ink in the Copic Sketch, which is barely any ink if you ask me, so it would absolutely bankrupt me to use these. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spending money on premium quality art supplies, but really, there should be a good reason for it. I understand that some might have preference for the Copics, but for crying out loud, in 2021 there really are other excellent choices imo very similar in quality, but way more reasonably priced. I can't help but wonder is there's some weird brand loyalty spell going on here? But hey, you want to spend money on them, go for it, whatever makes you happy.
I was a huge Copic fan, but not any more. I am furious that they pulled this money-gouging change, I am switching to other brands that are cheaper and refillable. I'm sure they won't miss me but perhaps many feel the same and eventually Copic will regret this change.
the only thing i disliked about alcohol markers in general is that it dries out fast when left unused and you will end up with a urge to buy a new stock or with this brand buy them refills, which i understand compared with other brands, this brand seems to save you up instead of buying a new stock you just buy them refills. but still it is pricey.
-I dont know id argue that chameleons may just be a bit more..which feature very good quality inks maybe the best pigments on the market but suffer from a whole slew of problems of their own (which iv seen theyve done a redesign and may have solved most of these)-
I was about to buy copic but now im hesitate because i dont think its has all ink color for 72 colors of copic ciao, do you think ohuhu are more worth? It doesn't have refill sadly so idk.. And i saw that both ink are 10 euro not 5 euro.. ( i can only buy from Amazon because i dont have a credit card for now
This is the reason why I went digital. Even though I wasn't as good at it at the time, this whole refil thing pushed me right out of traditional art and into digital.
I used Copics for the last 25 years and even though i have almost every color i'm not going to continue to use them, because of their price increase for the markers and ink over the years. While looking for another brand, i tried the absolute cheapest alternative i found in an Action store in Europe: Decotime Twinmarkers, 3.99€ for 12 markers. I expected absolutely nothing and was shocked how close they are to Copics. A lot of colors are pretty much identical. I ended up buying 220 marker from them over the last couple weeks and paid around 73€, that's 3€ cheaper than a 12er set of Copics. The only downside is that they are not refillable, but since they are also available in 3er packs for 0.99 cent, non-refillable markers are no dealbreaker for me anymore. In the end it really doesn't matter if i throw away an empty Twinmarker or an empty Various Ink bottle.
it's great to know that they seem to be so good! I wanted to try them but finding a review that is not 4 years old was difficult. Now I'm more relieved and will buy some!
Are you still liking the newer markers that you use instead of the copics?? Are they alcohol markers ?? Do you know if they are available in the states??
Yeah I do know about the pencils and have a set to review but as always I have been told by Derwent not to publish the review until they say and I always stick within the parameters the company set so as not to upset or go against them as I wouldn’t get products to review again.
Old Refills: 25 mil (U$9.50) New Refills 12 mil (U$5.30) THAT is quite.a difference in size, but not a HUGE difference in price.We are payor the packaging and shipping. (1) For every pen that gets refilled often, there are probably 4 other pens that do not. Thus, smaller refills are an advantage-provided the price is comparable-because they save buying ink that just sits on the shelf unused. Obviously, CHOICE is always the best. (2) Refill method demonstrated is NOT recommended. The best method is to remove the chisel end. IF the end gets worn out, buy a replacement. I have a half dozen on hand in case of color contamination. (3) The 10 marks on the refill bottle suggest that one refill may get 10 refills per tube. That would make it a "new" Copic marker for U$ 0.53 (April 2022). If this is really the result, that is an incredible deal! Plus, think of all the ink you save not sitting around in a drawer not getting used because that color does not 'empty out' as often. (4) While I am relatively new to Copic, I've been using and refilling Koonihor Radiograph pens for over 40 years. The trick? I count the drops. 10 drops is enough. Not sure what the number will be for Copic. Yet, this will be the key datum. (5) There are other alcohol inks in the market. I have experimented with them. To date... no bad results. So, a little competition is always best. And developing a kit shaped to your personal needs probably one better than best. However, some reports on the internet suggest problems arise when blending. Convenience outweighs price. Chances are a savings in NOT storing unused ink saves the day!
Some excellent points, thank you for your comment really appreciate it. With regards to refilling the COPIC markers, even the COPIC representatives using the chisel bib to refill, in fact it was a COPIC Rep who showed me. They explained to me that depending on how often you need to refill your markers, say you use a certain red a lot and are constantly removing the nib to refill, you will wear away the seal the nib creates when pushed into the nib housing. If the seal is not tight, there is a chance the marker will dry up quicker. The little pliers that COPIC released were originally sold for removing an old worn nib to a new nib, not the constant removal of nibs to refill. Obviously if it is a Color you maybe only refill once every year or so, there is less chance of the above occurring. At least this is what I was told by a COPIC Representative.
Here in Denmark on average, the new ones cost around U$10.7 (U$0.89 pr. ml), where the old was U$15.36 (U$0.61 pr. ml) That means that the old ones give 1.45 times more pr. U$, in some stores its worse, so i would still say its a worse deal. I get your points it would be great if it was a chose, but this is just forced.
@@TheClone159 On sale I paid U$ 5.39 (plus 10.25% tax) in Seattle for new refills. Had I gone to Portland, the are no sales taxes in Oregon state. In Canada the price works out to U$ 8.26. Tax is lower if bought as a school supply. There was a 15% discount on this week, which means I could have bought in Canada on sale for U$ 7.01. I wonder why the US gets such a good deal? Is it just 'bulk buying'?
I hate the new INKs. I liked the old design much better. Besides, the new inks are really expensive in Germany. Here you paid about 9-10€ (10.78-11.98 dollars) for the old ink, while you pay 7€(8.39 dollars) for the new ones with half the refill colour. That's an extortionate price. I hope that the new inks will be cheaper, otherwise it will be too expensive for me.
Are these inks suitable to use in a generic water brush? And maybe dilute it with water? I have a bunch of these old refills that I barely ever used and I don't know what to do with them, because I hate drawing with my copic markers.
I came here cause i just got one of the new refill inks and wanted a tutorial, and I don't know if you know this but on the ink bottle itself it says to take off the broad nib from the marker and insert the ink nozzle, so you used it wrong.
I didn’t use it wrong, I used it the way I feel more comfortable doing. I did mention that you can remove the nibs and insert the ink that way. However there is a few issues with adding the ink this way. If you do it properly you should buy the tool from COPIC which is more expense or you can remove the nibs with your fingers in which case excessive removing of the nibs for refilling can cause problems with the nibs requiring you to buy new nibs. Or you can do it the way I did it and nothing gets destroyed and you don’t need to buy anything else and add more cost
Bahaha I refuse to use copics I cringe when I hear the price. In a day and age where electronics can go down in price and be mass produced then the price of art supplies that do so much healing and create something beautiful shouldnt cost more than my rent.
Some how a UA-camr name the coloring diva got them today and did a review and they are supposed to be available on February 22 . Amazon is selling them and out already and taking raincheck orders on the preorder but on Derwent website they are not listed. I Don't even know if they are real , they look real but . Derwent chromaflow
-Its nice when a refill is necessary after many long hours of copic coloring enjoyment..however far too often its been maybe 30 days since you took out the loan or maybe refinanced your home and upon removing the cap from your BV0000 Indescent mauve a small puff of smoke is followed by the tiniest tumbleweed you ever saw suggesting your marker is about as dry as grandmas.......um er uh xmas day turkey of course..most common cause being too loose a fitting cap...which can be repaired quite easily for the most part..which brings us to the point of this completely unnecessarily long comment ..all i used was a small piece of mummy wrap er um sorry i mean plumbers -unadhesive-tape yup the stuff on the small red roll..feels nice n soft its not at all sticky n leaves no permanent changes to anything in case you thought about taking your damaged product back for a refund gdluck w that..you may want to consider switching the tip out for the copic sketch (fine) tip which i find goes along nicely w the brush as the chisel tip never saw any action..hope this helps someone keep sharing your art work you guys are amaizing-
Won't be buying anymore Copic then. I have joint problems, and don't like buying throw away products to begin with... What's the point of these tiny bottles other than to create more waste and cost the consumer more money.
I strongly disagree with commenting about new comers coming into the ink market. They HAVE a choice to choose whatever colors they want. Listen man, I got into the industry by the seat of my pants 34 years ago.... if people have to be hand held on everything now then they SHOULD NOW BE DOING/WORKING/CREATING at all. And my first set of pens was the grand daddy of them all the 256 set of Pantone Letraset TRIA markers with inks. SO yes, WRONG THING TO SAY to reduce choice...
What Copic has did is that they just dug out their own grave thinking it to be the heaven. With so much competition in the market from other companies providing cheaper alternatives to Copics, Copic has just started his own journey of destruction by his own hands. With more artist going digital, It would have been much better if Copic have worked on dropping the price with original size so that more people can join the art community easily, but no, they just did the opposite thinking it to be a good idea. Congrats to Copic for self destruction.
You are absolutely correct it isn’t difficult to move to a cheaper brand, but if I just did that and didn’t talk about the whys and where’s of what I was doing, I wouldn’t be much of a review channel, now would I? The should purpose of this channel is to review art supply’s, not just the best supply’s or cheapest supply’s or most expensive, but all of them. My job as I see it, is to review as many art products as I can, share my tests and opinions on the products so that artists wanting to buy a product can check out my channel, see if I have reviewed the product they are wanting to buy and decide whether or not they want to take my advice. Simply finding a fault and moving away from such fault without talking about here on the channel would make me a pretty terrible review channel, would it not?
I’m hearing quite a few artists are going digital to avoid all of the costs going through the roof.
I'm one of those artists 🙂💔
There are many options to copics. In my country (Argentina they are totally unaffordable for our currency and abusive taxes). I have a few copics, but honestly, Kurecolors inks are better IMHO, also if you can get Shin Han art markers, they are incredible good too! I guess the only thing right now that makes copic unique is their big color chart, once other brands can offer a wider range, I don't think they will be ruling the marker kigdom anymore!
I wouldnt go that far personally lol, i mean there are plenty of copic alternatives out there.
@@Trish_Carmichael Ohuhu ofrece también una gran gama de colores!! Aún así lo malo que en mi país (México) lo venden al doble del precio original, pero por la cantidad de marcadores que ofrece por el precio, me parece buena inversión, por ejemplo la bolsa de 216 colores en Amazon está a 5099 pesos por el momento, aunque en la página oficial lo venden a 165 dolares aproximadamente. La caja de 120 (la cual quiero) en la página oficial está a 99 dólares. Lo malo que no venden todos los colores de forma individual en su página, por lo menos, el blender siempre está. Según he escuchado que puedes pedir repuestos si llamas, pero no estoy tan seguro de ello.
I read some comments on their official Instagram from worried customers and they kept replying with some robotic reply said the same thing over and over. Basically they were like the longer spout makes it easier to pour in and the bottles are more recyclable? It's better for the earth. I'm like better? People are running out of ink faster now meaning double the bottles? What a bunch of malarkey!
I KNOW RIGHT. like it’s not better for the environment if your making them smaller so we can buy more. Ide go through 3 of these AT LEAST a year, while I’ve been using the same old ink bottle for haft a year. I’m so done with Copic, and I’m not buying anymore from them. So stupid
FYI I did email the Copic company prior to the new refills coming out and they informed me that prices would be lower- but doesn’t look like this has happened- it is to be noted that Copic are a lot cheaper in Japan (sketch Are $5 Aus 3.80yen ) but have noticed that the refills in Japan have not come down in price - still 3.80yen from what I have seen on utube Japan Copic shops. I think one of the main issues is that Art shops around the world have a large profit margin on copic’s - I have also noticed hear in Aus that the old refills that were $10 and are now $13 - so not fair on the consumer.
wow that is a huge price difference" 380 Yen is like 3€ and buying copic markers here is like 7-8€ per marker! That is a huge profit that sellers make. even when considering import taxes. Means if I ever decide to try copics I'll buy them when I'm going on a trip to japan
I just started investing in copic so to hear this ticks me off. But I'm sure for those that are fully invested it really does. It's kinda like food when the want to raise prices they will instead make ounces or quantity less but c'mon Copic that's cut in half. Geez!
Copics are undoubtely quality markers... They weren't so cheap before, and the ink is, in fact, more pricey now. Sure enough the company are convinced this is still a fair price because of the quality, but this is getting ridicoulous...
Although there are still many copic users worldwide, I have heard that so many artists into comic, manga and other art styles like these have switched to digital art. They are not even lightfast, as the majority of alcohol-based stuff. So, with a decreasing number of customers, no lightfastness, a price that was already high, they are making the ink refills even more expensive. Bold move! Looks like a sort of harakiri.
I’m so glad I’ve primarily moved from copic to watercolor it’s easier to get the look I want and more economic too
Honestly I think I might after this. Been a huge copic user for years but now idk
The old ones are nicer. The new ones can also be easily mistaken for a pen. Sad to see Copics go cheap. :(
Ikr like I wish they never changed it. Even the original refills are small. Now they decreased it, and I’m moving to Ohuhu
exactly, I have to always take a look for them and struggle to find them on my table placed next to similarly looking copic markers, so I try to stay focused on my artwork but this searching for something will throw me out of my working process
Excellent video on how to refill a copic sketch with the new refills. Also thank you for your other commentary too…..good stuff!
Thank you so much Debbie I sincerely appreciate your wonderful comment and support thank you
Thanks for another honest and forthright opinion Harry. We can always count on you to give us the facts ☺️😉
Can't afford them. Not sure if I would buy them if I could because they can't be worth the money. If they sat in the stores drying out the price would be proper. But thanks for your work as always.
I think Susan they are like all art supplies, they can only be valued by how much use you get from them and then the productivity value which is connected to the same statement.
If you are inclined to use markers as an artist and not on a professional basis but more the way I use my art supplies which is for myself, I would wholeheartedly agree with you and tell anyone there are much cheaper alternatives out there most of which are almost identical to COPIC.
For example, since Spectrum Noir started using Japanese brush nibs on their Illustrator markers and with a palette of over 200 pigments, I would highly recommend those over COPICs for most getting started with markers or those just creating art for themselves. Same with the Art N Fly Brush markers, they are so much cheaper than COPIC but their quality is exceptional; the only area COPIC have over Art N Fly is in Palette size but Art N Fly are expanding their palette all the time with a new set just released bringing their palette to about 150 ish of the top of my head. Stylefile are another quality marker just short on the palette.
But you are totally right, if you purchase COPICS and use them once in a blue moon they are absolutely a waste of money for any artist in that situation with much more cost effective alternatives available.
If you buy 36 markers for £20 or $20, using them every now and then isn’t going to be a concern for you, however, if you purchase 36 markers of the same pigments for £168 or $168, well that will stick in your throat not using them and any artist would drive themselves nuts knowing that they spent that much on a product that just isn’t being used.
Thank you so much for your comment Susan always appreciate your support and feed back.
I have about 1/3 of the Copics, but now switched to buying the Bianyo and Art n Fly, both with good nibs and refills. Luckily they are not the only game in town. Plus no alcohol markers are lightfast. I think they are taking advantage of ppl that invested when there were no other options.
I've only ever seen the new bottles for about half the price as the old bottles, for about half the ink. Which makes perfect sense to me
Glad this is being talked about! As someone who invested into this brand fully ( I got the whole set... and I had almost completed my collection with the refills...however, they never had in stock the ones I had been missing), I was incredibly disappointed and furious at copic when I learned they decided to downsize the ink and keep the price at an already ridiculous amount.
Unfortunately now, I feel as though I have wasted a good chunk of money on this brand. I don't see it reasonable or logical to pay (the same/higher price) for smaller refills. WHY?! Why did they have to do this?! I supported this brand, and loved so much to create art with these markers....but when I heard the news of this.. honestly, it was a huge soul crusher. I actually stopped doing art for some time because of this... because, well, markers were my main material used. I loved using markers.
So now I question, and have continued for so long.... Should I just get rid of them and move on? I am leaning more towards yes, yet, it is a huge loss to me. :/ I am saddened... why copic???
I wish all well to those who read my rant as well as those who didn't. ^-^ I hope your day is going well!!!
I feel the same! And I feel like Copic betrayed their customers!
I feel like maybe use up the ink you till it’s all gone or use pliers like me to squeeze the small bottles. I don’t like the price point either, I’m hoping that they will change it later. Don’t let that stop you from making art, try new mediums like color pencil. :D
You might want to take a look at the Blick Studio Ink refills. You might beable to use at least some of those.
You stopped doing art for a bit because of this! Wow.
@@XtianApi his choice his opinion 💀
For 12 ml Copic sketch is 1.8 ml and the Ciao is 1.4 ml
So 7x Sketch (6.6) and the Ciao 9x (8.5)
Weird move on their part considering how many great and affordable alternatives there are nowadays. Do they think their customer base is stupid?
I think you hit the nail on the head, there are so many really excellent companies coming forward with much cheaper alternatives and I think it is really going to damage COPIC. I think if COPIC don’t want a mass exodus of customers on their hands, they are going to have to come up with an alternative.
As you can see from a lot of the comments on this video that COPIC have stated they done this for environmental reasons. This is nonsense in my opinion as we are talking about the level of ink supplied not the material used or shape of the new bottles.
When companies start using a serious subject like climate change as their reason for taking more money from customers, they have to provide proof and evidence for their claim as opposed to simply expecting us to go... oh well, this is in the name of climate.
i think they expect the customers to accept every price just like apple customers do for example.
@@TheArtGearGuide using environment as a reason is such bs... they use harder plastic now. Is it more recycleble? I doubt that very much...
This is my first time hearing about it so thanks for the information!
Thank you so much for your comment and you are welcome really appreciate you checking out the channel
I'm not using markers but I'm curios and looking for cheap ones to try it out at the moment.
The price thing copic is doing reminds me a lot of apple products. offering the bare minimum for super high prices and being able to do that because they are "top notch". well apparently other brands like ohuhu or touch or spectrum noir a very very good alternatives. so i do hope tose will step up more
You are so right about they way COPIC are doing things and how they compare to Apple, excellent analogy. You are also so right about other markers certainly matching or in the very few cases, surpassing COPIC when it comes to quality and certainly pricing. There is no doubt about it, taking on COPIC is no easy task, they are the industry standard when it comes to comic book artists, illustrators etc. But marker companies such as the ones you mentioned, a Ukrainian marker I have just reviewed called Sketch Marker, Stylefile Markers, Arrtx Markers and Art-N-Fly Markers are all real viable options over COPIC. The one that tops the list currently is Sketch Marker, COPIC have 358 Color’s whereas Sketch have 448. Until recently the two things that gave COPIC the edge over the budge ranges was their Brush Tip and the Color range they have, but with regards to the Brush Nib lots of markers have excellent quality nibs and as I’ve just mentioned Sketch Marker now exceed COPICs extensive Color range. I hope it gets COPIC to look at their pricing and maybe bring them down a bit. Thank you so much for your comment and support I really appreciate it.
This makes me really sad, I love copic but I think what they are doing on this end is a really bad move I don’t think I’d care at all if I could still buy the larger container or if they just changed the shape but I live in Canada and it’s like 11$ for an ink refill and I’m not looking forward to having to spend the same amount for around half of what I got. I love this brand but I’m very unhappy with this new change
Yeah I live in Canada aswell, and the bottles are extremely expensive. I’ve spent 11-15 dollars on these and now they remade them.
I don't use alcohol markers, but honestly if I ever want to give them a try I'm going with something significantly cheaper than Copic.
I've got to ask though, why would you need to stick with Copic if you're professional? Even if you already have the pens, you should be able to buy refills from other brands for a lot of the colours - and if they don't match exactly, you could probably mix the shades you need. I think that could definitely be worth a try if the increase in Copic prices is causing someone problems...
I totally agree with u and Ohuhu is like 10 times cheaper like its 0.40 cents per marker and they are BETTER than copic they have MORE ink they have SOFTER brush and they have very nice colors and the biggest point a LOTTTT cheaper .
Well, im using shinhan Markers Touch . When I started to notice Copic, they were toooooo expensive. But I bought some. Touch were similar, less expensive. I started to adore tham. And they have a 20ml refill. I hope they will not change it. And we didn't have something of that quality markers in market here at that time. Its more than 10 year's ago.
I’d love to try the Shinhan Markers but they are also quite expensive. What do you think of them do you prefer them over COPIC?
Thank you for this video. I was so amazed when I opened the package containing my new marker refills I nearly fainted! I thought I ordered the wrong thing! Very disappointed with the new container, and not nearly as easy to use, plus not having as much ink (nearly half!) Not buying any more refills. If I do get any more Copic (doubtful) I will just buy a new marker and save myself the hassle. I wonder if the Pandemic is to blame for this as well, since I am having trouble getting Copic ink in the first place.
Thank you for this video, very helpful.
Well, you're not being too harsh for sure, it's pretty disappointing to see them get even more expensive in the long run as they already were the highest price out of all the alcohol markers available afaik. It baffles me that even a professional would bother with them with this eyewatering price since they're just dye and aren't even lightfast. I'm not that much into alcohol markers since I prefer other media, but I do own a few of different brands. There's approximately 2ml of ink in the Copic Sketch, which is barely any ink if you ask me, so it would absolutely bankrupt me to use these. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for spending money on premium quality art supplies, but really, there should be a good reason for it. I understand that some might have preference for the Copics, but for crying out loud, in 2021 there really are other excellent choices imo very similar in quality, but way more reasonably priced. I can't help but wonder is there's some weird brand loyalty spell going on here? But hey, you want to spend money on them, go for it, whatever makes you happy.
I was a huge Copic fan, but not any more. I am furious that they pulled this money-gouging change, I am switching to other brands that are cheaper and refillable. I'm sure they won't miss me but perhaps many feel the same and eventually Copic will regret this change.
the only thing i disliked about alcohol markers in general is that it dries out fast when left unused and you will end up with a urge to buy a new stock or with this brand buy them refills, which i understand compared with other brands, this brand seems to save you up instead of buying a new stock you just buy them refills. but still it is pricey.
-I dont know id argue that chameleons may just be a bit more..which feature very good quality inks maybe the best pigments on the market but suffer from a whole slew of problems of their own (which iv seen theyve done a redesign and may have solved most of these)-
I was about to buy copic but now im hesitate because i dont think its has all ink color for 72 colors of copic ciao, do you think ohuhu are more worth? It doesn't have refill sadly so idk.. And i saw that both ink are 10 euro not 5 euro.. ( i can only buy from Amazon because i dont have a credit card for now
Ohuhu are better imo, but they dont sell individual markers or refill
@@iamunique1792 hmm okayy thankss
This is the reason why I went digital. Even though I wasn't as good at it at the time, this whole refil thing pushed me right out of traditional art and into digital.
I used Copics for the last 25 years and even though i have almost every color i'm not going to continue to use them, because of their price increase for the markers and ink over the years. While looking for another brand, i tried the absolute cheapest alternative i found in an Action store in Europe: Decotime Twinmarkers, 3.99€ for 12 markers. I expected absolutely nothing and was shocked how close they are to Copics. A lot of colors are pretty much identical. I ended up buying 220 marker from them over the last couple weeks and paid around 73€, that's 3€ cheaper than a 12er set of Copics. The only downside is that they are not refillable, but since they are also available in 3er packs for 0.99 cent, non-refillable markers are no dealbreaker for me anymore. In the end it really doesn't matter if i throw away an empty Twinmarker or an empty Various Ink bottle.
it's great to know that they seem to be so good! I wanted to try them but finding a review that is not 4 years old was difficult. Now I'm more relieved and will buy some!
Are you still liking the newer markers that you use instead of the copics?? Are they alcohol markers ?? Do you know if they are available in the states??
Off subject but have you heard about the new Derwent chromaflow colored pencils? Wax based in 12 and 24 packs only, will so far
Yeah I do know about the pencils and have a set to review but as always I have been told by Derwent not to publish the review until they say and I always stick within the parameters the company set so as not to upset or go against them as I wouldn’t get products to review again.
Old Refills: 25 mil (U$9.50)
New Refills 12 mil (U$5.30)
THAT is quite.a difference in size, but not a HUGE difference in price.We are payor the packaging and shipping.
(1) For every pen that gets refilled often, there are probably 4 other pens that do not. Thus, smaller refills are an advantage-provided the price is comparable-because they save buying ink that just sits on the shelf unused. Obviously, CHOICE is always the best.
(2) Refill method demonstrated is NOT recommended. The best method is to remove the chisel end. IF the end gets worn out, buy a replacement. I have a half dozen on hand in case of color contamination.
(3) The 10 marks on the refill bottle suggest that one refill may get 10 refills per tube. That would make it a "new" Copic marker for U$ 0.53 (April 2022). If this is really the result, that is an incredible deal! Plus, think of all the ink you save not sitting around in a drawer not getting used because that color does not 'empty out' as often.
(4) While I am relatively new to Copic, I've been using and refilling Koonihor Radiograph pens for over 40 years. The trick? I count the drops. 10 drops is enough. Not sure what the number will be for Copic. Yet, this will be the key datum.
(5) There are other alcohol inks in the market. I have experimented with them. To date... no bad results. So, a little competition is always best. And developing a kit shaped to your personal needs probably one better than best. However, some reports on the internet suggest problems arise when blending.
Convenience outweighs price. Chances are a savings in NOT storing unused ink saves the day!
Some excellent points, thank you for your comment really appreciate it. With regards to refilling the COPIC markers, even the COPIC representatives using the chisel bib to refill, in fact it was a COPIC Rep who showed me. They explained to me that depending on how often you need to refill your markers, say you use a certain red a lot and are constantly removing the nib to refill, you will wear away the seal the nib creates when pushed into the nib housing. If the seal is not tight, there is a chance the marker will dry up quicker. The little pliers that COPIC released were originally sold for removing an old worn nib to a new nib, not the constant removal of nibs to refill. Obviously if it is a Color you maybe only refill once every year or so, there is less chance of the above occurring. At least this is what I was told by a COPIC Representative.
Here in Denmark on average,
the new ones cost around U$10.7 (U$0.89 pr. ml),
where the old was U$15.36 (U$0.61 pr. ml)
That means that the old ones give 1.45 times more pr. U$, in some stores its worse, so i would still say its a worse deal.
I get your points it would be great if it was a chose, but this is just forced.
@@TheClone159 On sale I paid U$ 5.39 (plus 10.25% tax) in Seattle for new refills. Had I gone to Portland, the are no sales taxes in Oregon state.
In Canada the price works out to U$ 8.26. Tax is lower if bought as a school supply. There was a 15% discount on this week, which means I could have bought in Canada on sale for U$ 7.01.
I wonder why the US gets such a good deal? Is it just 'bulk buying'?
How do you get the ink flowing on a new copic marker?
I hate the new INKs. I liked the old design much better. Besides, the new inks are really expensive in Germany. Here you paid about 9-10€ (10.78-11.98 dollars) for the old ink, while you pay 7€(8.39 dollars) for the new ones with half the refill colour. That's an extortionate price. I hope that the new inks will be cheaper, otherwise it will be too expensive for me.
How many times can you refill a marker with a 12 ml refill?
Totally agree with you. This is just silly by Copics. We can hope they take to their senses and changes it again. 😞
Are these inks suitable to use in a generic water brush? And maybe dilute it with water? I have a bunch of these old refills that I barely ever used and I don't know what to do with them, because I hate drawing with my copic markers.
Where i can find the refill guys?
I came here cause i just got one of the new refill inks and wanted a tutorial, and I don't know if you know this but on the ink bottle itself it says to take off the broad nib from the marker and insert the ink nozzle, so you used it wrong.
I didn’t use it wrong, I used it the way I feel more comfortable doing. I did mention that you can remove the nibs and insert the ink that way. However there is a few issues with adding the ink this way.
If you do it properly you should buy the tool from COPIC which is more expense or you can remove the nibs with your fingers in which case excessive removing of the nibs for refilling can cause problems with the nibs requiring you to buy new nibs.
Or you can do it the way I did it and nothing gets destroyed and you don’t need to buy anything else and add more cost
very informative thanks!
We cannot get the original 25ml refills here in the US. Possibly from eBay?.
With 195 € I have an entire ohuhu 320 marker set and a case. They have refill for most of them so... Copic is much for my pocket.
This just ensures that I will not be purchasing Copics! As a colourist I have a lot of other quality choices. Thanks for the info.
Online you can get them for 6 dollars and they refill the markers 8 times for the new ones
Btw I don't know about you but refilling more than one copic? It hurts my hand so so so so much after a while. :c
Bahaha I refuse to use copics I cringe when I hear the price. In a day and age where electronics can go down in price and be mass produced then the price of art supplies that do so much healing and create something beautiful shouldnt cost more than my rent.
Some how a UA-camr name the coloring diva got them today and did a review and they are supposed to be available on February 22 . Amazon is selling them and out already and taking raincheck orders on the preorder but on Derwent website they are not listed. I Don't even know if they are real , they look real but . Derwent chromaflow
-Its nice when a refill is necessary after many long hours of copic coloring enjoyment..however far too often its been maybe 30 days since you took out the loan or maybe refinanced your home and upon removing the cap from your BV0000 Indescent mauve a small puff of smoke is followed by the tiniest tumbleweed you ever saw suggesting your marker is about as dry as grandmas.......um er uh xmas day turkey of course..most common cause being too loose a fitting cap...which can be repaired quite easily for the most part..which brings us to the point of this completely unnecessarily long comment ..all i used was a small piece of mummy wrap er um sorry i mean plumbers -unadhesive-tape yup the stuff on the small red roll..feels nice n soft its not at all sticky n leaves no permanent changes to anything in case you thought about taking your damaged product back for a refund gdluck w that..you may want to consider switching the tip out for the copic sketch (fine) tip which i find goes along nicely w the brush as the chisel tip never saw any action..hope this helps someone keep sharing your art work you guys are amaizing-
It looks like half the ink for the same amount of money.
Won't be buying anymore Copic then. I have joint problems, and don't like buying throw away products to begin with... What's the point of these tiny bottles other than to create more waste and cost the consumer more money.
I strongly disagree with commenting about new comers coming into the ink market. They HAVE a choice to choose whatever colors they want. Listen man, I got into the industry by the seat of my pants 34 years ago.... if people have to be hand held on everything now then they SHOULD NOW BE DOING/WORKING/CREATING at all. And my first set of pens was the grand daddy of them all the 256 set of Pantone Letraset TRIA markers with inks. SO yes, WRONG THING TO SAY to reduce choice...
They call it goudging!
This is why I use Ohuhu or another brand that is way cheaper
What Copic has did is that they just dug out their own grave thinking it to be the heaven. With so much competition in the market from other companies providing cheaper alternatives to Copics, Copic has just started his own journey of destruction by his own hands. With more artist going digital, It would have been much better if Copic have worked on dropping the price with original size so that more people can join the art community easily, but no, they just did the opposite thinking it to be a good idea. Congrats to Copic for self destruction.
So i shouldn't really invest in copic i guess
move to a different CHEAPER brand...not difficult is it?
You are absolutely correct it isn’t difficult to move to a cheaper brand, but if I just did that and didn’t talk about the whys and where’s of what I was doing, I wouldn’t be much of a review channel, now would I?
The should purpose of this channel is to review art supply’s, not just the best supply’s or cheapest supply’s or most expensive, but all of them. My job as I see it, is to review as many art products as I can, share my tests and opinions on the products so that artists wanting to buy a product can check out my channel, see if I have reviewed the product they are wanting to buy and decide whether or not they want to take my advice. Simply finding a fault and moving away from such fault without talking about here on the channel would make me a pretty terrible review channel, would it not?