Cricut Explore: Pen Options & Writing Fonts


Originally Published Spring 2014 with the Original Explore

Note:  When this was originally published, the Pilot Precise Pens worked perfectly in all of the Explore machines.  Since then, I have gotten more and more feedback that they do not work in the newer machines.  I am left to guess that Cricut has made some type of change to the design or manufacture of their machines with regard to the pen holder.  I continue to be able to use those pens unaided in my machine and all of my friends who got their machines then do as well. If you are looking for a solution to your Pilot Precise pen not working, please look to the comments as one reader found a solution that he shares.  I am no longer adding to or removing pens from this list.  2/21/2016

Pens for Writing and Drawing with the Explore:
There are several pens on the market that fit into the Explore.  Aside from Cricut brand, these will also fit into the pen housing and draw in the Explore.  To make the list, pens have to fit without being assisted with tape or rubber bands, the points of the pens have to touch the paper, and the pens have to stay in place while writing.
  • American Crafts Chalk Markers (See note below -BOLD does not work.  Only the smaller tips work)
  • American Crafts Galaxy Marker (medium tip)
  • American Crafts Slick Writers (fine or medium)
  • American Crafts Precision Pens (fine)
  • American Crafts Metallic Marker Fine or Medium Point
  • Amy Tangerine Slick Writer - fine tip
  • Bic Round Stic Ballpoint (See picture above.  I had great results for my envelopes using Cricut handwriting fonts but not the best results for drawing fonts -system fonts- with lots of penwork.)
  • Crayola Fine Line (Use care not to push the barrel down too far in the housing otherwise the tip will drag on your paper!)
  • Marvy LePlume II (for ultra fine tip)  I used these pens for the 3/4" tags that I put on the bottoms of Hershey kisses.  They write very tiny text!  They are available in 108 colors! (photo below)
  • Pilot Precise V5 pens Extra Fine .5mm Rolling Ball.  My VERY FAVORITE pens! (Get the kind with a cap, not a clicker!  See photo below.)  I am told the V7s with the cap also fit, but I have not tried them myself!
  • Project Life pens (by American Crafts)
  • Recollections Fine and Medium Point (bold does not work in the Explore)
  • Recollections Photo Marker Set (Fine and Medium)
  • The Write Dudes Infinity Neon and Accent Pens (These Infinities work; the metallics do not.  Take care not to push them down too far. Great, bright colors!) See photo below!

Marvy LePlume II

The Write Dudes have more than one marker that says "Infinity."  It is the package that also says "NEON and Accent Pens" that you want!  The ones pictured above were purchased at Target.  Infinities will not click when inserted.  Take care not to insert them too far or they will drag on your paper.

Crayola Fine Line.  These will not click into place.  Take care not to insert them too far or they will drag on your paper.
Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine .5mm.  Font is http://www.dafont.com/kingthings-xstitch.font
This is what the Pilot Precise V5 pens look like. When someone tells me the ones they bought don't fit, it is because they have purchased the type with a clicker instead of a cap.  The ones with the cap are the ones that fit!  I have purchased these at Walmart and Target.  They do click when inserted.  I have been told that the V7s also work that look like this but I have not tried them myself.

Note:  Three markers are packaged together in the American Crafts Chalk white marker sets.  Two of them are narrow (MED) and one has a fatter tip (BOLD).  As you can see, they are different lengths!  The fatter tipped one (BOLD) will not work in the Explore; the tip won't touch the paper even though the barrel fits in the pen housing. The narrow tipped ones (MEDIUM) fit perfectly however! 


There are single stroke Cricut fonts available for writing with the Explore.  These are perfect for journaling and note, letters, and envelopes!


Click on the drop-down arrow next to All Fonts will give you the option for 'Has a Writing Style'.  These are special, one-stroke fonts found on Cricut cartridges.  I have noticed that those from Creative Memories are not listed but once you link those carts, the writing style font magically appears.  Below is a sampling of writing style fonts.  


Any image can be changed from cut to draw by changing the scissor icon to a pen icon.  Aside from Writing Style Fonts however, text and images will be outlined.  

Artwork from Word Collage (Cricut Cartridge) that was changed from cut to draw.
The machine cannot fill them in; this includes system fonts. The exception to this is that there are fonts that have a drawn-in fill as part of their design!  There are many fonts of this type to download!


Click below to see my post on these additional Explore font tutorials (including links to fonts):

Edited 12-1-14 to add:  since I have created this post, Amy Chomas created pen and marker holders that allow for the use of other pens.  To see my post about the Chomas Creations pen holders that allow for the use of gel pens, and links to buy her adapters, click here.  The marker holders will allow for the use of fine Sharpies and glitter pens.  The only way to use gel pens, glitter pens, and Sharpies is with the use of an auxiliary method, like her pen and marker holders.  

Edited 7-12-15 to add:  The Provo Craft company now sells a Cricut Explore without a Cricut pen holder at all, call an Explore ONE.  No matter what, to use a pen or embossing tool in any Explore, you will need the Cricut pen holder.  I have the original Cricut Explore and that is what is pictured here.  In order to use the aftermarket Chomas adapters or any adapter for use of additional pens not on my list, you will first need to be sure that your Explore has a Cricut pen holder.  

58 comments:

Patricia Logan said...

I was looking for this, because I had my Cricut Explore for a month. I had tested the AC markers, but not the others. Thank You for sharing this

Unknown said...

Try the Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens, the metallic are fabulous on black cardstock!

Janis said...

Nadia thank you so much for all your work & time put into this, which helps all of us who own the Explore. I appreciate your help.

Janis

Unknown said...

Where did you find the Chalkboard pens from AC? I can only find packs of the medium and bold point.

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

The Chalk Markers are packaged in medium and bold together. The medium are the pens I used; the bold will not work. I got them at Target.

Unknown said...

Thank you very much! I've had my Explore for over a month & it's still in the box. It was a gift & came as I was in the middle of a craft room remodel (oh what a nightmare). Thankfully I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!
Now I know what pens to keep an eye out for! Thanks again! :)

Nellie said...

Thank you so much,for all this useful information on you blog!It's
just GREAT..

Dariela said...

Thank you for this post is awesome! If you find more markers or pens we can use please let us know is very helpful

Unknown said...

I so appreciate you sharing this information, I had been looking for how to's for awhile.

Would it be tooooo much to ask you on a video tutuorial on the fill in fonts?

Jessica R said...

Thank you for the great information. I just found it through a google search. This is awesome!

Barb S said...

Thank you for sharing this information. It is thoughtful and generous. A great resource and just saved me from buying the wrong Slick Writer.

Charlotte E Padgham said...

This is really great info, thanks so much. I've been having problems with my Cricut metallic pens blunting as they get used which means I can't do finer work with them. Are there any alternative fine point metallic pens out there that can be used in the Explore? Thanks again.

Naomi T said...

As a British crafter the only brand there I recognise as being sold over here is Crayola - but for some reason I can only find the washable version of the fine tip pens. Do you know if these fit and work the same as the normal ones? Thanks!

Unknown said...

I bought a set of the medium Cricut markets and find that they kinda dry out pretty quickly? half way though my first page my silver marker started to look like the cap had been left off it for a day, fresh out of the package! So I purchased the Precise V5 pens to use in my Cricut. I was a little put down. It seemed to work fine but then it kept skipping, like the ink wasn't coming out. I was really bummed that this pen did not work, Because when it did work it was perfect! Maybe I just had a crappy pen, I will try other ones before I count this pen out completely. Thanks for all the ideas, I substituted a BIC ball point pen and it got the job done. Maybe I'm just having bad luck with writing utensils?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

To A Nonny Mouse-- I would try them if they say "Fine Line". Not sure of prices there, but here, they are about $1 and worth the experiment. I know I have seen a pen list for brands in Australia. I would bet someone in the UK has a list too.

To Fawn Kuehne-- I have had wonderful results with the Pilot Precise V5 pens. They are my go-to pens. I have heard that some of the Cricut pens arrived dried out but that Provo Craft quickly replaced them so it would be worth a call to them! Best wishes-- and better luck with pens. :)

Unknown said...

Regarding the Marvy Leplume ii, is it the double ended ones?

Unknown said...

Ok, a little off subject here, but how do I get it to write WHERE I WANT IT!!! I have been trying for over a week, it wants to put the writing where the machine thinks it should go, but since I have pre-cut card stock and spent 2 weeks doing a design to put on the front of said card once I figure it out (I know too much information) everytime I come up carefully lay words out to where I want them to show up on the cards, as soon as I hit "GO" it lays it out totally different! HELP!!!! Please and Thank you <3

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Sharon Schutjer - Yes, they are double-ended but the brush end does not work. The fine end does. The cool thing about that is that you can use the brush end for accents and coloring in by hand and it will match the text that the Explore writes!

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Tammy Petersen - You have to ATTACH the text to the cut. To do that, after you have the text the way you want it (size, style, etc) on the cut you want, you must highlight them both and click the attach button. You can highlight them by making a box over them or you can use the layers box and select them both.

Unknown said...

Can you use Tombow markers? they are just about the same Marvy size.

Shirley Barker said...

Did you see Nadia's comment to you? She tells you how to do it. :)

Karen said...

Thanks so much for this post! I just did my first (very small) project on my Explore and did a write and cut, thanks to your help! One note ... for awhile I couldn't get the text to attach to the shape, the menu just wouldn't let me select "attach" and eventually I discovered "select all" in the tool bar across the top ... so with a box around the cut and type, I did "select all" and then I was able to "attach." I think it might have been because I had a lot of text? Thanks again ... I'm definitely going to have to pick up some more pens!

Belinda said...

My text moves to the back of the object when I select all and attach. Do zag makers work?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

I don't own Zag markers. Let me know if they work! You have to attach the text. Try highlighting the text and shape, then select attach.

Darling Mother said...

Thank you for this post. It's a great help. I bought a pack of Pilot Precise V5 extra fine with caps and can't seem to figure out how to use them. They do click when put in the machine, but the tip doesn't touch the paper when I try to write. What am I doing wrong? Can you help?

Darling Mother said...

Followup...I pushed harder on the Pilot pen and it clicked a second time and now it writes! Thanks.

Unknown said...

Oh my, thank you SO MUCH. I was trying to make invitations for my daughter's birthday, but the AC pens I was using were too thick for the fine writing. Your suggestion on the Pilot pens was spot on! Project saved! Thanks.

Unknown said...

Darn it! I bought an entire pack of Sharpie fine point because I was told those would work. Also,do I understand this correctly that I do NOT have to purchase the pen adapter for the explorer one machine?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Tracey, the Explore ONE does not have a pen holder of any kind. It was the way that Cricut tried to make the Explore One less expensive than the Explore or Explore Air. (Personally, the pen holder is one of the best features on the machine, so manufacturing them this way seemed silly to me and I knew that most people who bought them would want the adapters once they figured it out...and I think Cricut knew that too). So if you want to write or emboss, you will need the pen holder that is manufactured by Cricut that is standard with the regular Explores or available to buy later for the Explore one. My pen list contains pens that fit the Cricut pen holder natively without any other objects assisting it to hold the pen in place. Now...you can buy a pen adapter from Amy Chomas (or I have even seen crafters make their own with narrow pvc pipe and a screw) that will fit IN THE CRICUT PEN ADAPTER which will allow for even more options. You must still have the Cricut pen adapter to use these aftermarket products to fit into!!! These aftermarket holders will allow for the use of Sharpies--the standard ones. I hope this helps, Tracey. Best wishes and happy crafting!!

LadyBadger said...

I'm having an issue with both the V5 And V7 Pens. I have the kind with the cap and have tried several times to get them to work and can't. I have pushed down hard on the pen to make it click and it just doesn't make contact with the paper. Anyone having this problem also?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Not that I have heard. The Pilot Precise pens that I show are my go-to pens.

Darling Mother said...

LadyBadger: I posted that same problem several months ago, but it turned out that when I kept trying, it finally worked. I just didn't have it clicked in all the way.

Unknown said...

FYI, Cray-Z-Art fine line markers work awesome with my Cricut, and they are a steal at about $1.50 for a 10 pack!

Unknown said...

LadyBadger. Having the same issue in my explore with the Precise V5 pens. Clicking in real good, just not making contact with paper. Wondering how some people are getting these to work so well.

Unknown said...

PRECISE V5/7 Solution. For those of you not getting this pen (and possibly others to print) I have a workaround that might help a bit. Instead of setting your writing layers to WRITE, set them to SCORE. This brings the accessory dock down further to the paper. I got good results after I did this. This might damage your pens quicker because of the added pressure so continue at your own risk here!

Missy said...

I'm new to the Cricut Explore AIr world, I recently purchased the pilot precise v5 pen and when I insert into the machine I find that the pen doesn't make contact w/paper. I was wondering if there was an image or any other helpful info (I've tried removing the pen insert from machine and putting it in that way and still no luck with making contact). any help would be wonderful :)

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

I'm sorry, Missy. I simply insert mine and it writes. I don't have another solution.

Unknown said...

Missy. Please read above your comment for my solution to this same exact issue. Should fix things right up for you

Unknown said...

have you experienced any issues with Adobe flash not working when you want to write? I tried to make Christmas tags and my machine would not do anything until I changed the writing to a cut. I have used the write feature before, so I know it works on my machine.

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

I'm sorry, Jessica, I haven't. I would definitely contract Provo Craft and let them know what is going on with your machine.

RESILIENT said...

Thank you so much for this much appreciated post, I absolutely love the Precise V5 pens!!

Unknown said...

I'm new to the cricut (explore one) scene and I bought the Pilot Precise V5 Extra fine .5mm pens in different colors to use but they don't fit correctly with or without the adapter. What am I doing wrong?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Shannon- scroll through the comments to Daniel Mutak's advise on this. See if that helps you!

Unknown said...

Hi, I have the cricut explore and I've been trying to print text with a pen..... everytime I go to the cut mode, my text to print on a piece of paper is on a separate layer.... how do I get my cricut to print with pen, the design on the shape I want.

any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!!

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Stacey, you have to attach the text to the shape.

gracemama said...

Thank you for the info; another question... When I do the "has a writing style" font, it STILL only does outline! Anything I'm doing wrong here?

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Gracemamma - Has A Writing Style are handstroke styles and should not be outlines. You may want to contact Cricut to find out what is going on there.

Unknown said...

Can you tell me if the Tomboy markers work? I have a chance to get them at a cheap price and will buy them if they will fit. Thank you

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

I haven't tried those, Summer. You might want to post your question on one of the Facebook groups for Cricut Explore to see if anyone there has tried them.

Unknown said...

Shopping for my new Cricut Explore today so I was thrilled to find this post! Thanks a million for putting this most-informative list together...have a beautimous day!

Michele's Musings said...

Best. Tip. Ever.

Barb said...

I am brand new to the Explore Air, and after reading this post, I ran out to buy the Pilot Precise V5s, but I wasn't having any luck getting them to touch the paper either. They clicked in, but didn't write! I was so grateful for Daniel's suggestion about setting it to score rather than write. Worked like a charm!

Addie's Spot said...

Oh I'm gonna try this method cuz I'm having issues to.

ImTheNana said...

Very helpful, thank you. I love the Pilot pens, and find that a change in the settings was all I needed (I think I used Kraft) to get it to work smoothly every time.

Nancy said...

I was perplexed when my v5 pens no longer wrote in my Air 2. They worked just fine in my Air. I tried Daniel's suggestion, and while my text was visible, there were still lots of skips. After lots of experimentation, I realized that the materials settings must also be on cardstock or fabric. No more skips and the writing is just like it was in my Air.

Unknown said...

How do you get the creative memories fonts? I really like the be young and free font that you posted in the picture but I am not able to find it.

aepoff said...

I see a lot of people having problems with V5 pen. I also have that problem sometimes but what I am noticing is that sometimes the pen pops back up after letting go of the pen. When it does this is when it does not make contact with the paper. Once you get it to click and not immediately pop back up is when it is going to make contact with the paper. It sometimes takes a few times to make sure it doesn't pop back up but, the results are so worth the trouble.

Nadia (WithGlitteringEyes.blogspot.com) said...

Jessica- I bought them from CM when they sold them. This post is from a while back.

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