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Kunio Kato and the Staedtler Mars Lumograph 80th Anniversary edition

The 2010 Academy Awards are just a couple of weeks away. Last year, we noticed that Japanese Animator Kunio Kato won the Oscar for Best Animated Short. A notable acceptance speech included giving thanks to his pencil.

It looks like Kato has not gone unappreciated by legendary pencil manufacturer Staedtler. To honour the 80th anniversary of [...]

Staedtler WOPEX pencil review

Almost a year ago, the 2009 Paperworld trade show saw industry giant Staedtler announce a new pencil technology called WOPEX (Wood Pencil Extrusion).

While neither extruded pencils nor reconstituted wood products are brand new, the combination certainly is, and being backed and promoted by Staedtler, the WOPEX may become a major development in pencil history.
Extruded pencils [...]

Staedtler Norica pencils

The Norica is one of Staedtler’s second tier brands. Apart from this page at Staedtler Thailand (which shows yet another Norica), I don’t find it officially mentioned by Staedtler.
We have here the (modern) 132 46 from Thailand, and the vintage 130 41 from Great Britain. Comments from a previous post indicate that there are even [...]

Staedtler’s oldest brands – the Atlas and Minerva pencils

Staedtler is one of the world’s foremost pencil manufacturers. While many companies struggle to maintain a single mainstream pencil line, Staedtler has four global brands – Mars Lumograph, Tradition, Noris, and Minerva. They of course also have a number of specialty and local lines.
Note: The photos were taken on green Clairefontaine graph paper, and received [...]

Interview with Staedtler legal counsel

The Managing Intellectual Property website has a lengthy interview with Staedtler’s chief legal counsel.
Naturally, a lot of attention is given to Staedtler’s brands and trademarks.
Though Mars dates from 1900, Staedtler has two older brands: Atlas and Minerva. I wasn’t previously aware of Atlas.
A very interesting read.
LINK: Interview: Thomas Schatz, Staedtler Group

Staedtler Dry Highlighter 146 pencil

In March, we looked at the Lyra Mega Liner highlighting pencil. The offerings in this category are few, but there is at least one alternative.
I just discovered that Staedtler Austria also manufacture highlighting pencils. The ones I found are packaged in a “blister pack” and are sold as “Bible Highlighters”.

The pencils are round, and [...]