This seems to be part of the stationary landscape since its launch in 1965. But I have never really understood why people use this product anymore. I can appreciate that people writing in biro pens can make mistakes and that these need to be corrected, but whilst the need exists, this is not the right product. I find it dangerous to have on my desk because if you leave the lid off for just a moment, you will definitely knock it over and ruin all of your other papers, possessions and computer.

But even when I am being careful, I do not like the actual Tipp-Ex fluid. It is designed to be applied to mistakes and cover them over. However, when you are drawing over them, you either have to use a lot on the text, or it still lets the ink underneath show through. Moreover, the only colour I have ever seen is white. Now that might be useful for some people, but paper forms (which is what I use it for mostly) are rarely the same colour. That means that using Tipp-Ex draws attention to the mistake in a far greater way than a simple crossing-out would.

Thirdly, the foam applicator is a nuisance tool that really doesn't help the product. When you pull it out of the container, even after a vigorous shake, it still has too much liquid on the brush, which tends to drip or ruin your paper. It claims to have a sharp edge for detailed correction and a broader edge for other uses. Nonetheless, when you actually use it, this wont make a blind bit of difference as you try and sweep the Tipp-Ex over your mistake and hope for the best.

Its main problem, in my view, is that the whole point of using Tipp-Ex is that you can cover over your mistake and write over it again. It fails. You have to wait a ridiculously long time for the solvent to evaporate otherwise it will be a sticky mess. Then your pen will be scratchy when it has dried and it will fail to write properly anyway. The Tipp-Ex pens have all these problems, though I feel that the correction tape at least does not have the problems associated with liquidity.