Okay, so I’m going to start this blog the same way I start most of our videos, which is by kind of rambling into something that hopefully makes sense by the end. Bear with me. We make a lot of markers at Chalk Ink®, a lot of colors, a lot of sizes, and I genuinely love all of them in the way a parent isn’t supposed to have a favorite child but absolutely does. And our 15mm white is THE FAVORITE CHILD! There, I said it.

We actually filmed a video about this marker recently, and Anilyn and I were doing what we always do, which is talking over each other and demonstrating on windows and sidewalks and signs, and I kept thinking, this needs to be a blog too, because not everyone watches videos and also I’m trying to get better at this whole blogging thing. So here we are.

What Makes the 15mm Actually Different

Here’s the thing about the 15mm tip: it’s wide. Like, really wide. And that width is not just a fun novelty, it changes how you interact with the marker completely. When you pick up a 15mm Chalk Ink® marker and start writing, there’s this moment where you realize your hand wants to move differently than it does with a regular pen. You want to open up. You want to be bigger. And that’s not an accident.

Anilyn, who is one of the most talented chalk artists I know and also happens to be an incredible chalk art teacher, always talks about this. She’ll tell her students to think of themselves as an orchestra conductor when they’re using the markers, especially the bigger tips. Exaggerate the letters. Exaggerate the flowers, the hearts, the flourishes. Just lean into it and go for it. And it’s amazing how beautiful it flows when you stop trying to be precise and just kind of... conduct. I love that framing so much and I think about it every single time I pick one up.

The wet-wipe formula is the other piece of this that matters so much for the 15mm specifically. Because you’re writing big, you want to be able to adjust, to try again, to change the menu tomorrow or wipe the window when the season’s over. The whole point of writing bold is that it should feel playful and low-stakes, not terrifying. The wet-wipe formula makes sure it stays in the fun category.

Picture You Are at a Drive-Thru Right Now

Okay, so I want you to actually picture this. You’re at a Starbucks or a Dutch Brothers, you’ve got a big drive-thru lane, maybe some pillars, definitely some windows. Someone needs to tell the customer about the fantastic berry flavor energy drink special today. Someone needs to point people left toward the order window. And the options are basically: print a banner (expensive, slow, inflexible) or grab a 15mm white Chalk Ink® marker and write it on the window yourself.

It’s legal graffiti is what it is. You just go for it, accentuate the lettering, make it more playful than any printed sign could ever be. And when the special changes tomorrow, or next week, or when the season turns, you wipe it off and start fresh. I’ve watched people use these markers on drive-thru windows and pillars and sidewalks and every surface you can think of at a coffee shop, and there’s always this shift that happens where they stop being nervous and just start having fun. That’s the goal, right? Keep life colorful.

The same is true for any retail environment, honestly. A bar with a daily cocktail written on the window. A boutique with a sale announcement right on the glass. A classroom with a welcome message on the door. Teachers get this immediately because they’re naturally problem solvers and they see a marker that can write big and bold on almost any hard surface and their minds start going. I love talking to teachers about this. They always have ideas I’ve never thought of.

White Is the Color That Does Everything

White is by far our most popular color across all our sizes, and I think the reason for that is white works on everything. It shows up on dark windows, on concrete, on chalkboard surfaces, on glass, on slate. It’s got this universality that other colors, even our most beloved ones, can’t quite match. If you’re going to try one Chalk Ink® marker for the first time, almost every retailer, teacher and restaurant owner I’ve talked to for twenty years has ended up with a 15mm white first. And then they come back for more.

We also have a white fluorescent safety marker, which is a slightly different beast. It’s part of our Safety Marker® line and it has more of a utilitarian personality, but it’s worth knowing about if your needs lean more toward visibility in work environments, on vehicles or concrete floors rather than window art at a coffee shop. Both have their place. Both are honestly pretty great.

I also have to mention this because it makes me happy every time. We have another bold marker called the Mini Max, which is our 8mm option for when you want something with real presence but slightly more control than the 15mm gives you. The Mini Max is named after my dog, Max. I don’t have a huge elaborate story behind it, it’s just that Max is a great dog and deserves a marker named after him, and now he has one. These are the kinds of decisions that happen when you run your own company for long enough. You name markers after your dog.

The Mini Max is a great companion to the 15mm white if you’re working on something that needs both broad strokes and finer lettering. A lot of people use the two sizes together for exactly that reason, the 15mm for impact and the Mini Max for the details that make everything come together.

The Bottom Line (Which I Know I Should Have Led With, but Here We Are)

I genuinely do not know a retailer, teacher, bar, coffee shop, event planner, or a chalk artist on this earth who does not need a 15mm white Chalk Ink® marker in their life. I’ve been saying this for years and I’ll keep saying it. If you’ve never tried one, start there. Write on a window. Write on the ground. Write a sign. Do the orchestra conductor thing Anilyn talks about and just let your hand move bigger than feels natural. I promise something good happens when you do.

Stay colorful out there.