So we got this really big order the other day from the Durham County Board of Elections, and I have to tell you, it made me think about something I hadn't really considered before. Elections need markers. Good ones. The kind that stay on when you need them to stay on and come off when you need them to come off. And apparently we make exactly the right product for that, which is kind of perfect timing because midterm elections are coming up and I'm realizing there are a whole lot of Board of Elections offices out there who probably don't know we exist yet.

Let me back up and explain what they ordered and why it matters.

The Difference Between Wet Wipe and Artista Pro

We make two main formulas at Chalk Ink®. Our wet wipe formula, which is what most people know us for, and our Artista Pro formula, which is what the Durham County Board of Elections just ordered a bunch of. The wet wipe formula is great for things like restaurant menus and home projects and anything where you want the marker to wipe off relatively easily. If it rains on it, it's probably coming off. If you scrub it with a damp cloth, it's definitely coming off. That's the whole point.

But Artista Pro is different. It's a much stronger, richer, more opaque formula that basically stays on until you actively decide to take it off. It's not permanent in the sense that you're stuck with it forever, but it's also not temporary in the sense that a little rain is going to wash it away. It sits in this really useful middle ground where you can put it on something outside, it'll stay through weather and time, and then when the election is over or the campaign is done or whatever event you're marking for is finished, you can remove it with the right cleaner.

That's exactly what Board of Elections offices need. They're putting up signs and markings that need to last through the entire election cycle, but they don't want something permanent that's going to be there forever. Artista Pro is perfect for that.

Red, White, and Blue for Everyone

Durham County ordered our 15 millimeter Clown Nose Red Artista Pro markers, which is a really bold, beautiful, classic red. And it got me thinking about how we also have this color in white and blue, which means we've got the full red, white, and blue election palette covered. Whether you're Republican, Democrat, or running for local office on some completely different platform, we've got colors that work.

I want to be really clear about something here. We're not political. We sell markers. Good markers that work for a lot of different purposes. But when it comes to elections, I genuinely believe our Artista Pro formula is one of the best tools out there for Board of Elections offices who need signage that's more than temporary but not quite permanent. And that's not about politics. That's just about solving a practical problem with a good product.

Why Board of Elections Need Better Markers

Here's what I know about elections from a retail and operations perspective. There's a ton of signage involved. Polling place signs, directional markers, informational signs about where to go and what to bring and how the process works. A lot of that signage needs to be outside. It needs to last through potentially weeks of weather. It needs to be bright and visible and easy to read. And then when the election is over, it needs to come down cleanly without leaving a permanent mark on public property.

That's a pretty specific set of requirements, and I'm guessing a lot of Board of Elections offices have been using temporary yard signs or laminated paper signs or something that's either not durable enough or way more hassle than it needs to be. Artista Pro markers let you write directly on surfaces. Glass, metal, sealed wood, acrylic. You can mark polling places, write directional info, label voting stations, whatever you need. It stays put until you're ready to remove it, and then it comes off clean.

I'm excited about this order from Durham County because it means they figured out that our markers solve a real problem for them. And I'm excited to talk about it here because I'm realizing there are probably hundreds of other Board of Elections offices in other counties and other states who have the exact same problem and don't know there's a better solution.

How to Try Artista Pro If You're a Board of Elections

If you work for a Board of Elections office and you're reading this thinking "wait, this might actually be useful for us," here's what I want you to do. Give us a call or shoot us an email. We're happy to send you a sample so you can test it out before committing to a big order. Or if you just want to buy a couple markers to try them yourself, you can do that too. We have them available on our website at chalkink.com and on Amazon.

We've got Clown Nose Red, Chalk White, and Pacific Blue in the Artista Pro formula, which covers most election color needs. But we also have a whole bunch of other colors if you're working on local elections or special events or anything else where you need different color coding. The point is, we've got options, and we're really good at helping people figure out which formula and which colors are going to work best for their specific situation.

Midterm elections are coming up. If you're part of a Board of Elections team and you're already thinking about signage and logistics and how to make everything run smoothly, this is worth looking into. Our Artista Pro markers are designed for exactly this kind of use. Durable enough to last through the election cycle, removable enough that you're not stuck with it forever, and available in the colors you actually need.

God Bless America and Also Good Markers

I realize this is maybe the most civic minded blog post I've ever written, which is kind of funny because I'm just here talking about markers. But elections matter. The process matters. And if we can make that process even a tiny bit easier for the people running polling places and managing logistics, that feels like a good thing to be part of.

So here's to Durham County Board of Elections for placing that order and giving us a chance to prove that Artista Pro works for this kind of application. And here's to all the other Board of Elections offices out there who might not know yet that there's a better tool for the job.

We make good markers. You run elections. Let's make this work.

If you want to try a sample or place an order, head to chalkink.com or give us a call. We're here to help.

God bless America. And good markers.