When you’re a Copic Marker beginner, there are so many little questions. Some of the things you worry about seem silly but then again, maybe it’s a big deal? You’d hate to accidentally ruin your markers.
I teach artistic Copic Marker and one of the most common questions students ask is:
“What’s the best way to store my Copic Markers? Horizontal or vertical?”
A quick search of the internet does not provide a definitive answer. Some people store Copics horizontally and some vertically. Is one way better than the other?
I’ve used Copics professionally since 1992. Today, let’s look at what I’ve learned in almost 30 years of marker use.
Is it better to store Copic Markers horizontally or vertically? The truth is, it really doesn’t matter. Copics are not gravity fed— they work through capillary action which prevents the ink from sinking to the lowest point of the marker. Whichever way you store your Copics, they’ll be fine.
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Horizontal or Vertical Marker storage: Does it matter?
There are so many storage options for Copic Markers. When you’re ready to graduate from the free shoe box you’ve been using, you’ve got tons of options— everything from zipper craft bags to hard plastic locking boxes.
Some storage units stand the markers upright.
Some organizers store the markers laying down.
But which option is healthiest for the markers?
“Sunny Gerbera” colored by the author, Amy Shulke. Copic Markers plus Holbein Colored Pencil details. This digital stamp is available for purchase at Sketch-Garden.com here.
It seems like if you left your markers upright for a long period of time, maybe the top end might dry out a bit as the ink falls down to the lower end.
But then again, if you store Copics for a long time horizontally, maybe the ink might seep down to the lowest point in the center, pulling ink away from both ends?
And you’ve spent far too much money on these markers to accidentally ruin them by storing them the wrong way!
Relax. Copics are not affected much by gravity! Store them whichever way is most convenient to you.
Stop worrying. You won’t ruin your Copics by storing them in the wrong position.
And stop listening to folks preaching about the hellfire and brimstone headed your way if you don’t heed their storage advice.
It doesn’t matter which way you store your Copic Markers.
Both horizontal and vertical storage units work fine.
There is no wrong way to store your Copic Markers.
Copic Markers defy gravity
Let me preface this by warning you that I wasn’t a physics major.
I was an art student. We didn’t do much of the mathish-sciencey stuff.
But here’s what you need to know about Copic Markers:
If Copic Markers were nothing but liquid ink inside, you’d need to worry about which direction you stored the markers. In this case gravity would feed each nib and whichever nib pointed upward would slowly drain to the lower end.
But Copic Markers are not empty inside!
Inside your marker, there’s a fibrous sponge. We call this the marker core. The core is suspended in the center of the marker and each nib inserts into the core.
The core holds the ink and feeds it to both nibs equally.
Now here’s the thing about the core. Remember when I said it was fibrous? That’s the key to marker physics.
pssttt… “fibrous” is just a fancy way of saying “made from a ton of little fibers”
Fibrous cores act like a sponge… actually, they’re better than a sponge. They hold all the wet ink particles using what’s called capillary action. You can read more about capillary action on Wikipedia here.
But if you want the art student’s explanation: Remember the last time you spilled your coffee and you used a towel to soak up the mess? The towel absorbed the coffee and held the liquid between the threads until you could wring the towel at the sink. That’s capillary action at work— the towel absorbs the liquid and stores it for you.
Your marker core holds ink the same way.
Capillary action is pretty cool because if given enough time and little opportunity to evaporate, the core distributes the ink between all the fibers equally. Then the nibs also grab onto the moist ink (more capillary action at work) and the nibs then hold the fresh wet ink.
And here’s the magical part: Capillary action is stronger than gravity!
Thanks to capillary action, the ink isn’t going anywhere.
The ink inside your marker absolutely will NOT settle because capillary action is stronger than the pull of gravity.
So all of this worry about the top nib drying out or the bottom nib getting too juicy is pure fiction.
But the Copic Website says…
Oh my gosh.
If you’re free for the next couple of years, can I vent about how bad the Copic website is?
I’ve used Copics for almost 30 years now and that was back before they had a website.
Yes, I’m a dinosaur. I go back to the days when there was a paper catalog with user info and tips in the center section.
In the last 30 years, Copic has never been able to make up their mind about which direction to store the markers.
I’ve seen Too (the parent company of Copic) recommend horizontal and in other places recommend vertical. I’ve also seen them say it doesn’t matter.
In Copic Certification Classes (sponsored by Imagination International, not Too), the instructors all agreed it didn’t matter.
I visited the website once in 2019 to show a student where they said it didn’t matter only to find they were recommending vertical. And if you check it now, they’re saying horizontal again.
Their current website is a complete mess— a poorly translated version of the Japanese site and I’m guessing the translator has never touched a marker.
So you can’t go by the website. They’ll change their mind again tomorrow.
Forget what Copic says— what do they actually do?
This part is the clincher for me.
Copic may change their mind whenever the wind changes direction but let’s think about this for a minute…
All Copic Markers are manufactured in Japan and exported to other countries.
So Copic Markers sit in a box waiting to go from the factory to the shipping center. Then they’re loaded into shipping crates and loaded onto a giant boat. Then they float across the ocean until they land at a sea port where they’re loaded onto a semi truck or an airplane. The truck or airplane then drives to a distribution center where they sit in storage until a retail store orders them as inventory. Then they’re shipped to the store where they’re displayed on shelves for months or even years until you walk in and purchase it.
At no point in this process is the box ever marked: THIS END UP!
From the factory floor to your door takes many months. If Copic cared about horizontal or vertical, they could easily indicate which direction to transport and store the markers.
And here’s another interesting point:
Too does not indicate on their packaging which way to display their markers.
Too provides horizontal storage units to stores for single open stock markers.
Too makes hanging vertical packages for trios and assortments.
Too sells marker sets in vertical storage acrylic boxes.
Too sells both vertical and horizontal desk units, bags, wallets, and storage cases.
So it makes no sense that the only time Copic cares which direction you store the markers is after you’ve paid money and taken the product home.
If it mattered, if Copics were really dying on cargo ships or store shelves, they wouldn’t want to risk you buying dead markers.
So if Copic doesn’t care which direction they store markers, why should you?
Find a storage unit that works for you
Store your Copic Markers however you want.
You can store them in stand up units on your desk or put them in travel sleeves. In a box with a fox or on a train in the rain…
Horizontal or vertical doesn’t matter.
Organize your Copic Markers in whatever way works best for your needs and in your space.
There is no best way to store a Copic Marker.
There is no wrong way to store a Copic Marker.
Well, maybe avoid storing them in the freezer or the oven… but other than that, you’ve got a free pass to do whatever you want.
How do I store my markers?
Over the years, I’ve stored my markers many ways.
And in case you’re wondering, I have the full collection minus the Toners and Fluorescents which I never use. At least half of my markers are over 20 years old.
Copics will last a long time if you take care of them properly.
But direction is not part of any proper care routine.
When I first started, Copics came in cardboard boxes (horizontal). I used the boxes until they fell apart, then I moved to a large shoe box (vertical).
Finally, I got rid of my DeSign brand markers and moved my Copics to the plastic display I bought for them (vertical). When that broke down, I used a series of drawers (vertical).
My travel units have been both horizontal and vertical. I now travel with the Copic hard suitcase thing which I’d link you to but apparently it has been discontinued (but it was vertical storage).
My current desktop storage unit is a set of acrylic store displays, also discontinued (horizontal). I’ve just recently moved to a new studio and I’m brainstorming how to create built-in storage which won’t collect dust the way acrylic does.
And how about when I color?
I remove the markers I need from horizontal storage and place them vertically in a mug which prevents them from rolling onto the floor. As I color, I lay what I’m not using horizontally.
Honestly, this is just a long way of saying: It doesn’t matter.
In 30 years, my markers have been stored every which way and they’ve all lived to tell the tale.
In summary:
It doesn’t matter whether you store your Copic Markers horizontally or vertically. Both work.
Copic Markers are not gravity fed, they work by capillary action which means the ink will not sink inside the marker.
No matter which way you store your marker, providing that your marker is kept full and juicy, you’ll always have a marker ready for coloring.
“Sunny Gerbera” colored by the author, Amy Shulke. Copic Markers plus Holbein Colored Pencil details. This digital stamp is available for purchase at Sketch-Garden.com here.
Amy Shulke is a professional illustrator who has used Copic Markers since 1990. She teaches artistic coloring classes online at VanillaArts.com and locally in Michigan.
Marker Novice is Amy’s completely free resource devoted to beginner marker education. For intermediate/advanced artistic coloring articles, see her Studio Journal here.
Further reading on related topics:
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