Tombow’s Mono 100 Drawing Pencil is a world-class drawing and drafting pencil, which has been the gold standard among artists and animators. When production was discontinued in the US, thousands of letters poured into Tombow begging to bring it back. Well, it’s back, and it has been relabeled as the Tombow Mono Professional pencil. Is the Mono professional pencil as good as its predecessor?
Tombow Mono 100 and Tombow Mono Professional pencils were tested using three different leads, F, B and H.
Tombow USA insists that the pencils are the same, but there are those who just don’t believe it. Since I had samples of both pencils, I thought it would be interesting to compare the abilities of each to see if they are the same or different.
I tested the F, B and H leads of both pencils. I compared the sharpness of the lines, the depth of shading, blending and ability to erase. I also noted any difference in the feel of the pencils as I was using them. I sharpened each pencil using the same sharpener to the same thickness of point to start. These were my observations:
- Overall, the lines and darkness of the leads were equal in appearance, however the Mono Professional pencils produced slightly smoother appearing blends and gradations.
- I was able to produce smoother finger smudges with the Mono Professional pencils than I could with the Mono 100 pencils.
- All of the Mono 100 pencils had a softer feel in the hand, the F lead feeling the softest. However, you would not know this by looking at the drawings since the Mono Professional pencils appeared smoother overall.
- The Mono 100 pencils wore down more quickly than the Mono professional.
- There was an equal ability to erase the gradations of both pencils, but the lines drawn by the Mono 100 pencils erased easier.
- Darkness of heavily-colored areas was consistent for both the Mono 100 and Mono Professional.
- The length of the Mono 100 is a little more than 1/8″ longer than the Mono professional pencil.
- Lead diameters appear to be the same for each lead.
For the most part, the pencils performed equally. The Mono Professional Pencils had slightly smoother blends and finger smudges than the Mono 100 pencils. The lines created by the Mono 100 pencils were a little easier to erase.
Drawing samples from the F leads show that the lines and dark, solid areas look virtually the same but the shading of the Mono Professional Pencils appears softer.
The B leads look almost the same, but the gradations in the ball are slightly smoother on the Mono Professional pencil drawing. The lines drawn by the Mono 100 look a little heavier and darker.
The shading and smudges on the H leads look nearly identical, but the darkness of the Mono Professional pencil look a little darker throughout the drawings.
Overall, I found very little difference between the pencils. Both performed equally well and the drawings I produced looked the same. The only difference I can point out is that the Mono 100 felt slightly softer and wore down slightly faster, but the fact that it is slightly longer makes me think it will last just as long as the Mono Professional. In conclusion, I believe the Tombow Mono Professional pencils are as good as Tombow Mono 100 pencils and will perform equally well.
Journaling Arts 
The Mono Professional is a repackaged Mono. It is not the Mono 100. It is marginally inferior to the Mono 100 by Tombow Japan’s reckoning. This is not fanboy talk. If you hold a classic Mono next to the “new” Mono Professional, there are absolutely no differences between the pencils themselves. They are the same pencil, from the graphite to the barrel dimensions to the paint and imprint, and even the hardness range. The Mono 100 is the premium version of the Mono (and, by extension, the Mono Professional). It has a different barrel, a very different imprint/paint job, different graphite, different price, and different hardness range.
The difference between leads, according to Tombow Japan, is that the Mono (and the Mono Professional) have a lower density graphite mix (20% lower). They of course stand by the Mono, but they put it in a different price stratum (1,134 yen for the Mono [Professional] and 1,764 yen for the Mono 100)
However, individuals sometimes interpret real world results a little differently than the pricing and marketing suggests. A similar example was back on the now-defunct Pencils and Music blog, where the author felt that the standard Mitsubishi Uni (though he was apparently unaware it was the standard model) was better than the premium Hi-Uni.
That you felt the standard pencil is roughly equal in quality to the premium model is not surprising–they are very similar in graphite performance. However, the Mono Professional is not a re-released Mono 100. Tombow USA is merely importing the standard Mono, while the Mono 100 is still being made and sold by Tombow Japan (and can also be bought in the USA by way of JetPens or ordered from Bundoki/Pencils.jp and other sources).
Hope that helps.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for your comment and for the information. My test was done purely to compare the pencils and to give my point of view of how they performed. To me what matters most is the performance of the pencil, not the marketing or name the pencil has.
My comments about the Mono Professional Drawing Pencil replacing the Mono 100 were based on ads run by Tombow USA, which I have included in this comment. This is not something I just randomly made up. According to Tombow USA, the lead in the Mono Professional is the same as the lead in the Mono 100. You can review the ad and judge this for yourself whether this is true or not. It is interesting to note that Tombow USA and Tombow Japan differ on their statements. Which one is telling the truth, I don’t know, but either one has something to gain from selling their statement to customers. I guess it is up to us to believe the line that makes us feel best about the pencils we have chosen. Either way, it doesn’t matter if you are happy with the pencil you are using.
The problem with the general claim, which surely is regarding the withdraw of distribution in the US, not the withdraw of production, is that Tombow operates globally – and this isn’t what they say in other markets.
I agree with Robert’s statements. Note that the actual 2010 Tombow catalogue differentiates between the Mono 100, Mono (which the US branch is calling the Mono Professional), Mono-R, Mono-RS, and Mono-J.
Japanese packaging also incudes a statement explaining the difference between the Mono 100 and Mono. A translation can be found here:
http://pencilog.textcube.com/22
In Europe, you can see Tombow referring to the Mono 100 as “… the best pencil ever made”:
http://tomboweurope.com/malen_und_zeichnen/mono100.html
There is also a Tombow Europe site just for the Mono 100:
http://www.mono-100.de/en/index.php
The statements of the US distributor or branch (assuming they are the source of the claim) just don’t make sense when we can easily see that Mono is absolutely not withdrawn.
Hi Stephen,
Again, Tombow USA and Tombow Japan are clearly saying different things (please see the photo of Tombow USA’s ad below). Both have something to gain by making such claims, so how are we to know which to believe? I say the proof is in the pudding. If Tombow Mono professional pencils perform as well as the Tombow Mono 100s, what is the harm in using the Mono Professional instead of a more expensive, more difficult to acquire Mono 100 pencil? In my experience, based on performance alone, I have no reason to prefer one over the other. But, since my funds are limited, I get more bang for my buck by choosing to use the Mono Professional without giving anything up, exact maybe a little bit of status.
I tend to be skeptical of most marketing claims, especially when advertisers are trying to extract more money from me than what is typical for a particular product, when I find no difference in how the product works for me. So in this case, I am happy to believe the statements from Tombow USA and have no problem using the Tombow Mono Professional pencils in my artwork.
Best,
Cynthia
Of course, that last sentence was meant to read:
The statements of the US distributor or branch (assuming they are the source of the claim) just don’t make sense when we can easily see that Mono 100 is absolutely not withdrawn.
I’ve been using Tombow Mono 100 for many years and have no idea why the last few years retailers in the US erroneously were spreading info that Mono 100 is not produced anymore?! In fact, artists because of this were forced to import these pencils themselves either from japan or Europe. Now with more web stores outh there it is easier to buy these pencils even in the US. My personal belief is that this was slammed in public throats as US distributors (or whoever runs US Tombow) thought that woodcased pancil is dead and no one would pay $2 for one woodcased pencil therefore they themselves are the culprits for this mess where people who want a real pencil cannot but one. can you imagine me using those yucky yellow pencils fromStaples? Fooy. You have to sharpen it every few seconds and ot is often of fake or left over wood dust..horrible.
Anyway. The Tombow Professional pencil in my opinion is about 25% less quality when compared to Mono 100 which is an art piece itself.
Hi Kakorako,
I did not say the Mono 100’s are not being produced anymore, but that the production of the Mono 100 was discontinued in the US. Like you, I don’t understand why people are saying the Mono 100 is no longer produced at all. I guess some folks assume that if a product is discontinued in the US, it ceases to exist everywhere. Tombow Mono 100 pencils are very much alive in other parts of the world, but for those of us in the US, it costs substantially more than the Mono Professional and has limited availability. For this reason, I will be using the Tombow Mono Professional pencils once I use up my stash of Mono 100s.
Cynthia
It was never produced in or specifically for the US. Tombow is a Japanese company and makes the pencils in Japan. Tombow USA is merely an American distributor. Their relationship is not an equal one.
There is a low-probability chance that Tombow USA is being accurate and honest in their copy, which would suggest they are ordering the standard midrange Mono with upgraded lead, but that is pretty unlikely given the price bracket. The much more likely possibility is that Tombow USA made an error when writing up the copy. It is not uncommon for US distribution arms of large Japanese companies to be completely ignorant about products.
Tombow USA’s current website only references them as Mono drawing pencils, both as singles and as a set, and makes no active reference to the Mono 100 anymore. Retailers seem to keep using the reference though, which just confuses folks.
You may compare however you like, and you may have preference for an inferior pencil. It is a common phenomenon as I mentioned in my earlier post. That the Mono 100 is an objectively superior pencil does not necessarily mean that end user subjectivity will always resonate with that. There are plenty of people who like the Staedtler Noris or even the Tradition more than the Mars, though the Mars uses objectively superior lead. The Hi-Uni is objectively superior to the Uni, but that does not prevent some people from liking the standard Uni more.
Nobody said your opinions of their performance were invalid or even really wrong. Nobody said you MUST like the Mono 100 more than the Mono [Professional]. The comments were not personal, but rather trying to set the record straight as to what the product actually is. It is the midrange standard Mono with a different paper insert and an inferior plastic box.
I asked Tombow USA to explain the difference between the Mono and the Mono 100. I received this reply:
Hello Gerard, Thanks for your interest in Tombow pencils and I love the fact that you use them for your work! I know that Artists that use our pencils are very dedicated.
The lead for the Mono and Mono 100 are exactly the same. It’s the wood and paint that are different. The Mono have the better paint thickness being 8 times instead of 6 times.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks, Karen
Karen Modica
Product Manager
355 Satellite Boulevard NE
Suite 300
Suwanee, GA 30024
p: 678.318.3344 x 220 f: 678.318.3347
Thank you for your comment, Jerry. This is the same basic response I have received from Tombow USA. I appreciate you sharing it with us.
Cynthia
I savour, cause I found exactly what I used to be looking for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye
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Just wanted to say, this is a fantastic post, very helpful. Thank you!
The comments are interesting, too. Clearly, when using both (as I am also), there is a slight difference in laydown, and like you say, the Mono 100s feel smoother against the page. I find that really evident with the F, not so much with the softer grades like 4B and 6B.
And as for liking an “inferior” pencil in the Mono (Professional), I would argue that using a more expensive process to get a purer graphite doesn’t automatically make the Mono 100s superior. Who says a purer graphite is always preferable? The bit of extra tactile feedback I get from the Pros suit my drawing style better, I LIKE it; it’s far from scratchy, but I enjoy and even prefer feeling the graphite slightly bite the paper. The “superior” Mono 100 is too smooth, I don’t like the feeling of it’s laydown, it’s like drawing with lipstick on a mirror, and I find it unpleasant. It also doesn’t give me the necessary feedback that I need when I cannot see the pencil lead beneath my hand.
Essentially what I’m saying is, a less pure graphite is arguably superior for drawing. The Mono 100 is overprocessed.
Cheers!