We’ve had Pilot Frixion pens in our house for a few years because they were recommended for my youngest as something that makes an easy dark mark, but is erasable. (We keep a stock of #1 pencils as well.) I recently found out that it is the friction heat from the eraser that “erases” the ink, and microwaves can make the ink disappear as well. Time for an experiment!

The regular pen ink behaved as expected, with no change after exposure to heat or cold. The Frixion ink does disappear when “erased” with the attached eraser, but also when subjected to 1 minute on high in the microwave. We found 1 minute to be the minimum time required. The best part is that when the paper is placed in the freezer, all the ink reappears! There is some fading, but it is all quite readable. I have cycled the paper four times through the heat/cold process, and the writing is still visible after a couple hours in the freezer.

I have been using these pens to write on greeting cards because I can erase. Hm. If mailed a card to the north during the winter, I guess those mistakes come back. Good to know.