This colour sampling pen looks incredible – if it's real

Readers of a certain vintage will remember the sheer thrill and excitement of the first time they used a pen that could alternate between different ink colours. Back in those days we were limited to around four different hues. Skip forward to 2023, and we're looking at 16 million. 

The newly announced Colorpik Pen uses an RGB sensor to scan colours from your surroundings and draw them in seconds. Essentially, it's like a real-life Photoshop eyedropper tool. But if previous experience is anything to go by, we'd recommend exercising caution before dropping dough on the Kickstarter. 

"You don't need to buy a million pens, just buy one pen with a million colours!" Screams the Colorpik Pen's Kickstarter page. The pen apparently combines an RGB colour sensor with four refillable ink cartridges. To find a particular shade, the holder simply needs to hold the pen against it and press a button to start scanning. The four 'base' inks will then be combined to create that colour.

The pen is apparently rechargeable through micro-USB (no USB-C, unfortunately) for 15 hours of performance. It is available with multiple pen nibs including ballpoint, marker and fountain, and is available to pledge for on Kickstarter from $149.

But it's definitely worth noting that the concept might not be as innovative as Colorpik Inc claims. The Scribble Pen claimed to be able to do the same thing back in 2016, but according to several Reddit threads, ended up somewhat of a disaster, with the Kickstarter cancelled the prototype allegedly revealed to be fake. The Colorpik Pen looks remarkably similar, right down to the dated micro-USB charging port, so we'd approach this one with caution. If you're looking for something a little more trustworthy, check out our guide to the best pens for artists.