I’ve just come from Cocoa Box Labs, where our crack team of scientists have been doing round the clock shifts. They wear impeccably white lab coats, and are surrounded by bubbling flasks of green liquid, both of which are just for show. But they also collect enough really awesome ink pens to put a Japanese stationery shop to shame— and there are piles of notebooks filled with writing samples.

We care deeply about the personal touch of handwriting, and the thrill of a strong black line against a blank page is one of our raisons d’être. Penultimate is a great, ever-improving note-taking tool (and yes, using it makes you smarter and more attractive to members of the opposite sex). But we believe that one of the main reasons people keep coming back is because it’s got the most natural “ink” out there. When you write, it looks like your handwriting and feels like you’re creating something tangible. 

But there’s always room for improvement.

The (possibly imaginary) scientists in the Labs have gone back over the three carefully crafted pens that Penultimate offers, and individually tuned them. Honed them. Made them that much more amazing.

Much of the work has gone into the fine (thin) pen, which has become both thinner and smoother to write with. In particular if you’re using a stylus, the “legibility threshold” has gotten smaller; you’ll be able to fit somewhat more information on a page. But all the pens have become smoother and more natural. It’s a little subtle, but that’s OK— you’ll notice that it feels better.

Your existing notes haven’t changed; we don’t like the idea of altering the marks you’ve already put to page. New writing will use the new pens. 

This is the bread and butter of Penultimate 2.1, out today. There are a couple other really small goodies that leapt in—like Undo/Redo that persists for the whole app session—but really, this one is about the ink. (The scientists are already back in the labs, working on the next round of good stuff.)

We think you’re really going to like this. Check it out, enjoy, and let us know what you think, as always.

Ben Z.