A dry highlighter has several advantages over a traditional highlighter, which uses a fiber-tipped pen to distribute wet ink. With dry versions, there is no bleeding or smearing, either of the highlighter ink itself or of the words underneath. The pen won’t dry out and you don’t have to wait for its lines to dry to write over the top of it or to close your book. Dry highlighters won’t leak in your backpack or purse or desk.