I'll third the Manfrotto, and I'm surprised to find people with the Carbon Fiber Tripods!!
I have 2 Manfrotto CF tripods and the CF monopod, and they are absolutely FANTASTIC, but I also carry them around all day, so the fact that they weigh practically nothing compared to the same tripods we have in aluminium make them a no-brainer. If you don't plan on luging them around, the Aliminum legs will work just as well, and don't get me wrong, the aluminum ones are not heavy, I carried them around for years just fine, the CF ones are just LIGHT (the magnesium heads weigh more than the tripod does...)
One thing that a lot of people don't pay attention to in tripods is the number of leg segments, which can be a double edge sword. More leg segments will give you a lower minimum height and higher maximum height, both fantastic features, but it makes raising and lowering it a bigger pain. For most pen work, extreme height is not usually an issue, but if you want to use it for other things, you may want to pay attention to minimum and maximum height measurements.
FAR beyond the tripod legs, the head is where the variety really exists. There are more heads for more different purposes than you can shake a stick at. If you are not shooting video, don't bother with anything labeled a "fluid" or "oil filled". They are only designed to make panning and such smooth for video work. 3 Way pan and tilt heads are great for precision work (Geared heads are even better, but kind of extreme...) and can be easier to adjust for table top photography, as you can adjust the camera position individually in 3 different axis', up/down, left/right, and tilt left/tilt right. Ball heads are much easier to adjust, but harder to do fine tuning or critical adjustments, and in my opinion they will always tend to drop a bit after being locked down (however, I only use ball heads, I just deal with that since they are so much quicker). Ball heads are NOT good for very large cameras (lens size included...) as they generally have MUCH lower ability to handle weight and torque than the pan/tilts.
I would suggest, if you have a good local store within driving distance that has them in stock, go take a look at them. They are very hard to buy based on "specs" as it can be difficult to really see how big, heavy (or light), awkward, etc. without getting your hands on them. It really needs to "feel" right to you to make using it anything other than a chore...