What is the best way to write a file number on my negatives?

[AtlantaTerry]

I would like to mark my 4x5 negatives with a file number in the blank area created by the sheet film holder end flap. So obviously there is not a lot of space to work with.

I have been working with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie. It kinda sorta works but the letters and numbers are not solid black so the information likely will not show very well on contact sheets or scans. Also, I think if I tried to use film cleaner the file numbers would come off.

I believe I read somewhere here or on the Intertubes (so it must be true) where one photographer uses a technical pen such as a Rapidograph filled with India ink.

What do other LF photographers here use to permanently mark their negatives?

Would India ink come off if film cleaner was used?

I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
Terry

[Leigh]

i proof onto 8x10 and put the frame IDs on the proofs. You can also write it on individual storage sleeves.
If you store four 4x5 sheets in a single storage sheet you can proof that then mark the sleeve.

I suppose you could mark the individual sheets if you wanted to. I've never needed to.

The finest pens you'll find are drafting pens like Rapidograph, if you can find any now. They used to be quite common.
Amazon lists a large selection of products under that tradename.

Modern drafting ink is designed to be relatively permanent on drafting media, commonly Mylar, but not indelible.

- Leigh

[ROL]

It's not clear to me whether your issue is marking negatives, or their holders. Be that as it may, I have occasionally, for other reasons, marked negatives successfully within the small rebate area with extra fine point sharpies. But for normal archival organization purposes, I use fine point sharpies to mark the sheet holder only, the presumption being that the negative and holder are never separated except during printing. The information normally transfers well enough using PrintFile type holders during contacting, though this is only true for roll films for me, as I don't contact sheet film at all, either with or without holder (i.e., I proof all prospective sheet film, the proof being kept in separate cross referenced files).

[MMELVIS]

Use a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in black

Good discussion here
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...p/t-96387.html

[Bruce Barlow]

Staedtler drafting pen, 0.1mm. Permanent, and fine enough to be readable on the edge of a 4x5 negative. Staples and places like that have them. Not cheap, but it will outlast me.

[polyglot]

Rapidograph with India Ink is the canonical archival solution. I use a 0.3mm (which is good for 3mm lettering on a frame edge); the Koh-I-Noor ones are readily available for ~$25, as is the ink.

Sharpies fade, though admittedly I do often use them to mark negative sleeves. India Ink is fadeproof (it's carbon powder in a shellac/varnish - like Carbon printing but even more stubborn) and largely waterproof but can be removed with some petrochemical solvents if necessary.

[AtlantaTerry]

Thank you, polyglot, from what you wrote here, it may be you that gave me the idea in the first place.

To be clear, I want to permanently mark the negatives themselves. This is in case similars get mixed up by the scanning folks or for any other reason. Yes, I also mark the file number on the 4-up archival Print File pages where I store the negatives.

[AtlantaTerry]

Use a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in black

Good discussion here
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...p/t-96387.html

Thank you for the link. I learned a lot.

Terry

PS
What is all that discussion of HABS about? Evidently someone is collecting photos of old buildings. Is that a paying job?

[Steve Goldstein]

Like many others here, I use a Rapidograph and India ink and number on the base (shiny) side. Mine has a 000 point, which is also perfect for one of my other hobbies. I just purchased a new point from Dick Blick as my old one finally resisted cleaning after several years of use.

Yes, they are a bit of work to maintain, but cleaning with every filling, as the instructions advise, helps. I've considered storing mine in a plastic container with a bit of damp tissue to see if that reduces the drying-out problem, especially in winter, but have never actually tried it.

I also found, quite by accident, that TF-5 fixer removes India ink.

[Jim Jones]

Notching a binary coded file number in the edge of a negative is unobtrusive and permanent. The same system works for identifying film holders.