Does anyone know...

[adam satushek]

Thanks OP for the post, i am interested in numbering a bunch of my 4x5 and 8x10 color negs and this has been helpful. I have the sleeves numbered, but id rather number the actual negs.

A rapidograph seems like agood way to go. I'm curious though, for those who have used used them, does the ink reactivate when wet? I ask because I am going to be fluid mount drum scanning so id need an ink that won't bleed in Kami.

And for those using a sharpie, do you have concerns about archivability? I have been advised to, and have used, sharpie to sign the back of large inkjet prints, but have wondered whether this is good practice.

[Ari]

Thanks OP for the post, i am interested in numbering a bunch of my 4x5 and 8x10 color negs and this has been helpful. I have the sleeves numbered, but id rather number the actual negs.

A rapidograph seems like agood way to go. I'm curious though, for those who have used used them, does the ink reactivate when wet? I ask because I am going to be fluid mount drum scanning so id need an ink that won't bleed in Kami.

And for those using a sharpie, do you have concerns about archivability? I have been advised to, and have used, sharpie to sign the back of large inkjet prints, but have wondered whether this is good practice.

Two excellent questions, so I'll bump this up.
Thanks to everyone for all the replies thus far.

[jp]

Sharpie isn't very permanent unless you give one to a two year old.

I write on RC test prints sometimes when under the enlarger, and often half the writing is gone after it's been 10 minutes going through the wet side.

I've written on wires to identify circuits with sharpies and after ten years they are severely faded to the point they are hard to read now. This was in a locked dark electrical cabinet. The surface was romex plastic sheathing.

I've touched up negative pinholes with a sharpie, but won't be wet-scanning them. If they fade away, I'm no worse than when I started.

I use sharpies on the tops of the printfile negative pages and it seems to last well on that over long periods of time, faring much better than the electrical wire. Perhaps it's because the pages in a binder are less exposed to air, I'm not sure.

[Bill Burk]

My 000 Rapidograph with Pelikan ink has been serving me well to write on negs since this thread started. It takes a bit of shaking to get it going and I know it is going to need a good cleaning. But it works fine. I am confident in the archival longevity. It does survive casual wiping but full on scrubbing will remove some of it. Another advantage is that I can read it with the infrared viewer. Other pens are invisible.

[patrickjames]

A small pen like the ones mentioned above is best I think. The one I use, which hasn't been mentioned yet, is a Sakura Pigma which is a pigment ink pen.

I am curious too whether the different inks survive wet mounting. Anyone know?

I am rather fond of fountain pens and Noodlers makes some inks that they call "bulletproof" that are designed to withstand all types of chemicals to prevent forgery. If you are using a dip pen those might be the way to go. Just throwing it out there.

[Robert Hughes]

I'm a fountain pen collector also! A word of caution for FP newbies - don't try to put India Ink through a fountain pen, it will clog up the ink channels and permanently ruin the pen. But India Ink in a steel nibbed dip pen is fine.

[polyglot]

I am rather fond of fountain pens and Noodlers makes some inks that they call "bulletproof" that are designed to withstand all types of chemicals to prevent forgery. If you are using a dip pen those might be the way to go. Just throwing it out there.

I just found this thread while looking for neg-marking pens... I too am a fountain-pen nerd and make occasional use of Noodler's, e.g. for envelope addressing and signing Very Important Documents. However I think it's worth noting that Noodler Black is probably not going to be a good idea on film because it relies on reactions with cellulose in the paper for its permanence and that's just not going to happen on a bit of acetate or estar (polyester). It'll probably dry down to greasy/smeary instead of impermeable, though I haven't tried it as I ordered a rapidograph and india-ink last night. India ink definitely dries a lot harder than Noodler because of its shellac content.


... now back to the grave, zombie thread!