I came up with a method for storing exposed sheets which is working very well. It occurred to me that a whole technology has already been developed for coding items which can't be seen - it's called braille.

The method involves coding 4x5 glassine envelopes with braille bumps, and then keeping a paper log of what sheets went into which envelopes. The coding method I use involves a two part code for each envelope. The first code is a "group" number, and the second code is an envelope number within that group. So I have, Group 1, envelopes 1 through 5; Group 2, envelopes 1 through 5; Group 3, envelopes 1 though 5; ... I then take all the envelopes within a group and place them in a "U" shaped piece of cardboard (the protectors which come in sheet film boxes from Fuji and others) and mark the cardboard with the group number. I know this sounds complicated, but it's really pretty simple. The advantage of this method is that I only have to know how to count to 5 in the dark.

There are two different ways of making braille bumps. First, 3M makes a braille labeler (~$30) which uses standard Dymo type tape. The second is via some stuff called "bump-ons". This is a tube of gunk which you squeeze and little bumps come out and harden on pretty much any surface. It cost about $5 a tube. I got the stuff at a local supply store for blind people, but I've also seen it on some internet storefronts selling supplies for the visually impaired. With the thought that it would be nice to learn a little bit of braille, I coded my glassine envelopes with the actual braille numbers, but then follow that with a series of dots as a cross check which I can feel and easily count.