labeling textiles

[Robin Hanson <hanson@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The person I am aware of who has done experimenting over the years with
alternative methods of labeling textiles is Lucy Commoner, Textile
Conservator at the Cooper-Hewitt.  People with labeling quandaries might
want to contact her directly.

When I was in her lab 6 or 7 years ago (so things might have changed
substantially since) she was using a manual typewriter with a cloth ribbon
to type accession number on sheets of Reemay (if I remember correctly),
then heatsetting the sheet of labels with an iron, then washing the sheet
in an Orvus solution before cutting the labels apart and stitching them
individually on the appropriate textile.

Because I could not find a manual typewriter here at CMA, I experimented
with various other substrates and a Hewlett Packard LaserJet 1100 printer
(which is what is at my desk and is therefore the most convenient machine
for me to use).  As a result of my tests, I am using Hollytex 31010 which I
cut into 8-1/2 by 11 inch sheets using a rotary cutter and feed into my
printer.  During testing I "cooked" my printed sheets (Reemay, Tyvek,
Hollytex, whatever I could find around here that seemed a possibility) in
Orvus and very hot water for 30 minutes after heat setting the numbers with
a hot iron.  In some cases the numbers disappeared during the "cooking"
process; needless to say I discarded those substrates as options.

Some of the problems that I encountered are that the sheets of whatever
warp somewhat with the heat of the printer.  With some substrates, while
the printing appears better at first glance, once heat set and cooked the
numbers disappear into the Orvus solution.  The Hollytex does warp some but
the numbers do not disappear.  So I make sure I have a fair number of tags
to do at one time so I don't waste a sheet on one tag, because the sheets
can't be run through a second time.  The ink smudges slightly, but that has
been deemed acceptable by staff here and the numbers are more than
readable.  I also experimented with point size and type face to make sure
7's didn't look like 1's, etc.  I am using 12 point Verdana which was
available with Microsoft Word, which is the word processing program I use.
I am only printing accession tags to sew to individual textiles, my tags
are about 3/8" by 1", so over that span warpage is negligible and not an
issue.  Once I print a sheet's worth, I cut them apart using a mat and
rotary cutter.  I then trim individually as needed.  I have had a
pre-program intern working in the lab some this past summer who stitched
some of these tags onto textiles, with great success.  I don't know how
this system would work with larger tags containing more information.

Robin Hanson
-----
Robin M. Hanson
Textile Conservation
The Cleveland Museum of Art
11150 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH  44106
216/421-7340 x259 (voice)
216/229-2881 (fax)
hanson@xxxxxxxxxx (e-mail)