Re: Labeling

[Patricia Keller <berrett@xxxxxxxx>]

For what it may be worth to know:

In 1998 my partner, objects conservator Kory Berrett, tested several
proprietary felt-tip pens for lightfastness. Each of the pens tested
claimed to be light-fast.

Kory found that only one of the pens tested was actually light-fast:
the "IdentaPen" available from some archival supply companies.

Note bene: Proprietary products may change formulae without notice,
and we haven't re-tested this or any other pen recently for lightfastness.
But perhaps our experience will serve as a starting point for anyone
considering using a felt-tip marking pen for numbering artifact labels.

Patricia Keller
Curator
Berrett Conservation Studio
Oxford, Pennsylvania
(610) 932-2425

Ph.D. Candidate
History of American Civilization Program
Department of History
University of Delaware



Joan Kiplinger wrote:

>       I hope any resulting information is shared with the list. I am going to
> start a label identification of a small personal fabric swatch collection [my
> own]. After reading the recent discussions on printer suitability, I now plan to
> handwrite labels and notations on cards with an acid-free pen. However, is this
> a reliable tool? If not, what type of pen would be recommended?