Can I write on prints with permanent marker?

BetterSense · Jan 19, 2009

I'm using Ilford MGIV paper and I can't write on the back with pencil very well. My wife bought these pens that are supposed to be for photos but they take 384 hours to dry, and if I don't wait that long the ink ends up getting everywhere it's not supposed to be. Can I just use a Sharpie?

Poohblah · Jan 19, 2009

I wouldn't suggest it. I found some felt tip pens that were labeled as "archival," I use those instead. I have no idea exactly where they came from, but I'm sure you could find some at an art store.

Alexander Ghaffari · Jan 19, 2009

I have had regular Sharpie marks bleed through a photograph after a decade or so in dark storage. I had the same problem, so I bought the hardest pencil that I could get my mits on, a 6H. I was hoping to obtain an 8H, but a 6H does the trick nicely. Usually harder pencils are considered to be used for technical drafting and so on, while much softer pencils (darker blacks) are much more popular with artists. Any decent art store should have every type of soft pencil and most, if not all, of the hard pencil grades.

BetterSense · Jan 19, 2009

So is a harder pencil what you want? It seems like the back of this paper is too glossy to work with pencil, and I had thought a softer pencil would be better.

BetterSense · Jan 20, 2009

I looked up the paper and it says it has been treated to accept "pencil, most ball pens, non-water-soluble felt-tipped pens, fast drying stamp pad inks, and all printing inks formulated for polyethylene printing". If I interpret a Sharpie as a 'non-water-soluble felt-tipped pen' then it should be fine. Sharpie extra-fine writes very nicely and dries in seconds.

eli griggs · Jan 20, 2009

I suggest you try Pigma Micron pens from Sakura. They are permanent, light-fast, pigmented inks with a proven record and they can be had in several line thickness, starting from a very fine .20mm to .50mm. Other type Pigma ink pens are also available.
http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-Archival

Poohblah · Jan 20, 2009

eli griggs said:
I suggest you try Pigma Micron pens from Sakura. They are permanent, light-fast, pigmented inks with a proven record and they can be had in several line thickness, starting from a very fine .20mm to .50mm. Other type Pigma ink pens are also available.
http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-Archival

Those are exactly the ones that I use. I do recommend them, if only for peace of mind and the fact that they come in precise thicknesses.

eddym · Jan 20, 2009

I use Sharpies. And/or pencils.

fschifano · Jan 20, 2009

You don't mention it, but I assume we're talking about resin coated paper here. If that's the case, a Sharpie is fine. It won't bleed through the plastic coating of the paper. I've marked the backs of a few scrap prints with a grid pattern done with a Sharpies. These now serve as alignment guides when setting up a print in the easel. Some of these are more than a few years old. No bleed through. Fiber based papers are a different story. Soft pencils work fine on the back and are safe.

Domin · Jan 20, 2009

Alexander Ghaffari said:
I have had regular Sharpie marks bleed through a photograph after a decade or so in dark storage. I had the same problem, so I bought the hardest pencil that I could get my mits on, a 6H. I was hoping to obtain an 8H, but a 6H does the trick nicely. Usually harder pencils are considered to be used for technical drafting and so on, while much softer pencils (darker blacks) are much more popular with artists. Any decent art store should have every type of soft pencil and most, if not all, of the hard pencil grades.

I don't get it. 2H is usually hard enough to leave more of press mark than color. 6H on most surfaces behaves much like a sharpened stick.

If we're talking RC paper back side I find it hard to get anything visible in safelight with any pencil but the softest - 6B or 8B. Mind that there is no real standard - 6B from one manufacturer may actually differ from other. Like film you have to test it

Dave in Kansas · Jan 20, 2009

I guess I need a little education here. I thought I heard in recent years that you shouldn't write on the backs of photos. We've all seen old photos that someone tried to scan that had bleed through from someone writing on the back with a ballpoint pen or something. I think I read the preferred method of labeling photos is to use something like "library tape" I think it's called, which is supposed to be removable and not cause permanent damage to the photo.

Are we talking about writing on photos after they are dry, or as soon as they are out of the fixer or wash while they are still wet?

BetterSense · Jan 20, 2009

I for one wait till they are dry.

trexx · Jan 20, 2009

Dave in Kansas said:
I Are we talking about writing on photos after they are dry, or as soon as they are out of the fixer or wash while they are still wet?

Before they are exposed in my case., which include time and f-stop. I use a fine point sharpie. I have not seen any problems. I use RC for my judging of prints, the ones I like are done fiber. I label the fiber the same way until I get to the desired print. I then reprint the run without any markings.

TR

tessar · Jan 20, 2009

There's a very handy pencil called Stabilo which writes on paper, glass, plastic and metal. We used these at the newspaper where I used to work to mark photographs for cropping, etc. On a glossy surface the marks can be erased with a dampened cloth or paper towel.

Phillip P. Dimor · Jan 20, 2009

I use the finest-tipped sharpie I can find, and write on the back of rc prints where the border would be. No bleeding after 8/9+ years and you definitely can't see it when mounted with a matt.

Can I write on prints with permanent marker?

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