[Nhcoll-l] Fwd: Labelling of alcohol-preserved specimens

[Bentley, Andrew Charles]

Doug

One of the important aspects with this printing system (as has been mentioned with others) is the combination of media and ribbon.  You need to ensure that you are using a wax/resin ribbon as this is the only combination that adheres to the spun bound polyester in any kind of permanent fashion. Alpha Systems has been known to ship the incorrect ribbon at times and folks who have received this have had untold problems with print falling off labels.

I have had an "informal" aging test going on my window ledge now for about 8 years in which I have thermal transfer printed labels in jars in full sunlight (at least when it is shining) in 70% ethanol, 95% ethanol, glycerin and 10% formalin.  In all four cases the labels look as new - no yellowing, cracking, brittleing, fading, loosening of print or any other "symptoms".  Also, as outlined in my article in the SPNHC newsletter, Alpha Systems did have some accelerated aging tests done on the media itself, the results of which were very encouraging.

As I have said before, the price of these things has come down dramatically lately and so should be affordable by most (see below).  We calculated that with the price of media, ribbon and initial outlay for printer, our labels (4inch x 2 inch) cost about 10c each.  The Laserjet heating method seems to me like a lot of work for something that will not last as long.  You need to be cautious with Byron Weston paper also, as it is highly acidic and will leach acidity into your alcohol affecting especially things like larval fishes etc.

Preservation Tag Printing System (prices good as of May 2012)

Software not required for museum applications if you can print from your database
300 or 600 dpi (especially for entomology labels) recommended

Components:
1. Datamax I - Class Thermal Printer - 203dpi, 300dpi, or 600dpi
2. Alpha Systems Preservation Tag
3. Alpha Systems SDR wax/resin Ribbon
4. Software Quoted separately as needed

System 1
Datamax I-4208 Printer (203dpi), w/standard cutter, Ethernet card, one roll of 4"
Preservation Tag and one ribbon. Price: $2,337.00
System 2
Datamax I-4308 Printer (300dpi), w/standard cutter, Ethernet card,one roll of 4"
Preservation Tag and one ribbon. Price: $2,637.00
System 3
Datamax I-4604 Printer (600dpi) w/standard cutter, Ethernet card, Labelview
Software, one roll of 4" preservation tag and one ribbon. Price. $3,341.00

Accessories for Printers
Printhead Cleaning Cloths (Box) $60
Static Brush Kit $35
Software (Optional) $475
(Windows based label design programs available)

Preservation Tag 4" x 500'           4" SDR Ribbon
1 - 7 rolls $290 each                        1 - 7 rolls $72 each
8 - 15 rolls $225 each                      8 - 15 rolls $42 each
Preservation Tag 3" x 695'           3.0" SDR Ribbon
1 - 7 rolls $265 each                        1 - 7 rolls $44 each
8 - 15 rolls $182 each                      8 - 15 rolls $32 each
Preservation Tag 2.7" x 500'        2.8" SDR Ribbon
1 - 7 rolls $251 each                        1 - 7 rolls $41 each
8 - 15 rolls $160 each                      8 - 15 rolls $29 each

Andy

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 Andy Bentley
 Ichthyology Collection Manager
 University of Kansas
Biodiversity Institute
 Dyche Hall
 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
 Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
 USA

Tel: (785) 864-3863
Fax: (785) 864-5335
 Email: abentley at ku.edu<mailto:abentley at ku.edu>
http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu<http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/>

SPNHC President-Elect
http://www.spnhc.org

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From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Doug Yanega
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2013 11:44 AM
To: nhcoll
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Fwd: Labelling of alcohol-preserved specimens

On 4/3/13 7:31 AM, Daniel K. Young wrote:
I was intrigued by Mark O'Brien's comment (Hi Mark)!  I have learned (and taught) just the opposite: do NOT use inkjet & bubblejet printers because the letters readily dissolve in EtOH (and I've witnessed that). In the case of simply xeroxed labels, the letters readily life off the paper. As for laser printers, it has been my experience (and, alas, I'm old enough to have had a lot of experience) that as long as the heat is sufficient, the plasticized carbon will generally NOT lift off the paper.  I am looking at EtOH laser-printed labels that were printed more than 25 years ago and have been in 80% EtOH since - they look "good as new."
Whenever this topic comes up, I hasten to remind people that (1) the same printer using different paper can give wildly different results, and (2) there are virtually no hard "longevity" data (as in controlled experiments) for different combinations of printers and paper. As such, as a community we are confronted mostly with anecdotal data, which may (as in the case above) appear to be in conflict, when in fact both sides may be correct. I have laser-writer labels produced at KU in 1990 that are sitting in ethanol and are all perfectly fine today, while labels from that exact same printer but produced one month later on a different batch of paper had the letters float off the instant they touched the ethanol. My point is that unless a person making a recommendation can tell you the EXACT printer they used, and the EXACT paper they used, AND how those labels have held up over a span of years, then you can't assume that their recommendation is trustworthy.

Another example, which folks like Andy should find interesting: we have a Saito thermal printer, identical to the one used by the insect folks at the AMNH (we got ours based on their recommendation). Out of curiosity, when we first started making labels with it, I took a few chunks of test labels and soaked them in water overnight. The next morning, the surface of the labels had become somewhat gelatinous with fine visible wrinkling (as if it had absorbed water), and a moderate bit of friction rubbed all the printing clean off. Why was I able to achieve such a disastrous effect so easily, when everyone else seems to swear that thermal-printed labels are great for wet collections? Well, (1) not everyone uses a Saito printer (2) maybe water is somehow worse than ethanol, though since all ethanol solutions contain water, over time I can't imagine why the same effect shouldn't occur, regardless of the concentration (3) we had ALSO followed the recommendation of the people at the AMNH (who swore by the technique) of asking the manufacturer that the thermal plastic be re-spooled prior to shipping so what was normally the bottom side of the plastic was on the *top*. If I had to guess as to why I found that thermal labels are vulnerable to water when no one else has ever reported any such thing, I'm tempted to think that point #3 is the source of the discrepancy (i.e., that thermal plastic is not symmetrical). However, even if this were the problem, then the BACK sides of everyone else's thermal labels might be turning gelatinous, and who knows whether that coating may be rubbing or peeling off and contaminating their specimens? In our case, we presently use two inkjet-printed labels for our wet collections, one inside the vial, and another (identical) taped outside the vial, because we don't trust ANY labels' archival properties in fluid, and printing duplicate labels is cheap insurance for little extra labor.

Again, my point is that we are operating strictly via anecdotes, and don't have experimental results we can consult for objective assessments of one technique versus another. If it were possible to compile all of the observations from people who know ALL of the variable parameters for their cases, we might have a useful point of reference; obviously, if anyone knows of such a compilation, a lot of us would be interested.

Sincerely,


--

Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum

Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314     skype: dyanega

phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)

             http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html

  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness

        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
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