[Nhcoll-l] 2D barcode printer for frozen tissue collection

Wed Sep 11 02:38:02 EDT 2013

Andrew, Andy and others,

what do you know about the long-time ability of labels to stay on the 
samples they are attached to?

At our museum we are also in a process of checking out various ways of 
labelling samples, and have had some worries that labels may eventually 
fall off. Do anyone have any good or bad experiences with this?

We are looking for labels for use both on paper envelopes/herbarium 
sheets for room temperature storage, and on plastic tubes for frozen 
(-20C, -80C) or cold (+4C) storage.

Currently we are using Brady thermal transfer labels for plastic tubes 
stored both cold and frozen. This system is working well and we have not 
had any problems so far with labels falling off, but then again our 
experience is just spanning some few years...

Any advise on this issue would be most welcome, as the suppliers of 
labels often focus most on their labels' abilities to cope with cold or 
warm or liquid etc. environments, and not so much/at all on long-time 
endurance...

Regards,
Lars Erik Johannessen

-----------------------------------------

Dr. Lars Erik Johannessen
Head engineer
DNA Bank

Natural History Museum
Department of Technical and Scientific Conservation
University of Oslo
P.O. Box 1172 Blindern
NO-0318 Oslo, Norway
Phone: +47 22851801

On 10.09.2013 16:34, Bentley, Andrew Charles wrote:
> Andrew
>
> For the printer I would suggest any of the desktop thermal transfer
> printers on the market (Datamax, Zebra, Brady, Brother).  We have had
> good luck with Datamax printers (Datamax E-class Mark III -
> http://www.datamax-oneil.com/do/com/en-us/home/printers-software/stationary-printers/desktop-printers/e-class-mark-iii)
> of which there are many for this kind of application.  For barcode
> printing I would suggest something in the 300dpi range.  We have found
> that a 200dpi printer does not do a good enough job with small print or
> barcodes.
>
> For the label material I would suggest looking at Brady’s line of
> cryogenic safe labeling materials (Freezerbondz -
> http://www.bradyid.com/bradyid/pdpv/THT-154-490-3.html) that, again,
> come in many forms – wrap around labels, single labels etc.  Electronic
> Imaging Materials also sells a good line of these
> (www.barcode-labels.com <http://www.barcode-labels.com>).
>
> The trick is in getting your database to talk to the printer and print
> the labels correctly J
>
> Hope that helps
>
> Andy
>
>      A  :             A  :             A  :
>   }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>      V                V                V
>   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
>
>                             :                 :
>      A  :             A  :             A  :
>   }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>      V                V                V
>
> *From:*nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu
> [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] *On Behalf Of *Andrew J. Crawford
> *Sent:* Monday, September 09, 2013 3:35 PM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] 2D barcode printer for frozen tissue collection
>
> Dear SPNHC,
>
> Our museum is in the process of re-organizing our frozen collection,
> including tissues at -80C, frozen bacterial strains (-80C), and
> microfungi collection (-20C).  We are interested in implementing a 2D
> barcode labeling system for these frozen tubes (typically/roughly 1mL in
> size).
>
> We would like to invest in a high-quality printer/label system that can
> withstand long-term storage at -80C and withstand occasional thawing and
> re-freezing.   Below are suggestions that I have received to date, but I
> would like to ask for any further suggestions or tips from people who
> have first-hand experience with 2D barcode labeling of frozen tissue
> collections.
>
> Thank you for your very kind attention and any recommendations you may
> have.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> -Andrew
>
> Email: crawfordaj at gmail.com <mailto:crawfordaj at gmail.com>
>
> /PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS: /
>
> Hand held scanner, Prod. #DS6708, Symbol Technologies Imager Scanner
>
> For Label printing you have a number of options. But the best (??) cheap
> one is probably the Zebra TLP 2844 if you can find it.
>
> For Label Printers:
> Product ID CLT-133-461-Z-SLIT
> /from/
> Anthony Lee Associates Inc.
> 7828 Beechcraft Avenue
> Gaithersburg, MD 20879 USA
> Phone: 1-800-275-8911
> Fax: 301-670-6101 <tel:301-670-6101>
> email: labels at anthony-lee.com
> <mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com><mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com
> <mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com>><mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com
> <mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com>><mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com
> <mailto:labels at anthony-lee.com>>
>
> For Dymo:
> http://www.ga-international.com/GA%20INTERNATIONAL/GA%20International%20website/US/dtermo.html
>
> For Laser printer (sheets): LAT-56-361-2.5
>
> Andrew J. Crawford
>
> Profesor Asociado
>
> Director, /Museo de Historia Natural ANDES/
>
> Department of Biological Sciences, M1-311
>
> Universidad de los Andes
>
> Bogotá, Colombia
>
> Tel. +57 1 339-4949 x3270
>
> Web: http://dna.ac
>
> Research Associate
>
> Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
>
> Balboa, Ancón
>
> Panamá, Republic of Panama
>
>
>
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