[Nhcoll-l] Numbers on specimens

Mon Aug 29 20:35:24 EDT 2022

Currently I work primarily with fossil specimens. I would second what Carrie
Eaton had said.

I prefer to write directly on the specimen (fossils and minerals) when
possible. Ideally there is some matrix that will provide a suitable
(unobtrusive) spot.

Use archival products.

Penmanship sample-I will give students and volunteers a blank label and ask
them to write down their contact information

Here are the tools that we use

Sakura PigmaR Micron black ink pen

We currently use the PigmaR Micron pens because of the convenience with
multiple users. They are available in a range of point size. We have now
been using them for more than two decades.

Koh-I-NoorR RAPIDOGRAPHR pens

                        Recommended sizes: 0 and 00

                        Koh-I-NoorR black India ink

This is the best tried and true method. The Koh-I-NoorR ink and pens are the
standard. However the pens require a bit of care and maintenance.

for DARK specimens

1.	We use white acrylic paint to paint a rectangular writing surface
2.	We use a Sakura white PentouchR Marker to write directly on the
specimen. (The smallest tip size is a bit broad.)

For a clear coat painted over the written number

Paraloid B72 (ethyl methacrylate co-polymer) clear lacquer

(25% solution by weight in acetone)

Note: the clear B72 lacquer may make the PigmaR Micron pen ink run if the
ink has not dried completely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ronald C. Eng

(he | him)

Geology & Paleontology Collections Manager
e-mail: rceng at uw.edu <mailto:rceng at u.washington.edu> 

telephone: 206.543.6776
fax: 206.685.3039

 orcid.org/0000-0002-2939-0087

Burke Museum

The Washington State Museum of Natural History and Culture
University of Washington | Box 353010
Seattle, WA 98195-3010

Plan your visit to the Burke Museum at burkemuseum.org
<http://burkemuseum.org/> .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Fox, Marilyn
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 9:44 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Numbers on specimens

This is a poster that covers the labeling techniques that Carrie mentioned.

https://vertpaleo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Davidson_et_al_2006.pdf

We prefer the Paraloid B72 'sandwich' method and have used it on all sorts
of surfaces.

Marilyn Fox ( <mailto:marilyn.fox at yale.edu> marilyn.fox at yale.edu)
Chief Preparator, Division of Vertebrate Paleontology
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History
Collections Study Center

900 West Campus Drive, Room K224

West Haven CT 06516

  _____  

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu
<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> > on behalf of Carrie A. Eaton
<carrie at geology.wisc.edu <mailto:carrie at geology.wisc.edu> >
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 12:28 PM
To: Liath Appleton <liathappleton at gmail.com <mailto:liathappleton at gmail.com>
>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
<nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> >
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Numbers on specimens 

Hi Liath,

We apply numbers directly to specimens here - minerals, rocks, fossils
alike. Depending on the coloration, surface texture, etc I will use a few
different techniques using an archival varnish, titanium white acrylic
paint, india ink, and other archival safe products. We use a technique in
our prep lab now to keep data with the specimen where preparators will cut
out a small piece of Japanese rice paper or archival tissue, write the
number on with archival pen, and then adhere this small rectangle of paper
to the surface with B72 or B76 (stole this idea from Amy Davidson - thank
you!) as a 'temporary number' but so far it seems like our temporary prep
lab labels have been staying on just as well as the painted/ink ones. My
students/volunteers have varying abilities when it comes to writing tiny
and/or cleanly so when I find a student who has great tiny writing, they
almost always get put on cataloging and numbering for as much as they can
stand it. Other curatorial duties (cavity mounts, making boxes, data entry)
are then the tasks of my students from whom handwriting is a challenge. It
all is helpful! 

Cheers,

Carrie

Carrie Eaton, Museum Curator

UW Geology Museum

1215 West Dayton Street

Madison, WI 53706

608.262.4912
twitter @uwgeologymuseum
facebook.com/uwgeologymuseum

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu
<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> > On Behalf Of Liath Appleton
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 11:16 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> 
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Numbers on specimens

As most of you know, specimens often have their old numbers written
somewhere directly on the surface of the object. In our collections we do
not write numbers on the specimens, primarily because the previous curator
didn't want to police the handwriting skills of her volunteers. That makes
sense, but I think that we really should have the numbers on there somehow.
Some people have suggested printing out the numbers and using some type of
glue to adhere the numbers to the specimens. I've seen this done before, but
I've also seen many of those labels falling off over time. When I managed
mollusk collections, writing directly on the shell surface was usually easy
to do, but for my current collections that consist primarily of fossils,
rocks and minerals, writing on the surface can be tricky. For those of you
who do apply numbers to specimens, what are your thoughts on the subject? 

Thanks ---Liath

Liath Appleton

Collections Manager

Non-Vertebrate Paleontology Lab

University of Texas at Austin

Bldg PRC122 - campus mail code R8500
10100 Burnet Road

Austin, TX 78758

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