[Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: Numbers on specimens
Rebecca Newberry
rebeccanewberry at yahoo.com
Tue Aug 30 19:17:30 EDT 2022
I recommend this excellent resource from the SPNHC Wiki:
https://spnhc.biowikifarm.net/wiki/Labeling_Natural_History_Collections
Best,
Rebecca Newberry
Sent from my iPhone
> On Aug 30, 2022, at 12:42 PM, Opitz, Cindy E <cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu> wrote:
>
>
> Hi, Liath,
> Yes, the clear acrylic gel doesn’t smear the laserjet-printed ink and also has more of a matte finish—less glossy and easier to read. I use the clear acrylic gel on hand-printed labels as well, which also tend to smear when B72 is applied. And we can buy the gel at the local art store.
>
> Cindy Opitz (she/her)
> Director of Research Collections
> Museum of Natural History and Old Capitol Museum
> Instructor, Museum Studies Certificate Program
> The University of Iowa
> 11 Macbride Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
> Office: 319.335.0481
> cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu
> mnh.uiowa.edu, oldcap.uiowa.edu
>
>
>
>
> From: Liath Appleton <liathappleton at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2022 2:37 PM
> To: Opitz, Cindy E <cindy-opitz at uiowa.edu>
> Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> Subject: [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] Numbers on specimens
>
> Thanks for all of your input. Our previous protocol (before we stopped numbering) was similar to what many of you are currently using - https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/specify6/NPL+Tasks%3A+Specimen+Numbering
> I am hoping to improve our procedures and streamline things moving forward, and would appreciate further input on the following questions:
>
> To Cindy Opitz: do you know why your collection uses the clear gel rather than another layer of B-72? Is it less likely to smudge, easier to apply, less expensive, or something else?
>
> To everyone else:
> 1. Choosing the best place for your numbers - a spot that appears to be a good place for a number now, may not always be a good place later, or may be in the way if the specimen is photographed at a future date. How easily can B-72 be removed after it has been sitting for possibly years? Is it about the same as when it is relatively new?
>
> 2. Has anyone ever been in a position where the number placement has been problematic for research purposes, and how were you able to resolve the issue - if at all.
>
> 3. Is there anyone who made the decision to NOT put numbers on specimens and why? Was it simply a matter of saving time, or were there more specific reasons?
>
> Thanks again, for your help.
>
> 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
>
> SPNHC Connection Editor (newsletter at spnhc.org)
> SPNHC Web Manager (webmaster at spnhc.org)
> www.spnhc.org
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 30, 2022 at 12:52 AM Dirk Neumann <d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de> wrote:
> ... just to add to Ronald:
>
> there was the very informative presentation of Jacki Whisenant in Edinburgh at the SPNHC Conference on the different qualities of pens (Osteoscribing: writing on bones); definitely worth watching the Zoom recording!
>
> With best wishes
> Dirk
>
>
> Am 30.08.2022 um 02:35 schrieb Ron Eng:
> 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 Pigma® Micron black ink pen
> We currently use the Pigma® 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-Noor® RAPIDOGRAPH® pens
> Recommended sizes: 0 and 00
> Koh-I-Noor® black India ink
> This is the best tried and true method. The Koh-I-Noor® 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 Pentouch® 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 Pigma® 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
> 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.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
> 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 (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> on behalf of Carrie A. Eaton <carrie at geology.wisc.edu>
> Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 12:28 PM
> To: Liath Appleton <liathappleton at gmail.com>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <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> On Behalf Of Liath Appleton
> Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 11:16 AM
> To: 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
>
> SPNHC Connection Editor (newsletter at spnhc.org)
> SPNHC Web Manager (webmaster at spnhc.org)
> www.spnhc.org
>
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> --
>
> Dirk Neumann
> Collection Manager, Hamburg
>
> Postal address
>
> Museum of Nature Hamburg
> Leibniz Institute for the Analysis
> of Biodiversity Change
> Dirk Neumann
> Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3
> 20146 Hamburg
> +49 40 238 317-628
>
> d.neumann at leibniz-lib.de
> www.leibniz-lib.de
>
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>
> --
> Stiftung Leibniz-Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversitätswandels
> Postanschrift: Adenauerallee 127, 53113 Bonn, Germany
>
> Stiftung des öffentlichen Rechts;
> Generaldirektion: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Misof (Generaldirektor), Adrian Grüter (Kaufm. Geschäftsführer)
> Sitz der Stiftung: Adenauerallee 160 in Bonn
> Vorsitzender des Stiftungsrates: Dr. Michael Wappelhorst
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> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
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