[Nhcoll-l] Antw: Re: Desktop thermal printers?

Thu Apr 9 01:47:32 EDT 2026

Dear Kendrick,
Thank you very much for the information.
Nevertheless, I’m a bit sceptical about using inkjet printers. 
To find out for certain, I wrote to all printer ink manufacturers in
Europe a few years ago and asked about the longevity of their inks.
None of them could guarantee legibility for longer than 20 years.
Things may be different now – my research dates back to 2005. 
Furthermore, my tests showed that many inks become less legible in
alcohol after a while. The letters become blurred at the edges.
I actually intended to publish this, but the tests were practically
never completed and then I lost track of it.

In the meantime, I’m trying out laser printers on synthetic ‘paper’
(Neobond, Artisyn, Pretex … – I’m still testing). These papers are
supposed to be age-resistant, and the toner is supposed to bond
permanently and irrevocably with the paper.

We’ll see – I’m optimistic.

All the best
Joachim

--  
Joachim Haendel

Center of Natural Science Collections
of the Martin Luther University (ZNS)
- Zoological Collection -

Domplatz 4
D-06099 Halle (Saale)
Germany

Phone:  +49 345 - 55 26 447
Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de

>>> Kendrick Fowler <kendrickorion at gmail.com> schrieb am 08.04.2026 um
20:31:
One thing I feel should be pointed out (as discussed in Gali’s paper)
is that laser and inkjet printers are different technologies:
unfortunately, HP's brand name for their laser printers, "LaserJet," has
became a genericization for all laser printers (like Kleenex, Band-Aid,
or Ziploc are for tissues, adhesive bandages, and zipper bags), and
presumably because both "LaserJet" and "inkjet" have the word "jet" in
their name, folks sometimes conflate these types of printers. Katrina,
I'm not saying you've done this, but it is a common mistake and I see at
least one person in the email thread that split off from this one who
seems to have made it, so I thought it seemed worth mentioning.

Laser printers use heat to melt toner (colored plastic powder) onto
paper/the printing substrate, and if the toner does not adhere well
enough the letters can fall off the labels and make “alphabet soup,” as
Gali noted. There are also reports that laser printed labels may be
degraded by lipids from fatty/oily specimens or by contact with plastic
storage bags/containers. As discussed in the other email thread, some
folks who use laser printers go over their labels with a hot iron, bake
them in an oven, or treat them with an acrylic spray to improve adhesion
of the toner after printing.

Inkjet printers spray ink onto paper, and if a good permanent,
pigment-based ink is used, the labels should last a very long time, just
as handwritten labels made using pens with archival pigment-based inks
do (but it is important to get the ink right: some inks are
water-soluble and therefore are not suitable for wet labels, and inks
that use dye rather than carbon black pigment for coloring will fade
over time). Although I haven’t done a comprehensive review, my sense is
that researchers who have studied the durability of wet labels (such as
Gali) usually recommend inkjet over laser printing and have done so
pretty consistently for the past ~25–30 years (see, as examples, the
attached papers from 1999 and 2002).

With either technology, the paper used should not only be free of acid
and OBAs, but also lignin, i.e. the paper should be 100% cellulose. 100%
cotton rag papers, like linen ledger paper or herbarium paper, are the
best choices.

Hope this helps,
Kendrick

Kendrick Fowler, Entomology Lab Manager
Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program  |  hvfarmscape.org
+1 (518) 672-7994 (office)  |  +1 (267) 377-7567 (cell)

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On Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 3:19 PM Gali Beiner
<gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il> wrote:

Dear Katrina, 

I agree with Andy, laser printers are usually best avoided as far as
fluid collections are involved. In our collections, there are examples
of "alphabet soup" created by laser-printed labels where letters
detached from the substrate. 

There actually is precious little published info out there in terms of
labels for use in fluids. I authored a publication on this subject. Here
is a link for your convenience:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355103566_Labels_for_Eternity_Testing_Printed_Labels_for_use_in_Wet_Collections

In our case, we opted for a high quality inkjet printer on acid free,
OBA free paper. 

Best wishes, 

Gali

Gali Beiner (ACR)
Conservator, Palaeontology Lab
National Natural History Collections
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 
Berman Building, Edmond J. Safra campus, Givat Ram
Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Fax. 972-2-6585785
gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il
https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en

בתאריך יום ג׳, 24 במרץ 2026, 18:09, מאת Derieg, Katrina
‏<katrina.derieg at mso.umt.edu>:

Hi NHC community,
I am hoping to step up my game with fluid labeling. We have a very
small fluid collection in just a few flammable cabinets, so we have a
low volume of fluid specimens being prepared, but I'm hoping to slowly
expand. For reference, we are using only ethanol and not formalin going
forward.

A few years ago, I bought and used a GoDEX ZX430i thermal printer when
I was at UMNH and that thing was the bane of my existence. I found it
difficult to dial in the settings, and the media (Tyvek) was too slick
for the rollers to grab consistently. I'm sure the Tyvek was mostly the
problem there, but in any case I would prefer to avoid an industrial
thermal printer, mostly because of cost.

Has anyone used desktop thermal printers? Example: Brother TD-4520TN
(
https://brothermobilesolutions.com/products/printers/td/td-4/td4520tn/) 
If so, can you use them with continuous rolls of printing media? Most of
the desktop ones seem to be direct thermal for sticker labels. I mainly
want to print small tags (1" x 0.25") for individual specimens, as well
as internal jar labels (~ 3" x 4" or 4" x 6"). Has anyone achieved this
with desktop thermal printers? With what kind of media?

I'd like to spend less than $1000 USD on a printer.

Alternatively, does anyone have any thoughts on laser jet printing with
special media for fluid tags/labels? This would honestly be my
preference, as I already have a laser jet printer. Currently I am just
printing fluid tags on acid-free card stock with the laser jet, but I
know that is far from ideal.

I know there is a TON of info out there on labeling for fluid
collections, but I find it hard to sift through for my needs and would
just like to hear from the community on what works for you folks.

Thanks in advance!!
-Katrina

KATRINA DERIEG(she/her)
Curator | Museum Collections and Outreach Coordinator
Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM)
https://www.umt.edu/zoological-museum/
Shipping: Health Science 104 | 32 Campus Drive | 406
(
https://www.google.com/maps/search/32+Campus+Drive+%7C+406?entry=gmail&source=g)
-243-4743
Office: Health Science 211
katrina.derieg at umontana.edu | umzm at mso.umt.edu
University of Montana

Search the UMZM collections on Arctos:Birds
( https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?guid_prefix=UMZM:Bird)  |
Mammals
( https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?guid_prefix=UMZM:Mamm)  |
Eggs & Nests
( https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?guid_prefix=UMZM:Egg)  |
Parasites
( https://arctos.database.museum/search.cfm?guid_prefix=UMZM:Para) 

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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.
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NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
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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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