[Nhcoll-l] Gathering info on in-house testing of printed labels for fluid collections!

Mon May 4 04:15:42 EDT 2026

Just a reminder - I'm collecting information for addition to the relevant
SPNHC wiki page on labels for collections in fluids -

Anyone with some sort of ongoing test for printed labels with a known
combination of printer model, toner/ink, substrate and duration (start
year) are invited to contribute!

Also, collections with known combinations of  printer model, toner/ink,
substrate are invited to contribute that + comments on how these held up
(any fading, flaking, other damage? any comparison to newly printed
labels?).

The end result is likely to be in table form, with acknowledgement of the
contributors. This should be a nice way to get a good impression on what
has been in use and some inkling of what might be of interest for testing
later on. Do you have data from your collections? I'll be glad to add it to
the table!

Cheers,

Gali

On Sat, Apr 25, 2026 at 10:58 AM Gali Beiner <gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il>
wrote:

> Thanks to all contributors to this thread! Waiting for any others to join
> in!
>
> +
>
> Anyone who hasn't done testing (formal / informal) with a known
> combination of printer+ink+substrate in their collections and a good idea
> of when that came into use is also invited to contribute.
>
> 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 <gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il>*
>
> *https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en <https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en>*
>
> בתאריך יום ה׳, 23 באפר׳ 2026, 21:24, מאת Kendrick Fowler ‏<
> kendrickorion at gmail.com>:
>
>> The *color* inks for the EcoTank printers are dye-based and dissolve
>> instantly in water, but the *black* inks have a percentage of carbon
>> black pigment comparable to some India inks. See, for example, the
>> following documents:
>>
>> SDS for Epson T5021 black ink
>> <https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/msds/t5/t5021_en_10.pdf> (5–7%
>> carbon black pigment)
>> SDS for Epson T5321 black ink
>> <https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/msds/t5/t532120.pdf> (5–7% carbon
>> black pigment)
>> SDS for Epson T5421 black ink
>> <https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/msds/t5/t5421_en_10.pdf> (5–7%
>> carbon black pigment)
>> SDS for Epson T552020 black ink
>> <https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/msds/t0/t06v1_t552020_en_11_hazcom.pdf> (5–7%
>> carbon black pigment)
>> SDS for Epson T774120 black ink
>> <https://files.support.epson.com/pdf/msds/t774120.pdf> (5–10% carbon
>> black pigment)
>> SDS for Higgins inks
>> <https://content.oppictures.com/Master_Images/Master_PDF_Files/HIG44204_SDS.PDF>,
>> including their waterproof black India ink (up to 7.48% carbon black
>> pigment)
>> SDS for Hunt Speedball India inks
>> <https://www.speedballart.com/content/resources/CI%20India%20Ink%20MSDS.pdf>
>>  (up to 10.36% carbon black pigment)
>>
>> As far as I am aware, none of the Epson EcoTank black inks have been
>> certified as meeting archival standards (e.g., ISO 11798), so some kind of
>> formal testing (as proposed by folks in this group) should be done before
>> treating them as a product recommendation. However, as discussed in
>> my previous email, in my experience they seem to hold up well in alcohol.
>>
>> Kendrick
>>
>> P.S. As folks move forward with determining how to evaluate inks, Williams
>>  *et al*.'s 1986 paper Inks for Documentation in Vertebrate Research
>> Collections
>> <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Catharine-Hawks-2/publication/229636163_Inks_for_Documentation_in_Vertebrate_Research_Collections/links/61dc2d7b323a2268f9958c6f/Inks-for-Documentation-in-Vertebrate-Research-Collections.pdf> might
>> be interesting as a source for inspiration. The authors performed a wide
>> variety of tests on a wide variety of inks! (Interestingly, one of the
>> tests was a test for the proportion of solids in the ink; the
>> best-performing inks overall contained between ~14–32% solids.)
>>
>>
>> *Kendrick Fowler*, *Entomology Lab Manager*
>> Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program  |  hvfarmscape.org
>> +1 (518) 672-7994 (office)  |  +1 (267) 377-7567 (cell)
>>
>> *Follow us** on Facebook
>> <https://www.facebook.com/Farmscape-Ecology-Program-154393294745947/> or
>> subscribe to our **Progress of the Seasons Journal
>> <https://progressoftheseasons.wordpress.com/> for weekly **photoessays
>> on **Columbia County's natural **wonders**.*
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 23, 2026 at 12:05 PM Chris Grinter <cgrinter at calacademy.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> A caution against the eco tank printers that these are dye based inks
>>> and not pigment, therefore should not be considered archival. It's getting
>>> harder and harder to find low-cost pigment based inkjet printing especially
>>> in monochrome.
>>>
>>>
>>> Christopher C. Grinter
>>> Senior Collection Manager of Entomology
>>> Secretary, The Lepidopterists’ Society
>>> Subject Editor: Lepidoptera, The Pacific Coast Entomological Society
>>> California Academy of Sciences
>>> 55 Music Concourse Dr
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/55+Music+Concourse+Dr+San+Francisco,+CA+94118?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> San Francisco, CA 94118
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/55+Music+Concourse+Dr+San+Francisco,+CA+94118?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> T 415.379.5320
>>> CAS in the news - $10M for digitization
>>> <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/california-academy-of-sciences-awarded-10-million-for-scientific-collections___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOmE0YWMzZmQzODA0NWI1ZjhiZWNiMzFkYzBkN2VhMzNjOjc6Yzk0Yjo0NDhlOTIxY2Y3M2MzM2QzODEyYmIxYjczNTgyM2Y0ZjU0ZWFjOWU3ODBhY2FhNTgyZWM1MzI3NGY3MTA5NTNjOmg6VDpO>
>>> Learn more at calacademy.org <http://www.calacademy.org/>
>>> <https://www.instagram.com/calacademy/>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 23, 2026 at 8:58 AM Kendrick Fowler <kendrickorion at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Gali,
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for moving this forward!
>>>>
>>>> My test has been appallingly unscientific, as it was not originally
>>>> meant as a test of labels/ink nor meant to run as long as it has (and so
>>>> has been neglected/not supervised with care).
>>>>
>>>> About 5 years ago (9 and 13 July 2021), I filled a variety of vials
>>>> with 70% ethanol and placed into each of them a label identical to those we
>>>> use for both our dry and wet specimens in our insect collection, then set
>>>> the vials on a window ledge. They sat in the window for about two years
>>>> until they were accidentally knocked down during an office cleaning, then
>>>> were removed and placed into a clear deli container and have sat jumbled
>>>> together in a different window since then. The vials that still retain
>>>> alcohol up to or above the level of the label today were borosilicate vials
>>>> with phenolic polyseal screw caps (Bioquip 8801P and 8804P) and
>>>> polypropylene vials with TPE O-rings in the caps (Hyundai Micro
>>>> HBS020CS1SF). The labels were printed on Enduro Xerographic 100% cotton
>>>> paper using the black-and-white setting (which uses only black ink) on an
>>>> Epson ET-4750 EcoTank printer filled with Epson T5021 black ink (this is
>>>> the standard black ink for the ET-4750, from the Epson T502 ink bottle
>>>> pack) in 3 pt Avenir Book font, and the dates on the labels were
>>>> handwritten using a black Pigma Micron pen (Sakura stock # XSDK005-49). The
>>>> labels remain perfectly readable, but the text appears slightly to
>>>> moderately faded compared to similar-aged labels that have been kept in the
>>>> dark, or compared to newly-printed labels. In my subjective assessment (no
>>>> quantitative measuring of contrast or anything like that), the text made
>>>> using the printer and the text written in pen both appear faded to a
>>>> similar degree; if anything, the text written in pen appears more faded
>>>> because it originally appeared darker than the printed text, whereas now
>>>> the text made using both methods appears about the same darkness (however,
>>>> the text written in pen may only have appeared darker initially because its
>>>> lines are much thicker than in the text made by the printer).
>>>>
>>>> Unfortunately, some of the above products are discontinued, but
>>>> suitable alternatives are available (Bioquip is sadly no more, but
>>>> polyseal/polycone vials can be obtained from a variety of sources;
>>>> Sarstedt's 72.694.300 vials are similar to the no-longer-available Hyundai
>>>> Micro product named above, but seem in my subjective assessment to be
>>>> higher quality; Epson offers a variety of EcoTank printers that take the
>>>> same ink as the discontinued ET-4750 as well as other printers that take
>>>> inks with different product numbers but that, according to their SDSs,
>>>> appear to have a similar composition).
>>>>
>>>> Again, the above is terribly unscientific, so don't take it for more
>>>> than it's worth. However, considering the popularity of Pigma Micron pens
>>>> for handwriting labels, the fact that the printer ink (subjectively)
>>>> appears to have held up just as well in this test gives me confidence in
>>>> its longevity.
>>>>
>>>> Also, according to their safety data sheets (available online), both
>>>> the Epson T5021 black ink and the ink in black Pigma Micron pens are
>>>> colored at least in part using carbon black pigment, which should have
>>>> excellent longevity.
>>>>
>>>> I hope this is helpful in some way!
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards,
>>>> Kendrick
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Kendrick Fowler*, *Entomology Lab Manager*
>>>> Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program  |  hvfarmscape.org
>>>> <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://hvfarmscape.org/___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjMyNDVjZDUxZTZhNTVjMDJmMTBjYmIxZDViM2Q2ZmJmOjc6YzY4NDo5ZGMzNjRiZDQ4MWZlMjA4ZTk0YjQ0NTgzYTdkNjQ0ZTVmZTI1MGU3NWM0ODRiMjY2NTU0YTkxMDgzYzk4MDA3Omg6VDpO>
>>>> +1 (518) 672-7994 (office)  |  +1 (267) 377-7567 (cell)
>>>>
>>>> *Follow us** on Facebook
>>>> <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://www.facebook.com/Farmscape-Ecology-Program-154393294745947/___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjMyNDVjZDUxZTZhNTVjMDJmMTBjYmIxZDViM2Q2ZmJmOjc6MjQxODo0NzZiMmI2Yzk4MzVhNWM5YTJhYjc1MDkyYWMxMWU1MTJkMTkzNjY2Yzc4MGI0MDkyZjg1ZDkyZWIyN2EzNDhmOmg6VDpO> or
>>>> subscribe to our **Progress of the Seasons Journal
>>>> <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://progressoftheseasons.wordpress.com/___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjMyNDVjZDUxZTZhNTVjMDJmMTBjYmIxZDViM2Q2ZmJmOjc6YTlkNToxMzEzZTM2ZTI1ZGM1Y2ZkY2UxNzJjMGE5YzM4Yjk1ZDJiYThlY2JmNDYwNTkwMmU5MDE2MDU2MTk2OTFiOTAwOmg6VDpO> for
>>>> weekly **photoessays on **Columbia County's natural **wonders**.*
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Apr 23, 2026 at 9:52 AM Gali Beiner <
>>>> gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear All,
>>>>>
>>>>> We very recently held a long (over 50 postings!) discussion here in
>>>>> NHCOLL, headed "Desktop thermal printers?". In that thread, I mentioned the
>>>>> possibility of creating some sort of "digital space" for information on
>>>>> ongoing "informal" testing and follow-ups on labels in different places.
>>>>>
>>>>> *There is an opening for doing exactly this within the framework of
>>>>> the SPNHC wikipages*. Those of you who conduct such ongoing informal
>>>>> tests or have specific observations from "their" collections (Andy, Chris,
>>>>> Fowler, Hans-Joachim and anyone else out there, apologies if I failed to
>>>>> mention anyone) are very much invited to contact me. It will be good to
>>>>> list the duration of your procedures, which products exactly you put under
>>>>> observation, general conditions of your procedure, etc. I'll try to create
>>>>> a table for the purpose.
>>>>>
>>>>> Let's see how this goes! All this info that never gets published
>>>>> because it is "not exactly scientific" but still very interesting now has a
>>>>> chance to be seen!
>>>>>
>>>>> 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 <gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il>*
>>>>>
>>>>> *https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en
>>>>> <https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjMyNDVjZDUxZTZhNTVjMDJmMTBjYmIxZDViM2Q2ZmJmOjc6YTQxYzo1ZjQ2YWIxNDY5YmYyZmViMmFlMzY1NDU3Yzg3ZThhMTFiZDc0ZGI2ZDY0YTc3OTIwMjdjZDljMjBkZDkwYjBjOmg6VDpO>*
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
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>>>>> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
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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
>>>> https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___http://www.spnhc.org___.YXAzOmNhbGFjYWRlbXk6YTpnOjMyNDVjZDUxZTZhNTVjMDJmMTBjYmIxZDViM2Q2ZmJmOjc6MTEzODo1MmUxOWVlYWU2MGY3NWY0MWJjZTI0ZDE5NjRiMzYxMzA3OWYwY2ZhZjc5ZGUyODllMzM3MzkyNDJlNDVhZWI5OnA6VDpO
>>>> for membership information.
>>>> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>>>>
>>>

-- 
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 <gali.beiner at mail.huji.ac.il>*

*https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en <https://nnhc.huji.ac.il/?lang=en>*
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