I have also the problem of writting on still wet color prints. So far I haven't found any pen capable of do it well, I just wait to the print be dry enough and leave the notes in a piece of paper next to the it.
But... it's hard to beat the ID system commonly used by photo labs since as far back as I know. They're called twin-checks (or triples, even). These are adhesive labels that come in rolls, and have pairs of sequential numbers.
I'm not a fan of sharpies since they do fade when exposed to light a lot- we used to use them on plastic to label plants, and after a season outdoors, the writing had completely faded. This may not be an issue for your if your prints are not in the light.Does anyone have a specific brand of marker they can recommend for darkroom work? I would like something that can write on the glossy emulsion, and make it through develop, stop, fix, or be able to write on a soggy, wet print. Best for me so far are Sharpie fine point pens or a big fat 6B graphite pencil.
This is a great suggestion for some use cases. It might even be enough to make me form the habit of keeping a log book for all tests which is something I have been thinking about. I remember seeing these on negatives back from photo labsIt's hard to beat the ID system commonly used by photo labs since as far back as I know. They're called twin-checks (or triples, even). These are adhesive labels that come in rolls, and have pairs of sequential numbers.
My girlfriend bought me one of these when we started dating. the lead is quite soft and the blunt point lets you write on soggy paper. It works but you can't write much. You get really soft pencils (like 6xb or more) Haven't tried one yet though.I have not found a good product other than pencil to write notes on the back of a photograph and that is not so good.
Thanks for the endorsement from personal experience. Has at least two votes on this thread so its top of my list so farI've been using the Space Pen for decades on the back of colour RA4 paper and any RC B&W paper with great results.
What I have done multiple times is use some useless pen to scratch marks on test prints. I usually want to write at least a number.How about hole punches with unique holes to identify things differently? Like the train conductors use.
They also wipe right off a glossy surface as it makes its way through development, but if you carefully avoid its marks you can read it at the end.I'm not a fan of sharpies since they do fade when exposed to light a lot-
I have some of these. I love the even lines. I am not sure if I would destroy a broadish one if I left it inked up indefinitely. I wouldn't want to clean a pen after every darkroom session. If I didn't, some times it would be weeks or more before I came back to it. They would work well in a pro lab that was used every day.We used Koh-I-Noor professional grade technical pens with waterproof ink ... the pens demand proper maintenance, but they worked well.
I have not found a good product other than pencil to write notes on the back of a photograph and that is not so good.
Ditto on the pencil
Don't know where the original poster's message went, but I think these are the US/EU versionI'm not sure if it is permanent, but a yellow or white Chinagraph pencil is used for marking contact prints.
A broad soft pencil does mark on wet paper, glossy side. I remember it not being all that good though.Does that work at all on a soggy print?
Same for the Chinagraphs. Can't imagine them doing very well on a wet emulsion - or a wet fiber base for that matter.
An improvement to this is to use a log book that you use just for this purpose, and label your paper and log book with twin check labels ( link in this thread. ) Finding the best pen/marker you can will also help, so you can remember all the details before you forget (this part was the 6s test, this, was 10s, this development was 90s instead of the planned 2 min) Now when you come back a year later you can make prints from a roll where you previously discovered the look you like. That's my dream anyway.I have also the problem of writing on still wet color prints. So far I haven't found any pen capable of do it well, I just wait to the print be dry enough and leave the notes in a piece of paper next to the it.
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