> rkg: <I actually sign the mat with pencil in additon to signing the print
> itself - thank you for pointing this out - I had started using sharpies
> because I came across something claiming that they were archival - digging
> again, I
> see that while they have changed their formula in the not too distant past,
> they still don't advertise them as archival themselves. I guess its back to
> the pigma micron pens for the print margin...>
>
Permanent Sharpie is definitly an oxymoron. Sharpies are among the least
permanent print-signing implements I've run across. (A fluorescent highlighter
would probably take the cake for the most rapid fading.) I've seen Sharpie
signatures fade within months of daylight exposure (see my first Window Test
here:
http://www.dpandi.com/resources/permanence/hjwindowtest
I'd never use a Sharpie if I were worried about signature permanence. FYI:
here's the actual text from a recent package of black Ultra-Fine Point Sanford
Sharpie Permanent Marker: "Sanford quality provides long-lasting durability".
Is that ambiguous enough for you? ;-)
Personally, I've switched to matte fine art papers, so signing with graphite
(pencil) in the margins works for me.
P.S. I'm in the middle of my new pigment-print permance Window Test, and I've
got marking samples noted along with the sample prints themselves. I've got
months to go, but it should be interesting. I'm using the new Mark
McCormick-Goodhart I* ("eye star") metric, which is bound to seriously change
the way
accelerated print permancence tests are done. Check my website for updates. And
go
to Mark's website to learn more about I*:
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
Mark also has an I* print research project started, complete with datalogger
sensors, that people can be a part of. Check it out.
Harald Johnson
author, "Mastering Digital Printing, Second Edition"
DP&I.com (http://www.dpandi.com)
digital printing and imaging consultant
>
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