Archival Prints

[mikling]

So when was the last time anyone thought of this. We use ball point pens to sign legal documents that are supposed to be legally binding for a very long time and we never think twice about the ink in the pens. This can be for baptism papers, wedding documents, bank accounts etc. land titles

Well as it turns out the ball point pens I have been using fade away faster than aftermarket dye ink. I labelled some prints using a ball point pen and after a month of exposure, the prints are still going strong but the markings I used with the ball point pen has completely disappeared. I have to resort to imprints to determine the samples. How many banks test for archival ink in their pens? The fact that their docs are now scanned and stored digitally gets them a pass however.

So with all the hallabaloo about archival issues, I bet there are so many more important thinks that truly require archival inks and no one gives that a second thought.

I'm now also starting to wonder about fountain pen inks as well.

 

[apetitphoto]

So when was the last time anyone thought of this. We use ball point pens to sign legal documents that are supposed to be legally binding for a very long time and we never think twice about the ink in the pens. This can be for baptism papers, wedding documents, bank accounts etc. land titles

Well as it turns out the ball point pens I have been using fade away faster than aftermarket dye ink. I labelled some prints using a ball point pen and after a month of exposure, the prints are still going strong but the markings I used with the ball point pen has completely disappeared. I have to resort to imprints to determine the samples. How many banks test for archival ink in their pens? The fact that their docs are now scanned and stored digitally gets them a pass however.

So with all the hallabaloo about archival issues, I bet there are so many more important thinks that truly require archival inks and no one gives that a second thought.

I'm now also starting to wonder about fountain pen inks as well.

Have you tested pencil (graphite)?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

yes, ink of ball boint pens fade pretty fast, under exposure, but most documents are kept in the dark. For those types of relevant documents you are addressing I was always given a pen certified as document proof for a signature, I never could sign such documents with my own pen , they most likely use pigmented ink or similar.

 

[apetitphoto]

I've never been offered a "special" pen when signing significant documents. But I guess here in the US a week is as good as a century... Here is a blog post I ran across about someone trying to get a useful answer from BIC: http://dorianvallejo.blogspot.com/2014/02/archival-ball-point-pen-ink-test.html
In short, not interested.

 

[Roy Sletcher]

...''ah Banks. Institutions that chain down their pens, but hand over cash with gay abandon.

My local banks marketing slogan is, "You are richer than you think". They omit the, "and we are coming to get it" part

RS

 

[RogerB]

Have you tested pencil (graphite)?

About as archival as it gets. Just watch out for the shady guy with the eraser in his pocket ......

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I think you are pretty much on your own, test various pens, ink pens and rollers and black and blue, I have seen wide differences in their fade resistance.

 

[The Hat]

I've noticed when the legal eagles are signing official documents they always use black ink...
Archival, yes..

 

[turbguy]

India ink is truly archival.

 

[te36]

Get a read of ISO 12757-2.

https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:12757:-2:ed-1:v1:en

I do not have an IOS account and do not want to spend the moneys - Section 4.8 specifies light resistance. No idea if the spec meets your archival expectations. I would hope it does.

In germany pens / inks / ball-point-pens complying with that spec are sold as "dokumentenecht" (permanent ink ?). Easy to find ballpoint pens / refills that way. Even other colors than black.

German offices such as consulates/embassies let applicants sign with ballpoint pens from Germanys federal print office. Alas they do not sell to the public except for random marketing pens you can find on ebay, but i bet they're not the real thing.

And their info email address folks are not even willing to ask someone in the know about the specs of those pens. Worst case they are just "documentenecht", but maybe they have more interesting specs. Who knows. German federal institutions, "serving" the public *sigh*.