Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ink that's safe for film

This is topic Ink that's safe for film in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Dan Bouvier (Member # 2655) on 09-29-2004, 07:01 PM:

I have to train a bunch of floor people (ushers and whatnot) to use my beloved projectors. The automation works on a timer, so to aid in threading I'd like to mark the spot on the leader that they should frame on. If I use a plain ol' permanent marker, will the ink rub off and screw things up? Being one of the new kids around here, I hope I'm not bugging anyone with my dumb questions.

PS You wanna hear something funny? While typing this post, the fire alarm just went off and the whole building was evacuated. Turns out it was our fault - on of our rooftop heaters has been broken for over a month, so to turn the heat on we have to manually switch the breaker on. Apparently it got a little too warm because some heat sensor in the ducts set off the fire alarm! Two big fire trucks pulled up and everything. Ah, good times.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-29-2004, 07:46 PM:

That's the only thing opaque tape is good for. Just lay it where you want them to cue the film to on one side.

If you want a marker, Sharpies work fine.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 09-29-2004, 08:54 PM:

A permanent (solvent) ink marker like a Sharpie is fine for marking leader, but it will eventually wear off, as it does not penetrate into gelatin emulsion or polyester base. A water-based marker can be quite permanent on the emulsion side, as the dyes actually go into the gelatin film emulsion.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-03-2004, 05:45 AM:

Sharpie now makes a silver metalic marker that is excellent for putting indentification info on the beginning of each reel so it can be seen easily when the reels are stored in the film rack. No matter if the outer wind is completely clear or all black, the metalic is clearly visible, even in a dark booth environment. I am now using it instead of the white grease pencil which needed to be covered with clear tape in order that it not get rubbed off. It looks like this new metalic product will be more permanent than the original color Sharpies, although this is only a guess. I gotta tell ya, this is a great product for the booth for general marking needs on film. I bet it will even find favor for the likes of whose who find it impossible to make up a print without painting the film edges at the reel joins. The beauty of the metalic is, it will be more easily visible than their shoe polish or white-out or house paint or whatever else they use, so they might actually paint less of the film. But the best thing is, even if they do use it to mark the film edge, you just put a little Ecco 1500 on a clean rag and the metalic wipes off in seconds and clean as a whistle, none of the rubbing and scrubbing it takes to get the house paint off.

And Oh, if they would use this marker instead of the using blotchy white paint or even worse, instead of using the three feet of masking tape at the very end of the last reel so they can write the title in big block letters so it can be seen on the platter while at the other end of the a 30plex booth.

Although Staples Industrial doesn't stock the metalic Sharpies just yet except in a blister pak where you have to buy three other colors in order to get one metalic, they probably will get them in soon enough since I was able to buy a supply of them at Rite-Aid where they were are being packaged alone, two in a pack.

Posted by Tommie Evans (Member # 2674) on 10-03-2004, 04:55 PM:

If its on the leader and won't get shown on-screen then you could use a flouescent sticker or small square of tape. [Razz]

Posted by Paul Vollmers (Member # 927) on 10-03-2004, 06:05 PM:

Dan,
I've been using the silver Sharpie marker for some time now...you can find one at your local Wal Mart in the stationary school display area.
Works great.....!!!

Paul

Posted by Dan Bouvier (Member # 2655) on 10-05-2004, 12:19 AM:

Sweet! Starting tomorrow I'm all over that Sharpie like Oprah on a baked ham!

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 10-05-2004, 05:29 PM:

I hope the opaque/metallic Sharpie doesn't affect your cue detector!

Posted by Gordon Bachlund (Member # 124) on 10-05-2004, 06:19 PM:

Adam makes an interesting point. That notwithstanding, you can order the metallic Sharpie pens on line at Viking Office Supply, as I just did, and probably others also, and save a trip to the store.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-06-2004, 12:21 PM:

quote:
I hope the opaque/metallic Sharpie doesn't affect your cue detector!

Adam, in a change-over house, I am the cue detector! [Big Grin]

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 10-06-2004, 12:23 PM:

Do you go to the next theatre and act as their cue detector too?

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 10-06-2004, 02:06 PM:

As great as these silver markers work, please follow the advise printed on each pen .. store TIP DOWN. [Smile]

If not stored properly, even with the cap on, the paint in the tip will eventually harden and the pen will be useless. [Frown]

Ron Yost

Posted by Peter Mork (Member # 1336) on 10-07-2004, 12:47 PM:

I like water-based paint markers - Speedball and Posterman are two brands. (Others have nasty solvents that make me swoon.) I mark leaders with numbers and dots at the frame lines for a couple of feet. Makes threading easy under dim lights.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-09-2004, 05:28 PM:

quote: Peter Mork
Others have nasty solvents that make me swoon.

And Peter, this is a bad thing?

Ron, thanks for the tip (down) [Big Grin]

; you are a thorough man. I am alot more ADD....I wouldn't have even thought to read instructions on a Sharpie marker -- I would have missed it.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 10-09-2004, 07:13 PM:

Thanks, Frank. [Smile]

I'm not really that anal about things .. I hope.

There were a couple of things that keyed me to RTFM [Big Grin]

for these pens, tho.

First, I've used other paint pens for other purposes in the past. They've always dried-out before I'd gotten much use out of them. Maybe this one will too .. time will tell.

Second, I could only find the Sharpie Metalic Silver pen in a blister pack with several regular black Sharpies. I noticed the metalic pen was hanging the reverse of the black pens in the package .. they were tip-up, it was tip-down. Sooo, I checked out the pen when I got home and noticed the 'Store Tip Down' advice on the barrel.

Hey, did you notice the metalic pen doesn't have a pocket clip?? I just now noticed that! I guess that's the 2nd clue they're trying to tell us something. [Big Grin]

Anyhow, thanks for the heads-up on these pens, Frank. They really do work quite well.

Ron Yost