Miguel,

I'll offer the folloing comments:
> 1) The ink or the paper turns out to be acid?

This is a possibility. Most inks are proprietary preparations. They
contain the vehicle, pigments, and binders. You can check with the
manufacturer to see if they are acid-free and archival. Beside the
acidity, you will also have to worry about whether they will fade over
time. This is a concern if they will be exposed to light.

I would use plain, acid free, lignin free, buffered, archival paper. I'm
not sure why you want to use glossy paper. Archival papers can be obtained
from a number of sources. If you need the names of some suppliers let me
know or check with someone in a nearby museum or library.

> 2) The ink sticks to/stains the shells in the long run?

I have not seen this happen with any types of inks other than the ones
used in photocopy machines. If you are truly concerned, you can put the
label in a Mylar sleeve or a polyethylene ziplock bag. You will be able to
read the label yet it won't come in contact with the specimen.

> 3) The glossy layer of the paper comes off over the years and sticks to
> the shells?

I have no idea of how glossy paper will handle over the years in a
malacological collection. Photographic collections seen to hold up well
when stored properly, however, I do not know of any data on using glossy
paper for labels and how well it does. Why not just use a plain,
acid-free, low lignin, buffered, archival white paer?

> The alternative is to glue the labels outside the boxes, on the bottom >
> and facing up, to avoid turning round the box each time I want to see
the
> label. I am not very enthusiastic about this idea, I appears to be a bit
> ugly.

No, No, No, No...do you get the idea that I am against this idea? :-)
Unless you use an archival glue, the glue and or its vehicle may cause
more problems that the paper would. Also, if you donate your collection to
a museum or someone else, how will they get the labels off? Museums save
all the labels that come with a specimen. It is part of the extrinsic
data. The labels are usually kept in order with the oldest on the bottom,
the newest on the top. How would they put a label glued to the box in the
collection? It would be a hassle to deal with these specimens. I use the
same procedure in my collection, you would cause me a bit of grief as well
if the label was glued to the box. I would prefer that you put the label
in the inside, bottom and deal with the inconvience of turning the box
over if you needed to see the label.

There are some printer-ink-paper combinations that are considered
archival. I'm not sure which ones are available at this time. If you want
to spends a few dollers, euros, rands, yen, etc. you could consider a
thermal printer (about US$1500). I believe that these labels hold up in
alcoholic solutions as well.

I still hand write my labels using fine line markers filled with acid-free
inks. If you have any further questions let me know.

Regards,
Charlie
.................................................
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

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