Hi, everyone!

I am making prints using Epson Ultra Premium Luster Paper. The backside of the paper is quite slick and doesn’t take a lot of archival pens well. I’ve tried a variety of archival pens (Mircon, etc.) to no avail. Some non-archival marker options (Sharpie, Copic, Staedtler Lumocolor, etc.) work okay, but they’re not archival/acid free. Sakura Pen-Touch works great, and it is archival, but it is a paint-based marker (with a marble in it) and it lays down paint thickkkkk.

Few questions:

  • Has anyone had success finding an archival pen/ink that works well with this stock?
  • Does archival even matter in the real world?
  • If we shouldn’t bother signing our prints (as some have suggested on this subreddit elsewhere), what else might one do to add a special touch to a print you’re trying to sell?
  • dizzymizzyOPBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Thanks. Some Copics are archival (multi liner) but the standard ones aren’t as far as I know. In fact, I hear they’re pretty poor in regard to fading with or without light. The Copic multi-liner pens don’t take well on the paper — they don’t dry.

    Anyway, I’m experimenting with some other options now. The Pentel Hybrid Technica archival/pigment pen seems to work, but the larger nib doesn’t put down ink as well as the finer nibs (for some strange reason). But the acid-free fine-point paint pens would work if they were so opaque and think. No bleeding or anything like that… it doesn’t show through unless you hold the print to the light and look through it.