Need help finding a waterproof/fade resistant marker

Please let me know if anyone knows where to get one or what they are called.I looked under grease pen,waterproof,fade resistant markers and I can find anything on an auction site. Are there any stores or garden sites you can recommend. Thanks, Jody

My best luck has been a china marker, also called a grease pencil. It's quite waxy-like and I use it on plastic fork handles and stick them in the ground.

Spirit Thanks a bunch, Jody

Jody - a few other people have found Rub-a-Dub to work well. I believe it is a laundry marker. I looked at Wallyworld and they do not carry it. :)

edited to add: I just did a forum search for that marker and they say WW does carry it but in the school section - duh, I looked in the laundry section. :)

This message was edited Apr 21, 2004 8:03 AM

Kooger Thanks, I don't always feel good enough to drive. I sort of was hoping that I could win one on an auction. LOL. I'll look under Rub-a-Dub. Gee that sounds funny. I am working on filling trades as we speak, so to speak. I had to take a break; my meds are just about to kill me. Thanks, Jody

Also try the paint pens sold at craft stores. I have been making plant markers from old mini-blinds for years using a black paint pen and they have never faded in the extreme Florida weather.

I know that the auction site has paint pens.LOL. Gotta go check. Thanks, Jody

I tried a laundry marker and it faded in the sun. I have not tried the paint pens.

Paint pens! That's an excellent idea! And I think I have some... Thanks Amaryllisgal!

We've been using Sharpie pens for years.
You can buy them anywhere for about a buck.
I buy them in bulk at Sam's Club.

Bernie

You know, Bernie, I tried the sharpie only last fall and they have already faded. Wonder why they work for you? Do you do anything special?

I use a Marks-A-Lot that is made by Avery. I use it to write on plants and it seems to last as long as that part of the plant.

We use the plastic stakes from John Henry.

Are you near a farm supply store (i.e. Orschelins, Tractor Supply)? They should sell livestock tag markers. These markers are very permanent. We use them to id ear tags for our cattle. We have some cows with 10 year old tag in their ears. I think the markers usually cost around $2 - $3.

I've found that tags last much longer if you bury the part that has your information. I use old plastic window blind slats and the fine point Sharpies. If you need to see the tags at a glance, put the name on both ends.

I've found the grease pencils are pretty durable, and graphite pencils, as well.

Weezinggreens, I have been using old window blinds and a sharpie, the ones I put out this spring have already bleached out from the sun. I'm glad I saved the bags and information on what I planted where, I can't read them any more.I will take your advise and stick the written part in the ground until I get a paint pen. Thanks everyone. Jody

My blinds and Sharpies were a disaster. I bought paint pens last year and they weathered the winter GREAT. I think they were Zig Zag brand, maybe? I used blinds with them and they're still legible. I also used plastic knives and spoons.

I have now prepared to use cream coloured 1" plastic casings (cut to 2 1/2 inches)meant for domestic electric wiring. I plan to write the name (with permanent marker pens) on both the sides. One side faces us and the other behind. The latter side is protected by the side of the casing that prevents sun and rain/water from falling directly. So if the facing side fades out, the other side will still have its name. But still, painting the name is worth the trouble. This name-plate is held up by the zinc wire that is pierced into the soil.

Just today, at Home Depot, I got a marker called Garden Marker, and it writes like a permanent marker. I don't know if it will work and not fade, but I am going to try. I like the grease pens or china markers too. My friend gets them in white and writes on the pot also. The Garden Marker at Home Depot costs 2.00.

When I got the first seeds from trades here at DG, I had discovered that writing names using kids' wax crayons (glass marking pencils too will be of good use) could do the job. And it did okay but it was not looking nice. I had the idea of covering the written area with transparent cellophane adhesive tape to make it more durable. That never happened till now. I'm getting newer ideas in this thread. If people post pictures of their plant markers, that will be an added advantage. I don't know what a paint pen is or a sharpie is.

Hi Dinu, a paint pen is just that - a pen that when pressed on, writes with paint. A sharpie is a brand name of a permanent marker that really is quite permanent on most things. :)

Here are mine. I got them two years ago, I think. They have paint in the tubes and to get the paint down in the tip of the marker, you push the tip down hard on a surface a few times. This "primes" it. They work great and are truly light and weather-fast.

Here are some Sharpie markers. The green is a neat one - two tips in one! They do fade outside, though, to nothing.

This message was edited Apr 23, 2004 6:02 PM

great pics, GW - even when sore wristed... :(

Living in a coastal Alaskan town, I probably get a lot less sun in the summers than most of you, so I can understand why the Sharpies may not last the season, much less winter over. Do the paint pens have a fine enough point for small writing?

Easy scanner - love it!

GW: Is this a hand-held scanner? Got a link to info?

No, just a cheap Visioneer flatbed. You can do all sorts of neat stuff with them. They're especially handy for detailed closeups like this because, unlike taking macro shots with a camera, you don't have to be concerned with lighting or a shallow depth-of-field.

I've experimented with permenent markers with varying degrees of success. My daughter gave me a paint pen but I've never been able to get it to work. I also use the narrow window blind strips. I write on the one side, then put the marker that came with the plant on the other side and put a clear outdoor type vinyl tape over it all. A couple layers sometimes. Those have lasted quite well so far. I'll know better next year.

Wouldn't it be great to have a printer with ink that would be permanent on plastic sheeting.

I got some nice plant markers last year in the co-op. I didn't order a pen so looked for a while locally. Finally, ended up with a neat dymo label maker using metallic tape - I'll let you know next year how they hold up.

Check out this auction; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20546&item=2396610145
I've used these kind of labels myself and have been pleased with them.

Gemila

Gardenwife, I just discovered the markers like you have; they are the best ever! They come in yellow, black, red, and white and I use them to mark on pots too. Just got mine yesterday, and they are not at all like a paint pen, but that is what they are. They are so easy to use.

Gardenwife, where did you get your paint pens? (Are you still one-handed? I hope you are healing....this is a terrible time of year to be without both hands, especially when you are a gardener, photographer and computer whiz.)

Hi, guys. Yep, I am still a one-armed bandit! I got my pens at Ames, during their going out of business sale at the mall -- probably was 2002.

Someone has them on eBay -- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28109&item=8101938846&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW They are the medium tips, though.

Joann carries them, singly: http://www.joann.com/search/search_results.jhtml?CATID=3&keywords=Paint%20Markers%20zig%20&eid=1083109549826_838319_20644814

Sanford makes oil-based paint markers, too: http://store.officeworld.com/catalog.asp?ShellID=137|39|214|87|91|59|90|125|52|236|240|240|160|194|92|97|117|125|202|60|214|81|105|40|200|99|68|212|72|60|67|62|98|120|210|183|217|168&HiddenShoppingLists=&HiddenCustomerLists=19@@Test||&ProductGroupID=277209&ProductLevelFlag=True&OrderBy=ProductID&BeyondValue1=&BeyondValue2=&CP=plkb:520038&cpid=

Thanks, Gardenwife. I'll have to check out the fine-point paint pens the next time we get to Anchorage. If I asked for them here in Seward, they'd try to sell me a ball-point pen and a gallon of house paint! LOL!

My biggest problem with labels is that I need so many plant tags. I have hundreds of cell packs to deal with, and I've been hand-printing the tags. After about 50 of them, my writing is less than legible, and they still don't have all the info customers might need. For instance, I know a signet marigold when I see one, so all I need to know is 'Lulu'... not so hard to do... but customers need to know it's a marigold.

I try to keep an informational tag in each flat, but our rainbird tower sprinkler makes short work of the ink, in spite of the clear contact paper I seal them in. Plant identification is a big issue for me.

I can imagine - I weary of writing out twenty tags! I saw this waterproof label product just now. I can't vouch for it, but it sounds interesting: http://www.brambleberry.com/hardware.html

More:

http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/wp.html
http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/wphg.html
http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/outdrperma.html
http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/104050.html
http://www.rippedsheets.com/inkjet/outdrwp.html

This message was edited Apr 28, 2004 4:18 PM

Another: http://www.mcgpaper.com/photolabel.html

One more: http://www.gardenmarker.com/computer.htm

I am curious! Search Google groups for discussions of these technologies.

This message was edited Apr 28, 2004 4:26 PM

I have been using regular pencil on mini-blinds (metal or vinyl) and then covering the pencil mark with scotch tape. So far it has worked much better for me than markers.

Thanks for the links, GW. They certainly show that the technology is there, but the cost is pretty high at this point. One of these days, I'll figure out an easier way!