We've changed to the TBS marking pens. They have replaceable tips that, when
the originals are flat or no longer working well, can be pulled out and
replaced, thus adding additional life to the pen. They are manufactured
through Triangle Biomedical Sciences, Inc. and their catalog number for the
pens are MP-B for the black ink pens and MP-RT for the replacement tips. We
get ours through Allegiance, though you could probably find them from other
sources. The really cool part is priming them by pressing the tip 5 or 6
times to get the ink flowing. Any time they seem like they've dried up, all
you have to do is re-prime or, as mentioned before, replace the tip.

Hope this helps!

Teri Johnson, HT(ASCP)
Physicians Reference Laboratory
Overland Park, KS

----- Original Message -----
From: Allen, Steven <sallen@lrri.org>
To: <histonet@pathology.swmed.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 12:39 PM
Subject: Dry marking pens


> I am finding that the tips on my solvent-resistant marking pens are prone
to
> drying out.  I may label a couple hundred slides and store the pen for a
few
> days.  I always secure the cap firmly and lay it down sideways.  When I
try
> to use the pen again, the tip won't flow ink even after repeated writing.
I
> have tried getting the pen to write on slides and paper with no luck. I
have
> tried storing the pens with the tips pointing down with no luck.  Out of
> curiosity, I cut one of the bad pens in half and the cartridge inside
> appeared to still have ink.
>
> Can anybody offer me some advice on how to get the ink flowing again?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve Allen
> Research Technologist
> Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
> Albuquerque, NM
> (505)845-1122
> sallen@lrri.org
>
>
>