Dear Tom,

	Yes, I agree nothing beats a sharp #2 pencil.  When I worked in a hospital
lab we used #2 pencils, tried a few brands of pen, but they were too
expensive & too short lived.  In the end to cope with increasing work load
we switched to a mechanical cassette writer run from a PC.  The microwriter
used a black tape & heat to write on the cassettes & removed a lot of
finger cramps.  Once the system was set up properly it was as fast as hand
writing for one off cassettes, & much faster when doing batches.

	Regards
	
	Rob W.

At 03:41 PM 6/8/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Histonetters,
>
>Please listen when I tell you that a #2 lead pencil works best for
>processing cassettes!  I know it goes against everything you have learned
>over the years, you know how in the medical field you have to buy the
>highest priced items.  In this case, it is not true.  I wouldn't spend 50
>cents on a marking pen for cassettes.  A #2 lead pencil is the way to go.
>Can anyone back me up on this?  Give the pencil a try-you'll be happy you
>did!

R. Wadley, B.App.Sc, M.L.S
Laboratory Manager
Cellular Analysis Facility
School of Microbiology & Immunology
UNSW, New South Wales, Australia, 2052
Ph (BH) 	+61 (2) 9385 3517
Ph (AH)	+61 (2) 9555 1239
Fax 	+61 (2) 9385 1591
E-mail	r.wadley@unsw.edu.au
www	http://www.unsw.edu.au/clients/microbiology/CAF.html
	(Under development)