The problem: markings can be dissolved by disinfectants and sanitisers

What could be more frustrating than seeing a carefully applied marking on a workpiece become smudged or rendered illegible simply by touching it? Yet in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, this is happening more and more frequently. The reason for this is the increased use of hand sanitisers which can easily come into contact with the material on which the marking is written. Hand sanitisers usually contain alcohols which have the ability to dissolve many types of ink.



The solution: alcohol-resistant markers
In industry, permanent labelling on metal, glass or plastic is part and parcel of many day-to-day routines. It’s therefore advisable to use alcohol-resistant ink. So what are the right markers for such applications? In fact, there are plenty to choose from: for marking on metal, for example, permanent markers, paint markers and various types of special marker are all suitable. But are they also resistant to disinfectants and sanitisers? On this point, there are fewer options available. One reliable solution, however, is the edding 750 paint marker. Proven to be resistant to alcohol in tests, its paint-like, opaque ink shows up very well on dark and transparent materials. What’s more, the ink is even heat-resistant. 

What makes edding paint markers resistant to alcohol?
Marker inks are highly complex chemical fluids. Solvents (generally alcohol-, water- or even oil-based) ensure that the marker ink remains fluid to enable flawless writing. When writing on a given material, the solvent evaporates. Once dry, a marking can be removed with the same solvent as the one found in the marker ink, or a similar one. That’s why the solvent in an alcohol-resistant marker pen such as the edding 750 paint marker isn’t based on alcohol. Solvents in traditional permanent markers, however, are generally alcohols such as ethanol or isopropanol, meaning that the ink is not permanent when it comes into contact with an alcohol. However, the fact that a water-based marker cannot automatically be removed with water shows just how complex the subject is.

Preventative measure: everyone should label their own tools
The IGM (German metal workers’ union) recommends that, as well as following general hygiene rules, workers should, where possible, only use their own equipment such as tools and markers, and should disinfect them regularly.  In this scenario, too, it’s advisable to use an alcohol-resistant edding paint marker for labelling purposes. Alongside the edding 750 with its wide bullet nib, both the edding 751 and 780 paint markers with their finer nibs have the same superb characteristics.