It can take up to 90 to 120 seconds for the ink to dry, depending on the surface and room temperature.We typically label items and give them a few minutes to dry before use. The Engineering Markers are still the quickest way to label things.

Store the markers tip-side-up. 

The ink withstands solvents like ethanol, isopropanol, DMSO, acetonitrile, acetone, and methanol. The ink comes off with greasy solvents like WD40, Oil, Ethyl Acetate, and Hexanes. We are working on ink for greasy solvents.

If used incorrectly, occasionally. If the marker leaks, blot the tip dry with a napkin. The marker will work like new. Only prime the marker when new or if the marker stops writing. Do not shake the marker without its cap firmly secured. Store tip-side-up. When using the marker every day, you do not need to shake the marker every day. Excessive shaking, priming, and storing tip-side-down may cause leaking.

Not really. If the marker dries out, it can be reactivated, or primed by following the provided instruction on the box. We have hundreds of dried-out unusable Sharpies, which can dry out in the middle of using them or upon storage. Magic Tag's Engineering Markers can be stored for years and still work like new.

Magic Tag's ENGINEERING MARKER is formulated with Forever Ink: a mixture of solvents, pigments, dyes, and adhesives, designed to write on services of any porosity and withstand abrasion and chemical solvents. The ink makes the markers chemically resistant to ethanol, isopropanol, DMSO, acetonitrile, acetone, and methanol.

No, the marker will not affect cells. The effect of marker fumes on cultured cells has actually been studied.

Yes, the marker works great to temporally mark tails, paws, and ears. The markers last much longer than Sharpies, which fade after only one day.

The markers work best on dry surfaces. Dry the surface first, if wet.

We use the marker to label everything: thousands of items.; from the contents of storage cabinets, draws and bins to animals, and everything plastic and glass. The Engineering Markers work great to label experiments in progress. They have saved us countless time over the years. We threw away all of our labeling printers, purchase over the years. We no longer use anything else for labeling.

Yes, easily. 

Yes, the ink can withstand direct flames. 

Yes, labeled items can be submerged into boiling water for days. The ink will not come off.

Yes! If you are running RT-PCR, don't label the locations on the tube where the fluorescence is measured, which differ depending on the instrument.

Yes, the markers work great for labeling 96 and 384-well plates. Make sure to mark the edge of the wells or the edge of the plate, away from the path.

All markers will eventually come off for non-porous surfaces, like glass and plastic. Magic Tag Engineering Markers last much longer when tested against other markers under various common lab conditions.

For porous surfaces, like paper and cardboard, most markers work well. The advantage of Magic Tag Engineering Markers for porous surfaces is that the markers don't dry out until the ink runs out. Anyone who has tried labeling boxes with an old Sharpie knows that dry-out is a significant problem for many markers.