To whom it may concern,
As I mentioned in my previous email on 2/26/24 we never received the Magic Tags and our credit card was charged anyway.
Please get back to me and let me know how to resolve this matter
Thank you
These markers are truly alcohol and water resistant! Things I've discovered about these markers:
- Ink dissolves in mineral oil and glycerol
- Easy to read with a range of temperatures; I've used it to label autoclave containers, tested it in a 37C water bath, in liquid nitrogen and dry ice
- The pens may explode and cause an uncleanable spill on the floor and down your lab coat
- The ink flows easily and is always easy to read; won't fade as long as you let it dry
I followed some tips from other reviewers that I think are important:
- Keep the pens upright when not in use
- From time to time dab the tip with a wipe to keep it clear and unclogged
- Vent the tip occasionally; I think this could potentially help prevent spills/leaks
Some features that could be implemented/improved:
- Attached caps/caps with clips
- Finer lines. Not sure if it's possible with the way the ink flows out
- Reusable pens with ink refills
- All black or all red packs. Other colors?
I will definitely keep using these pens! Highly recommend if you're ok with a higher maintenance pen
Alcohol-Resistant Markers | Laboratory, Industrial, & Hospital Use | Extra Fine Point | 3 Per Pack: 1 Red & 2 Black
I would highly recommend this product to someone like me.
We do clinical PCR and clean everything with 3% hydrogen peroxide or dilute sodium hydroxide to get rid of DNA and RNases. We also freeze thousands of samples. The markers work well for labeling reagents that come into contact with the cleaners, and the ink also withstands freezing. The moister that condenses on the tubes and containers does not bother the ink at all. I don't have to worry about labels coming off of ink smearing when handling reagents. I wish the tip were finer. The marker tends to bleed, so the writing is thicker than the tip. But the markers are still better than any other marker we have been using. Thank you.
Relative to other lab markers I have used, these markers rock! Most lab markers are pretty bad in my 20-year experience: they both dry out and come off. I've been using my black marker consistently for about three months. The marker still seems like it has plenty of ink in it. My VWR marker would have dried out by now. Further, our VWR lab markers do not write on paper very well because the tip is very dry. But these engineering markers can write on both paper and plastic.
I just purchased five packs for my lab! We primarily use the markers when culturing bacteria and maintaining C. elegans. They are shipped by Amazon, FYI. Shipping is fast. We are throwing out our Sharpies. Most of them stopped working only after a couple of weeks.
Discovered these markers on r/labrats after getting frustrated with labels wiping off in tissue culture from vwr cryo markers. These are the bomb.
Look, if you need to write on surfaces stored at cryo to physiological temperatures where if the writing came off, you'd be screwed or compromise cell line identification or sample identity, these are your markers. Yes, they are expensive. They are expensive because they are excellent at what they are designed to do. The cost of misidentifying precious samples significantly outweighs the cost of the pen.
Pros:
- Works excellently at -196, -80, -20, 4, 25, 37 C. Can still see writing through frost which is nice when searching for vials quickly. Doesn't wipe off easily at the extreme low temperatures like typical cryomarkers or sharpie ultra fine, but may still get some slight shedding. Shedding usually only happens when I haven't wiped the marker in a while and a thicker layer of ink is dispensed while writing.
- Writing survives after being completely submerged in pure bleach or 200 proof ethanol over several days after testing.
- Has lasted several months of daily heavy use without fading like the typical Sharpie ultra fine point. Always writes with a bold black.
Cons:
- It takes some getting used to waiting for them to dry, but unconsciously you get used to it. I am right handed so not as much of an issue. For those that are left handed, I'm sure you'll have to elevate the edge of you hand so you don't smear the writing as it dries. This is no different than when you're regularly labeling Eppendorf tubes.
- If you smear it on something e.g. deck of a tissue culture hood, you MUST spray it down with 70% ethanol very quickly and start scrubbing with ethanol to get it off before fully drying. Otherwise you'll just have to work it off with physical force over time.
- Tip can come out easily if you accidentally push too hard or wipe the tip fast. Being gentle helps here. Pen will start dispensing a lot of ink but if you just put the tip back in, wipe it, and store it as suggested, it goes back to normal.
- Sometimes dispenses too much ink if not wiped in a while. This can be frustrating when labeling vials quickly in a laminar flow good because the air flow will make the ink run while drying. You learn how to adapt your writing style to fix this. For Eppendorf tubes with the frosted writing area, because the ink is heavier (think more of an oil-based ink rather than alcohol based sharpie permanent marker) it likes to spread out more as it dries because of the surface is actually gritted.
- Doesn't always like to adhere to specific surfaces unless you've freshly re-primed the marker and write slower. I find that this happens on things that have special chemical resistance coatings e.g. Fisherbrand labeling tape (waterproof, oil & acid resistant).Buyer
Notes:
- The red/pink marker writes in a pink color. Thought it was going to be red.- Think of this marker as writing in a bolder font when compared to an ultra fine point Sharpie permanent marker but finer than a Sharpie fine point. You may find that you cannot write as many things on say a 1.7 mL Eppendorf tube cap compared to an ultra fine point marker. You trade ultra fine writing for a writing point between ultra fine and fine sharpie permanent marker that is bold and ultra permanent.These markers were so good that my adviser adopted them for our tissue culture facility. I love them and think you will too.
There's no going back after having these.
They come off with oils. Make sure you wear gloves. The ink can come off from headlining with oily hands. They lasted longer than industrial sharpies but still came off. I dived up essential oils and can't use these markers for labeling the bottles. I guess they are OK (minus the oil thing) for other things. They work on paper labels and are very dark/black, making them easy to read. But the red marker is not that dark.
Sorry to hear that you could not use the markers for labeling your essential oils. Magic Tag Engineering Markers were made to withstand polar solvents, water, detergents, and most cleaning solutions. We are working on a maker that can withstand oils or greasy solvents for jobs like yours. We don't know any marker that can withstand both polar and greasy solvents, which are two extremes. When using greasy solvents, we recommend covering the ink/writing with heavy-duty, clear packing tape. Make sure to wrap the tape all the way around the bottle so that the tape stays firmly in place.
I recommend these markers for general lab work.
So, these markers do not withstand ethyl acetate or hexane, which I use for chromatography. I thought I could use them to label fractions and columns while eluting them. But they come off when splashed with ethyl acetate or hexanes. The good news is that the ink survives my HPLC solvents (acetonitrile, TFA/water, and methanol). So, I use them during my HPCL work, mainly to label vials and solvent reservoirs. I gave them 4 stars. Although, they don't advertise the markers as ethyl acetate or hexane resistant.
I like these markers and use them all the time for general lab stuff.
I use these markers to label my glass aquariums (dates fish are born, species, dates plants were added, number of animals, etc.). The markers are handy for labeling my temporary holding tanks when moving animals around. The black ink withstands salt and fresh, fish-tank water, soapy water, lime cleaner, and dilute bleach solutions. I use ethyl acetate based nail polish to remove the ink. Acetone nail polish dose not work. The red marker is not really that red, otherwise I would have given 5 stars. Also, it is kind of hard to write sideways on a glass tank, because the ink does not flow downward. So keep that in mind.
I love these markers. They have dark ink, but they don't dry out, most importantly. It's so hard to find good lab markers that don't dry out. These are awesome!
I was really skeptical of these since there aren't many reviews, but went for it anyways. So glad I did! I regularly use sharpies to mark aliquots of chemicals etc in lab. I also work in a tissue culture hood and have to wipe everything down with ethanol, so many times my sharpie gets erased. Tested these today on 15 & 50mL falcon tubes, 1.5mL eppendorf tubes, and 0.2mL PCR tubes. These do not wipe off!!! LOVE them! They're really expensive, so I hope they last a while. They do take a minute to dry (be careful when still wet), but once dry it's set. Highly recommend for any one that works in a lab and/or does tissue culture!
They last for weeks in the incubator. UV light and ethanol don't do much to the ink. They are much faster than printing labels. Plus, I can write more information such as the passage number, etc.
These lab markers work for labeling the outside of mouse cages. Cage cards can't really be trusted because they can detach from the cage and can easily lead to mix-ups. Thus, our lab's protocol is to place secondary labels directly onto the cages. The markers work well for this. They write smoothly, and you can fit a lot of information into the cage. The only problem with these markers is that they are hard to remove when we are done with the experiment, and it's time to have the cages cleaned.
I ordered 10 boxes as New Year's gifts for the scientists and technicians at work. Omg, they love them!
We use them in our cannabis-testing labs. We mainly use supercritical CO2 and ethanol solvents. They last!
These markers work as advertised. They survive the isopropanol and RNase-ZAP that I spray everywhere when doing PCR.
These actually work! I have a draw overflowing with old, dried-out, crusty, brand-named markers that I paid good money for and stopped working after using them only once or twice: magic tag markers do not dry out! I should probably throw out my old markers to free up space.
I've dreamed about this day ever since I was a little kid. After years of unfulfilled, splotchy relationships, I now feel complete.These markers feel just right. They are firm, long, and slender, and satisfy my needs 100%. They support my dreams, have never failed me with a premature ending, and toil with me by my side. I couldn't even bear to look at another marker!I guess good things are worth the wait.
I was ruining everything I touched. My colleagues were beginning to talk. Work and life were quickly becoming meaningless.Then, I purchased Magic Tag's Engineering Markers. My whole world changed for the better. Everything I touch now turns to gold, and I am now the envy of my colleagues.In conclusion, the markers work as advertised.
The caps can be hard to take off from ink build-up around the cap closure. But after wiping off any built-up ink with a napkin, the caps work fine. These are my favorite markers for culturing cells by leaps and bounds. The markers are a joy to use. They write like butter.
I compared magic tag markers side-by-side with my old permanent marker for labeling plastic zebrafish tanks. Magic tag markers last much longer and withstand UV-light and cleaning solutions. The markers have not faded or rubbed off after three months now. With other markers, I would have to keep touching up the text if I needed them to last three months. Thank you! I will never use another brand again.