The Importance of Using Archival Pens for Writing Lab Notes

Your lab notebook is one of the most important tools at your disposal during your studies or scientific career. Treat it like the precious object it is! Use high-quality pens with smooth ink that won’t ghost or bleed through pages. The importance of using archival pens for writing lab notes cannot be overstated.

Permanence

Any notes or experiments you document in your student lab notebook must be indelible. A pencil leaves smudges, especially if you’re left-handed, and that eraser can be tempting. Everything you write in your lab notebook must stay there, including mistakes and misinformation. An archival-quality pen boasts smooth, permanent ink and makes it easy to strike out mistakes without rendering them unreadable. Your notes will still be crisp and legible years from now!

Hardiness

Archival pens got their name because they’re perfect for writing notes that will be archived and kept for a number of years. The ink in Scientific Notebook’s archival pens is waterproof and smear-proof (a real boon for lefties) and will not fade when exposed to light. That ink also resists chemical damage, so if you spill any liquids during an experiment, you won’t risk losing all those notes. Because your lab notebook also serves as a piece of your lab’s history and a legal document in its own right, you’ll need to keep it handy. Your future self will thank you for keeping a durable record now.

Ease of Reading

Think about the fancy pens you’ve written with in the past. How did the ink interact with the paper? Many pens tend to bleed through pages, making the writing hard to read and notes harder to take. Others “ghost,” leaving the impression of your words on the other side of the page. When you write with pens of inferior quality, you risk soaking your pages with ink and leaving totally illegible notes. Combine the archival-quality paper of Scientific Notebook’s student lab notebooks with the smooth ink of one of our archival pens, and you’ll get perfectly legible notes that don’t bleed or make a mess.

When you shop for scientific supplies, don’t forget about pens! Some disciplines, including lab work, still benefit largely from handwritten notes. With archival-quality paper and ink, your notes will remain crisp and clear for generations to come. Remember the importance of using archival pens for writing lab notes as you gather your supplies.