Addressing envelopes

[bishop]

For quite some time, I have preferred to sign letters or write on stationery with gel inks or FP's but address the outside envelope with a ballpoint pen. Today, I wrote a note with my Esterbrook and vintage Skrip, and (for the first time) addressed the envelope with the same. I thought it was time to be consistent, and also time to "confess."

 

My rationale for the previous ballpoint use is that I don't want the ink to run if exposed to moisture. Ink in ballpoint pens seems to be much more resistant to running or smudging. Was I silly for using different pens?

Edited July 25, 2008 by bishop

[DwarvenChef]

Now that I have Noodler's Walnut nearly bullet proof ink, I don't worry about it

[CraigR]

I have shared your worry about addressing envelopes with fountain pen and ink. I now often will use Noodlers Ellis Island or Old Manhattan blacks for envelopes, although I have started to use the same ink as in the the letter more often. /Craig

[Pippin60]

Funny I just got Noodlers bullet proof just for the same reason. I used to use a ball point for addressing also

[amh210]

If I don't use a Noodlers permanent ink for the envelope, then I just run a plain wax candle over the address to keep it from bleeding if it gets wet.

 

Ordinary FP ink, if it gets wet, will run all over the place. It could be enough to keep the PO from making the delivery.

 

Andy

[JohnS-MI]

If I don't use a Noodlers permanent ink for the envelope, then I just run a plain wax candle over the address to keep it from bleeding if it gets wet.

 

Ordinary FP ink, if it gets wet, will run all over the place. It could be enough to keep the PO from making the delivery.

 

Andy

 

I learned the candle trick from an earlier thread here at FPN. I'm surprised how well it works.

[Philip1209]

If I don't use a Noodlers permanent ink for the envelope, then I just run a plain wax candle over the address to keep it from bleeding if it gets wet.

 

Ordinary FP ink, if it gets wet, will run all over the place. It could be enough to keep the PO from making the delivery.

 

Andy

 

I learned the candle trick from an earlier thread here at FPN. I'm surprised how well it works.

 

What is this wax trick? Please elaborate. I haven't heard it before.

 

As for addressing envelopes, I use only Noodler's Bulletproof Black because I know it can stand up to moisture and still preserve the message. It may bleed a little, but I think that the address should remain intact.

[bishop]

Yikes - I think until I get some bulletproof ink, I'd better stick to using ballpoints for the outside envelopes. Glad I asked!

[JohnS-MI]

If I don't use a Noodlers permanent ink for the envelope, then I just run a plain wax candle over the address to keep it from bleeding if it gets wet.

 

Ordinary FP ink, if it gets wet, will run all over the place. It could be enough to keep the PO from making the delivery.

 

Andy

 

I learned the candle trick from an earlier thread here at FPN. I'm surprised how well it works.

 

What is this wax trick? Please elaborate. I haven't heard it before.

 

As for addressing envelopes, I use only Noodler's Bulletproof Black because I know it can stand up to moisture and still preserve the message. It may bleed a little, but I think that the address should remain intact.

 

Save the leftover stub of a candle, preferably a white one.

 

After you have addressed the envelope, rub it (easiest to use the side) over the address area. It deposits a thin layer of wax, basically invisible, over the ink and gives some water protection. It will protect against drops or a slight mist, not a soaking.

 

[Randal6393]

If I don't use a Noodlers permanent ink for the envelope, then I just run a plain wax candle over the address to keep it from bleeding if it gets wet.

 

Ordinary FP ink, if it gets wet, will run all over the place. It could be enough to keep the PO from making the delivery.

 

Andy

 

I learned the candle trick from an earlier thread here at FPN. I'm surprised how well it works.

 

What is this wax trick? Please elaborate. I haven't heard it before.

 

As for addressing envelopes, I use only Noodler's Bulletproof Black because I know it can stand up to moisture and still preserve the message. It may bleed a little, but I think that the address should remain intact.

 

Save the leftover stub of a candle, preferably a white one.

 

After you have addressed the envelope, rub it (easiest to use the side) over the address area. It deposits a thin layer of wax, basically invisible, over the ink and gives some water protection. It will protect against drops or a slight mist, not a soaking.

 

But even a bulletproof ink may not hold up to a good soaking. And, how about the letter itself? Wouldn't it run and be ruined if that much water hit the envelope?

[JakobS]

Oh having soaked bulletproof ink for a good while, more than five minutes under a full blast facet I can say that bulletproof ink wont budge, as for destroying the letter inside, it probably would be with an ordinary ink, or the paper just water damaged with bulletproof ink!!

 

As far as what ink I use for envelopes, I have used Diamine Woodland Green, Golden Brown, Pelikan and Lamy Black and maybe once or twice Noodler's black and have never had a problem with my letter arriving to it's destination. I do not protect the conventional ink in anyway, and have no fear of it not reaching it's destination in the least. Maybe some here may think it's risky, but I honestly think the amount of time an envelope is exposed to the elements, the sweat of a mailman's hands, or a mailman's spilled coffee in this day in age is very little at best.

Edited July 25, 2008 by JakobS

[Goodwhiskers]

The wax rubbing trick works well. I've never heard anyone here report a wax-rubbed address not arriving at the destination. For a list of waterproof and strongly water-resistant inks, look under the pinned "NOTEWORTHY INK TOPICS" at the top of this subforum.

[Jazzbaby]

A light rubbing of wax does work very well. I regularly send mail to Vancouver(where it's very rainy) and have had no problems at all. Instead of using a candle, I melted parafin and molded into a small square shape. Just one or two swipes off the flat edge does the job. Best of all container I used for the mold has a lid so I can just pop the block of wax back inside, seal with the lid, and store. No messy wax bits to get on the floors of carpets. As for the letter inside getting damp, the paper I use for making my own envelopes is slick and therefore does not soak up raindrops readily.

Edited July 25, 2008 by Jazzbaby

[donwinn]

When I use a fountain pen to address envelopes, or packages I am mailing, I cover the address with clear package sealing tape. It is NOT paranoia if they ARE out to get you. :rolleyes:

 

Donnie

[bishop]

I like the ideas of tape and wax. When using FP ink, I will remember them.

[psfred]

I got Bulletproofs precisely for addressing envelopes and lab notebooks, both of which are potentially prone to water damage at my locations. Our mailbox will allow spray around the door in some conditions, and the carrier is reaching out of a car to retrieve it. I've gotten damp mail more than once. Lab notebooks are close to water all the time, and I have in fact fumbled one into a "catch bucket" containing several inches of water, not once but three times in my haste to retrieve it. Nothing lost except my cool -- all the entries were either Bulletproof Black or one of the near-bulletproofs (and one or two in Manuscript Brown), and all survived the dunking in high pH wastewater.

 

It would take quite a soaking to get the letter inside an envelope completely wet though.

 

Peter

[HenrysPens]

The tape idea is very good. I will start using that.

Thanks for the idea.

[blueiris]

I once received a letter inside an envelope addressed with regular fountain pen ink. The envelope had traces of ink on the front, but both the address and return address were completely washed away. I lived in an apartment building at the time, and I think the postal workers pre-sorted the mail before reaching the building. My theory is that my pile of mail got soaked somehow and the fountain pen ink washed away, but because it was wedged in between my other mail, it was delivered despite the absence of any readable address.

 

I usually use a ballpoint pen, or water-resistant fountain pen ink. I've used the candle wax method, but I also have a jar of Micro Glaze, which is a sort of waxy paste that is easier to buff to a barely noticeable finish.

[JDlugosz]

Funny I just got Noodlers bullet proof just for the same reason. I used to use a ball point for addressing also

 

So am I the only one who prints the address, along with the metered postage, on the computer?

 

--John

[JDlugosz]

I like the ideas of tape and wax. When using FP ink, I will remember them.

 

Don't forget hairspray.