Thank you!

Love the step by step and precautions. Thanks!

ingenious

Great tip. I will be using this one.

Does it matter what surface is under the aluminum when you write on it? When I try this I'll try some old "anti-static mat" that the electronics assemblers discarded at work. It's medium-soft.

If I didn't have that, I can't think what would be a good yielding surface. A stack of newspapers?

Have you ever tried to fill the groove with ink or paint? I suppose it would flake of smooth metal pretty fast.

Usually I use a white plastic mini-blind slat and write on it with a 0.9 mm mechanical pencil. A mechanical pencil is always sharp! The wide lead makes a darker mark and doesn't break as often under my clumsy fingers.

I cut them 1/2-wide or 1/3rd wide when labelling 6-packs in a 72-tray, or rows in propagation trays with 50 or 128 cells. The narrow plastic slats stand up like tiny tent-poles and support Saran Wrap off the surface of the soiless mix. It's cheaper than humidity domes for me since I have a roll of 18" plastic food film (that's a lifetime supply!)

A somewhat soft surface below the tag helps as you are actually indenting the lettering. Ink as shown in the last picture would eventually wear away, but it looks pretty nice if you can get it to stay. It takes some pressure so it would not be good to your expensive pen. I used an old Bic. Did you see the added hint I wrote in the comments section?

I can't get pencil, Sharpy, or pen to stay on through watering. But I have never written on blinds. I hear paint pens do a good job of staying on, too.

>> Did you see the added hint I wrote in the comments section?

Was that point #11, a little ballpoint ink stays in the indentation for a little while?

The only paint pens I found had much too wide a line for my taste, even the ones called "fine point". Also, when I tried using paint pens to re-mark keys on my PC keyboard, it flaked off in less than a day. But those are pretty glossy plastic and I do hammer on them pretty hard.

I always thought that the blinds I'm using now have a very slightly matte or roughened surface that takes pencil well, especially a wide lead. They were old and dirty when I got them. So I washed them with Comet cleanser (abrasive) and then put them through a dishwasher. That may have made the surface more receptive to penc il,l or the old plastic might have become porous with age. I found a spare set of b linds for when these run out, and it seems to have a very c lean glossy surface. Maybe I should test it out!

I think that embossed aluminium has to be the longest-lasting label. I think they've found undissolved aluminum cans that had been sitting outdoors ever since aluminum cans were invented! If acid rain attacks them at all, it sure doesn't do it fast enough to detect.
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Rick here is the additional comment I wrote. If you do this, you don't have to worry about ink at all, just need a soft surface to imprint like the original way.

The thread "Cheryl Says: Another Hint for This Project" in Indestructible Plant ID Tags

Thanks, I did read that thread.