I have seen over the years so many people trying to maintain
a name tag or a small sign on the outside of their house. They
"tried everything" to keep the ink from fading over time.
Fist you try a good quality ball point pen. The writing is clear
and sharp on the first day and .... completely bleached over the
summer. Hmm, get me that black permanent marker! ... 3 month later .... the same problem: The writing disappeared completely.
There is a very cheap and nice solution: pencil!
Text written with a pencil on acid free paper can remain readable for millions of years.
We don't think very high of pencil because one can use an eraser
to remove it but otherwise it is the most permanent pen ever.
The good old pencil is totally amazing:
It writes in outer space at zero gravity
It writes in winter even at temperatures below -20'C
It is water proof
It withstands alcohol, paint thinner, nail polish remover...
It is totally light-fast and does not bleach even in full sun light
You can keep it in the drawer for decades and it will never dry out
The pencil lead is made from graphite aka. coal. The coal that we get
out of the ground is millions of years old and still black. Thus
text written with a pencil will stay for millions of years unless
somebody rubs it off with a pencil eraser. If you want to prevent
it from being rubbed off then just apply a layer of lacquer, water proof
wood glue or just a strip of clear scotch tape on top.
