Journaling

What makes Creative Memories pens unique? Other suppliers do not use all the same definitions, test methods and specifications that Creative Memories uses. In most cases, vendors rely on the manufacturer’s tests, rather than running their own tests. Creative Memories, on the other hand, frequently requires manufacturers to reformulate their products to meet our stringent specifications. Consequently, these pens generally exceed the performance of other pens in the market.

What are the criteria that Creative Memories pens must meet? All Creative Memories pens are fade- and bleed-resistant and meet ISO 18902 standards. These tests ensure that journaling will not change significantly when exposed to direct sunlight for one year or when submerged in water for one day. Pens have a shelf-life of at least one year and will continue to perform even if accidentally left outside. The color remains consistent over time. In addition, all pens meet applicable safety standards, including ASTM D-4236, which requires art material to be tested and properly labeled for toxicity, and ISO 11540, which requires pens to be safe for children.

Do Creative Memories pens meet Library of Congress specifications and are they used there? Although the exact Library of Congress test methods are proprietary, Creative Memories does use similar fade, bleed and permanence specifications for our pens, and you can be assured of their longevity. However, as far as we know, the Library of Congress does not currently use Creative memories pens. They obtain pigmented inks for security marking from the Government Printing Office. They then provide these inks only to museums, libraries, archives and historical societies. We, on the other hand, make our pens and other products widely available for all customers to use in their scrapbooks and photo albums.

How is the color of pen samples measured? We test all products as closely as possible to the final application. Consequently, we specify the color of pens as written samples on Creative Memories white album pages. We also test pen color on other album page colors. All pen samples are produced with our Hutt pen tester, which works like a very expensive, but precisely controlled, Spirograph.®

Can Creative Memories pens be used to write on fabric? The Technology Center only tests our pens for use with our album pages and photo-mounting papers, so we can not guarantee the long-term performance of the pens when used in conjunction with other materials.

We recommend testing the pens on a small swatch of the fabric and washing the test material to ensure overall performance. Some fabrics may contain additives that repel stains and ink, which would affect the permanence of Creative Memories pens.

Why doesn’t Creative Memories have a white pen? The primary difficulty with developing a white pen is that white, pigmented ink tends to be less stable and consequently may not have the required shelf life. White also tends to look very similar to silver on our black pages.

Can I journal in pencil? Using a No.2 graphite pencils to journal on your Creative Memories album page is an acceptable practice. The graphite used in these types of pencils is made of an inert substance and does not contain any materials that may damage your photographs.

However, since pencil lead is erasable, we would not recommend using a pencil for final journaling. Rather, we would suggest the use of a pencil to develop a "rough draft" of your journaling to be following by the use of a Creative Memories pen to write over the original markings. The Pick-Up Square, or a traditional white eraser, can then be used to lift the pencil markings from the page once the pen ink has been allowed to dry. This method is not suggested for use with Precious Elements™ Metallic pens.

If a person were to write a single long line with a Creative Memories pen, how long would it last? Creative Memories colored fine tip pens will write for ½ mile under controlled conditions. Precious Elements™ Fine-Tip pens and colored Round-Tip pens will write for 300 yards or 3 football fields. Precious Elements round tip pens will write for 125 yards.