Best pens for writing on photo prints?

[malbooth]

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I've started to print some of my best photos at home using an Epson SC P600 inkjet printer, up to A3+ size. I would like to write titles and dates on some of these as I have some purchased photos that have beautifully written short stories written on them by the photographers. I'm using some decent Hahnemuhle photo rag papers. From their description it is a "white cotton paper, with its smooth, pleasantly soft texture and lightly defined felt structure, combined with the matt premium inkjet coating".

So I am looking for some fine pens, probably with pigmented ink, in both white and black. I read some advice to use Pigma Micron pens with archival ink, but they struggle on the paper I am using and there is no white ink pen.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[djmay]

Pencil. Try different versions of hardness.

[250swb]

If you intend it to be archival write in pencil, otherwise write on the overmat and not directly on the print. By having two windows cut in the overmat you could have one above for the print and the other for the text underneath, that way you can choose a good paper for the text and use your inkjet or pens to do the text, maybe choose some fancy handmade Japanese paper.

[malbooth]

Thanks for the replies. I want the writing on the photographs to be visible. On a light background I can use black but on darker backgrounds I will use white. I own several professionally made photos in which this has been done and I find it very effective. So pencil isn't an option for me.

[Gerbs]

Since you mention inkjet, have you considered writing on white paper, scanning it, and using it to make a masked overlay on your digital file BEFORE printing, so that your writing becomes part of the final inkjet print itself? The mask could be over a gradient if you need the text to go from white to black, for instance.

[Doug A]

I don't know about other post processing software but with Affinity Photo (a inexpensive pixel editor that works much like Photoshop) I can add text to an image in a wide variety of fonts, sizes, styles and colors.

Edited October 9, 2021 by Doug A

[malbooth]

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On 10/9/2021 at 11:45 AM, Doug A said:

I don't know about other post processing software but with Affinity Photo (a inexpensive pixel editor that works much like Photoshop) I can add text to an image in a wide variety of fonts, sizes, styles and colors.

Thanks, yes have have done that before in Lightroom, but I now want to actually write on the photos.

[Jeff S]

Subject to personal preferences, but here are some options….

https://www.redrivercatalog.com/infocenter/pens-pencils-for-signing-inkjet-prints.html

Mike Johnston at TOP once wrote favorably about this Primacolor pen…

https://www.dickblick.com/items/prismacolor-premier-illustration-marker-05-black-fine-line-05/
 

I use pencil, but like to keep my prints and cover mats clean, so I only sign verso (back) of print or mat board.

Jeff

[Jeff S]

Oh, and for white ink, these might work, although I have never tried...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sakura+white+gelly+roll+pens&crid=2SDG5RDNEJQUF&sprefix=sakura+white+%2Caps%2C169&ref=nb_sb_ss_midas-iss-sm_3_13

Jeff

[malbooth]

5 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Oh, and for white ink, these might work, although I have never tried...

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sakura+white+gelly+roll+pens&crid=2SDG5RDNEJQUF&sprefix=sakura+white+%2Caps%2C169&ref=nb_sb_ss_midas-iss-sm_3_13

Jeff

Thanks for both replies Jeff. I'll check out all of that.