Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2018 July 2

= July 2 =

Dry erase markers dry out suddenly
A dry erase Expo marker worked good and then just a few months later the same marker dried out totally. That happened to my blue marker several months ago, now it just happened to my purple marker. I had caps on all the way on both of these markers and put it in the marker box and I had those for around three years. The other six markers in the box brought together with blue and purple markers are all working fine. So how the heck those dry erase markers get dried out that fast even when not used for a significant period of time? Could faultiness of the Expo markers had something to do with that? Planet Star  03:40, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Have you tried contacting the manufacturer? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 11:37, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Nope, I'm curious how that happened so suddenly. Planet  Star  03:07, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Maybe the manufacturer can tell you. For example, maybe the way they're stored could have something to do with it. And if nothing else, there's always the chance they'll send you a free replacement. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:38, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
 * The way they're stored? I contacted the manufacturer. Planet  Star  02:31, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
 * We'll be interested to hear their response. And by "the way they're stored" I was referring to the direction of the tip of the pen. I have a Sharpie that I store with the tip downward (like a regular cartridge pen) and it seems to write better than if I store it with the tip upward. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:53, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
 * I store the markers laid down. Planet  Star  05:01, 5 July 2018 (UTC)
 * I asked them a question and their response was nothing more than an option for replacement. Planet  Star  00:49, 10 July 2018 (UTC)

Typeface reconstruction?
Is there a Wikipedian who is skilled at typeface reconstruction? I have had a request at the illustration lab here and at Commons, for months without success.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 12:50, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Do you mean isolating the particular typeface used in some text? Seems to me there was a ref desk question about this a while back, and someone mentioned a website that can do that. And when I google "identifying typeface", several possibilities turn up. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 16:28, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I have done that, checked several of those sites. What I mean is a Wikipedian creating a clean graphic representation of an archaic typestyle based on available samples.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 17:02, 2 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Samples available for inspection where please? DroneB (talk) 15:12, 3 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Probably Graphics Lab/Illustration workshop/Archive/Apr 2018 / Commons:Commons:Graphic Lab/Illustration workshop Nil Einne (talk) 11:38, 4 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks nice catch!--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 06:38, 5 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Of course it's possible to make a copy of FE-Schrift, the forgery-impeding typeface developed for use on German licence plates. Using it, one could deceive authorities' ANPR cameras. @Kintetsubuffalo what is your intended purpose? DroneB (talk) 14:53, 7 July 2018 (UTC)
 * In case there's some confusion, the reconstruction of FE-Schrift already exists File:FE-Schrift.svg. I'm sure there are probably a billion available on the internet too, some of them as fonts. The OP seems to want other typefaces most of them seems to be typefaces used on fairly old licence plates. Nil Einne (talk) 12:22, 9 July 2018 (UTC)