[Histonet] Red Box Slides..Residue

[Gagnon, Eric]

We have been using the Red Box slides available from Newcomer Supply for our IHC controls.  These slides have a painted red box, in our case on the back, non-frosted side of the slide.  We cut the control section, pick up the section in the red box, then dry these slides and use as needed, picking up patient sections on the lower portion of the slide.
 
Recently we have encountered some patchy staining and it was suggested by Ventana's customer service that the slides could be the cause.  Their theory is that red paint from the back of a previous slide adheres to the front of the Red Box slide and repels reagents when they are dispensed onto the slide, causing incomplete staining on the patient section.
 
Has anyone else had recent, similar experience with these slides doing the same thing?  They are nice to use, so if there are others with the same problem, it would definitely affect our decision to discontinue their use and return to normal charged slides for our control cutting.
 
Thanks for any assistance,
Eric Gagnon MLT
Histology Laboratory
Kingston General Hospital
Kingston, Ontario, Canada