[Histonet] RE: Histonet Digest, blocks cracking

[Jones, Lynne]

Hello -
Harder waxes would be generally more brittle, since they are less flexible.   I would be surprised if that alone would be enough to cause an increase in cracking.

Kim makes an excellent point about packaging, but you should also consider that the weather lately across much of the US has been bitterly cold.  The blocks are probably exposed to extreme cold during multiple stages of their travel, which would make them even more brittle.

Mail is sorted on automated machinery even when you clearly and carefully stamp the envelope with the required language "Non-Machinable" to keep it OFF the mechanical sorter, they send it through.  (A friend of mine sells small tools. They are light enough to fit in a first class envelope which should cut the cost of shipping; because USPS has been routinely shredding his envelopes, he is now exploring alternative packaging.)

I imagine that like my friend's tools, the blocks also fit in a first-class envelope. That probably is not adequate packaging to protect the blocks from damage on mechanical sorters.  (If this is a recent problem, it may be the result of new equipment in one of the mail centers.)

Whatever the cause, improved packaging may be the answer.

Good luck,

Lynne Jones

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Message: 4
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:51:14 -0800
From: Erica Canal <ecanal <@t> usc.edu>
Subject: [Histonet] Blocks cracking
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Message-ID: <7390ec9c1df6.52f25df2 <@t> usc.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hello all,
We are wondering harder paraffin makes blocks more fragile.
We have been using Leica's Formula R and on a few occasions & when we have mailed blocks out, we receive them back in pieces. Could this be because of type of wax we are using? The quality of our slides is great, we just seem to be having a problem lately with our blocks breaking after they have been sent out & we want to try to prevent that.


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Message: 8
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:37:27 -0500
From: Kim Donadio <one_angel_secret <@t> yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Histonet] Blocks cracking
To: Erica Canal <ecanal <@t> usc.edu>
Cc: "histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu"
        <histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu>
Message-ID: <9E5FA169-62B3-48CB-9EA2-45CAD7F6B0A7 <@t> yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=us-ascii

How are you shipping and then receiving back? I had a personal experience with regular mail one time where something got broke and the postal service told me regular mail goes through a machine which squished it. Anyway we use that paraffin here and do not have that problem but we always use fedx and bubble wrap and we request the return to be made the same to protect our patients material. Good luck!
Kim D

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 5, 2014, at 6:51 PM, Erica Canal <ecanal <@t> usc.edu> wrote:

> Hello all,
> We are wondering harder paraffin makes blocks more fragile.
> We have been using Leica's Formula R and on a few occasions & when we have mailed blocks out, we receive them back in pieces. Could this be because of type of wax we are using? The quality of our slides is great, we just seem to be having a problem lately with our blocks breaking after they have been sent out & we want to try to prevent that.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Histonet mailing list
> Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet



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End of Histonet Digest, Vol 123, Issue 7
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