Frequently Asked Questions

Questions regarding orders and Viscot's terms and conditions.

• When will my product ship?

  Orders placed after 1:00 pm Eastern time will be shipped the following business day, this includes rushed and priority orders such as Overnight, 2nd day, etc. We do not ship on Saturdays Sundays or Holidays.

  If your order is seemingly delayed beyond this please contact our customer service team: viscotcs@viscot.com

• I ordered a product but when I questioned the delayed I was told it was out of stock.

  Because Viscot Medical accepts orders via our website, phone, fax, EDI, and e-mail there are rare instances where an item appears in stock online when the order is placed but is out of stock by the time it goes to ship. We ship orders in a first come first serve priority, so if an EDI order has an earlier time stamp than the order placed through our website - the EDI order would ship first.

  We do our best to keep conservative stock counts on our website to avoid this situation and appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Answers to questions about all Viscot, marker products

• Can I cut on the mark?

  It is always Viscot Medical’s recommendation that the marks be used as land marks, not guidelines.

• Does the ink tattoo?

  Under recommended usage there have been no reports of tattooing in over a decade.

• What type of ink is in it?

  Viscot Medical offers four different ink times:

  • Surgical Inks
    • Traditional Ink - Gentian Violet ink. The ink most commonly found in medical grade skin markers due to gentian violet ink’s antibacterial & antifungal. This ink will typically remain visible through non-alcohol based preps like betadine and iodine. SDS is located here.
    • ViXL™ Prep Resistant Ink - Ink found in Viscot Medical’s XL Prep Resistant Ink markers that is visible up to 10x longer vs. traditional ink after prep. This is quickly becoming the standard ink due to more aggressive alcohol based preps being used such as Chlorhexidine (ChloraPrep™) and DuraPrep™. SDS is located here.
  • Non-Surgical Skin Marking Ink
    • E•Z Removable Ink™ - Water based ink designed to come off easily with an alcohol swab, warm soap and water, or a baby wipe. Designed for non-surgical aesthetic procedures and consultations. SDS is located here.
  • Utility Ink
    • Waterproof Permanent Ink - A utility ink designed for writing on medication labels, plastic, glass, etc. Designed to be waterproof and permeant. SDS is located here.
• Can we use Viscot Markers on children/infants?

  Viscot Medical hasn’t tested on children or infants (up to 2 years old). However, Viscot’s surgical marking ink is non-toxic.

  We do reccomend Viscot Medical Tat Markers as a prediatric site marking solution.

• Can I use Viscot markers to mark the eye?

  There’s over 40 years of history of using traditional ink markers in the eye. Our popular ophthalmic markers are the Blephmarker and Economical Twin Tip.

• How do you get the ink off after the procedure?

  Surgical Ink

  After surgery, the area is typically bandaged and the skin’s natural oils and exfoliation will remove the marks.

  Additional prepping or washing will remove the ink.

  Non Surgical Aesthetic Ink

  E•Z Removable Ink™ is specifically designed to come off easily with an alcohol swab, or even water! This makes them ideal for non-surgical aesthetic procedures like injectables, and marking consultation

• Can I use the markers on multiple patients?

  For best results and to help prevent patient to patient contamination Viscot Medical always recommends single patient use with all our markers.

   

• Help! I got the ink on my furniture, clothing, etc.

  We have only tested and trialed the ink for clinical use on human skin. Unfortunately we do not have anything proven to remove the ink from anything other than skin.

Answers to questions Concerning our Neutral Zone product

• How often can it be sterilized?

  This is dependent on the handling of the product and how closely the IFU for sterilization is followed.

  We have many clinicians who have had their Softzone™ Neutral Zone Trays for over a year with no sign of deteriation.

• When should I get rid of it?

  If the Soffzone™ receives any structural integrity damage such as a puncture, gouge, or fraying it should be disposed of immediately. The irregular surface of the puncture could potentially prevent proper sterilization.

  Depends on how often the product is used - we recommend adding the Soffzone™ to Central Processing's standard evaluation cycle and evaluating the product at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.

• Can I place this on the patient?

  Unlike other over-sized neutral zones the Soffzone Neutral Zone was designed to be the appropriate size for the MAYO, and we discourage placement on the patient.

  However, the Soffzone can be kept on the patient with a hemostat if need be.

• Why is it not magnetic?

  Instruments can become magnetized if they’re in constant contact with a magnetic mat – as you know from 5th grade science most metals will become magnetized when a magnet is rubbed up against them.

  This causes problems for Central Processing: the instruments have to be demagnetized before processing as part of the quality control efforts from the IAHCSMM (International Association of Healthcare Central Cervices Material Management)

  Magnetized instruments may also increase sharps risk as the instruments could:

  • Become stuck together and you have to physically pull them apart
  • Accidentally picking up two instruments opposed to one, potentiallycausing the second instrument to drop on the floor, on the patient, etc.

  You may say "but we need a magnet for our suture needles/needles/small needles."

  The Soffzone™ Neutral Zone tray is meant to be used to place your sharps instruments like scalpels, not as a needle counter/magnetic needle holder.

   

• Will Central Processing/Sterilization have to run another cycle to sterilize it?

  Unlike larger or magnetic reusable mats the Soffzone™ Neutral Zone tray was designed to be sterilized with the instruments – there’s no need to run an additional cycle to sterilize the Soffzone™. Complete IFU is located here.

Answers to questions about tat markers

• How do we apply them?

  Instructions on how to apply come packaged in every box of Tat Markers. We also have them available on our website here.

  You also may want to review one of our shot demo video for additional assistance.

   

• How do we remove them?

  Tat Markers come off easily with transpore tape or an alcohol swab.

  Many facilities use transpore tape as that area is draped and taped during the procedure:

  • Simply place a swatch of tape over the Tat Marker, apply light pressure to affix tape to the area, then peel off as you would a band aid.
  • The Tat Marker will come off almost entirely, and the remaining pieces can be gently scrubbed with an alcohol swab.

   Instructions on removal come packaged in every box of Tat Markers. We also have them available on our website here.

  There is also a demo video available here.

Answers to questions about medication labels

• Does color cost more/black & white cost less?

  Viscot Medical offers free color coding on all medication labels.

• Do blank labels cost less/printed labels cost more?

  Viscot Medical offers free customization which means our printed labels cost the same as our blank labels.

• Does it cost more to have… (certain medication, amt/exp, etc.)?

  Viscot Medical’s customization is absolutely free which means we will not charge an additional fee based on the content of the labels.

• Do you offer different sizes (donor labels)?

  We can and do print different sized labels. Please provide the exact size you’re looking for and we will provide the cost.

• I don’t want to customize, do you have stock labels?

  We do provide a stock label set in both color (V20063DC) and black and white (V20063D). You can see them here. However, due to our free customization program, the majority of our business is custom label sets.

• Do you do roll labels?

  Absolutely! Our roll labels are the same quality as our sheet labels and we also offer free customization on those as well (roll labels are 500 labels per roll and 10 rolls per case).

• Why can't I order medication labels online?

  The majority of Viscot Medical’s medication labels are custom. Because of this, we do not offer them for sale online and suggest that you speak with one of our sales reps before purchase.