Yeah.. I assume its silk screened on, not anodized if I'm not mistaken. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 I have the 815 shimano saint cranks and I am not a professional that rides in mud and races. It is going out of anode just because the cover is being taken by my shoe whenever I cycle my cranks. There is a method I haven't tested yet. Just a simple as a sticker can be, but do we really have to cover something that costs so much? Saint should remain saint because it is to proud, because of its quality, to become a silver peace of aluminium.

 It is probably just printed onto the surface of the crank arm. engraving or machining the word "saint" into the crank would seem visually appealing to me, even if the black printing wears down from the side of a shoe rubbing against it.

 You're probably right, and I guess it is because printing weighs less, but come on, engraved word would be 10g heavier and 100kg more proud. As for now I am planning to cover it with a transparent plastic sticker that is commonly used to protect chainstay or carbon frames. I have some left after wrapping my frame, which can be seen here: www.pinkbike.com/photo/9560482 (it can be seen on the bottom side of the downtube). It is very sticky and very durable so I think it would prolong the saint display.