Depends on the speed of chain but in Shimano 10/11/12 the writing is on the outside facing you as the cut outs on the left and right sides are different to correspond with shift ramps on the cassette and chainring. Does not have an up or a down, and in fact some of the outer plates with the writing will be upside down while the next one may be right side up. The master link may have an arrow and typically the arrow will point to the front of the bike or direction of chain travel when cranks are turned. Of course all this is different if one has newer SRAM but holds true for Shimano.
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