Quote Originally Posted by xnihilo View Post
They say "max dc forward current" and "Typical" FC is 35 mA
See: http://www.futurlec.com/LEDR3R.shtml
You are misreading the table.

The third line is saying that the maximum DC forward current is typically 35 mA. It means that for some of the LEDs, it may be a little more and for others a little less, but what it is telling you for sure is, "Don't exceed 35 mA."

The first line of the table is probably more indicative, where it shows a typical forward voltage (Vf) of 2 VDC when run at 12 mA. This sounds like a typical operating condition and is probably as bright as it needs to be.

So you need a series resistor of 220 ohms (13.6 mA), but you can probably use down to 150 ohms (20 mA).