Making Sense of Archival Supplies – Photographic Sleeves

         Now that we have various sized boxes and file folders, what is left to purchase?  Well, if you have photographs or slides and negatives, you will need some type of sleeve or envelope.  Your first decision is whether you want to be able to see the photograph without taking it out of the envelope.  If you do then you will want to purchase inert plastic sleeves.  If you don’t you will want to get sleeves made of acid free and lignin free card stock (same material as file folders).  My recommendation is plastic sleeves so that you can see the photograph without having to touch it possibly causing damage.

        Like everything else in the archival catalog world there are choices.  Gaylord has the most variety.  Hollinger-Metal Edge has only polyester sleeves (used to be known as Mylar D, which have been the cadillacs of sleeves). Hollinger-Metal Edge also offers the most choice in sizes.  Gaylord has the widest variety of plastic types.  In addition to polyester, they offer polypropylene or polyethylene.  Polyethylene is the cheapest, but it is not a clear plastic as the others are.  If I had all the money in the world I’d go with polyester sleeves. Unfortunately I don’t have all the money in the world so I settle for the polyethylene where you can get 100 per package.  Be careful when you order sleeves.  Check the number of sleeves per package.  For the more expensive you only get 10 sleeves to a package and they can cost over a dollar per sleeve depending on the size.

        The next choice is the sleeve thickness, which is described in terms of mils.  A mil determines the sturdiness and stiffness of the material.  Types vary from 2 mil to 4 mil, which is the thickest.  The thicker the material, the more expensive the product is.  The cheaper polyethylene sleeves only come in 2 mil, but that has been just fine given my limited budget. One other choice is the position and type of opening on the sleeve.  Some are top (short side open) and some are long side.  Some have only that one opening and others are open on three sides.  Some fold over and lock along the long side while the short ends remain open.  I’ve used all types, but again I mostly go with the cheapest.

            As I noted in a previous blog you need to be careful ordering sizes.  Sometimes you will need slightly larger sleeves.  I’ve found this to be especially true for 8x10 photos.  You don’t want to cause bowing or curling by storing in sleeves that are too tight. I usually order the 8 ¼ by 10 ¼ so I don’t have a problem. 

            There are sleeves for negatives of varying sizes and for slides also of varying sizes.  If you choose the no sleeve route I’d recommend storing the photographs flat with interweaving tissue or archival bond paper between them. (This approach works well for matted photographs.) We’ve talked about scrapbooks before.  There are archival three ring binders with sleeves.  Again the choice comes down to money first and then the amount of use the photographs will have.  Just remember for preservation all photographs need to be stored out of the sun, in boxes of some type, and protected from tearing, finger prints and other damage.  By the way it’s best to handle photographs using clean cotton gloves. 

Good luck.

Making Sense of Archival Supplies - File Folders

                     File folders are an important resource for the protection of paper because they provide support to prevent folding, wrinkling, and curling.  In addition they provide the means to organize a collection into manageable amounts of related material.  Ordering file folders is reasonably straightforward.  You have to decide whether you want legal or letter size (We talked about that last time) with the tab reinforced or not, and placement of the tab.  (I like reinforced tabs myself, but that is a subjective choice.) You can have a choice of color between cream, white, or tan.  Make sure that the folders are acid and lignin free and buffered with calcium carbonate.  You can find this in the specifications.  File folders also are scored around the fold so that they are expandable.  You have your choice of how wide you need the folder to expand.  I think the widest has 5 scores.  In order to keep papers from bowing, you need to make sure you haven’t stuffed too much in one folder.  It’s okay to have “a” and “b” folders or 1 of 2, 2 of 2 if you need to in order to keep the file a reasonable size.  File folders also come in different weights – 10pt or the heavier 20pt.  I have only used the 10pt.  It has been sturdy enough for my collections.

                        What else will you need?  Well if you have very acidic paper you should consider interweaving it with either acid free interweaving paper or archival bond paper. (Paper made from a percentage of cotton rag and buffered with calcium carbonate.)   That will help retard the migration of acid from one paper to another.  I think I’ve mentioned that before.  Also the supply houses sell archival labels that use acid free glue.  Otherwise you should label the file folders in pencil.  Don’t use labels from places like Office Depot.  They are not archival and will eventually cause acid damage.

                        What about odd sized papers?  The archival houses offer boxes in various sizes.  Your goal  with that type of material is to eliminate any folds.  Folds weaken the paper and will eventually tear.  Besides flat boxes another option is to roll large material like maps or posters and store them in archival canisters.  That also eliminates folds and will not damage the material.  You will have to flatten the rolled material to use it, but that’s a discussion for another day.  Sometimes simply putting weights on the corners and leaving it for a time will provide all the straightening that is necessary.

Next time – Photograph sleeves

Making Sense of Archival Supplies – File Boxes

           When talking about ordering archival supplies, everyone has a different opinion of what they like.  The best advice I can give is do your homework.  Read what’s available on line (and there is a lot) and read the specifications and information provided by the archival supply houses.  If you are still unsure, call them.  Their operators are very helpful.  Of yes, be prepared to spend some money.  Archival supplies are not inexpensive.

            File folders and file boxes are the next items needed for a collection once you have determined what if any storage boxes you need.  A variety of sizes and colors are available.  Some archivists recommend ordering the file folders and boxes made for legal size papers even if your paper is 8 ½ x 11.  The reason for this is to prevent the papers from becoming dog-eared on the edges.  Makes sense, except what do you do when you have legal size papers? I haven’t figured that out yet.  I do generally order the legal size.  Again boxes come in a variety of colors – blue grey, tan, light grey, black. (Blue grey is generally the cheapest.) I always buy the kind with metal along the edges.  The reinforcement makes the barrier board stronger.  Some supply houses offer file boxes made from E-flute with no metal edge.  It’s cheaper, but it won’t last as long.  Also it shows the dirt and finger prints more readily.  Most boxes now come buffered as recommended for paper storage. 

              Also like storage boxes file boxes come in a variety of types and coatings.  The coatings have different names such as “DuraCoat” or "SafeCoat” depending on the company.  These coatings are acrylic (an inert plastic coating), which provides a moisture barrier and can help reduce the marks left by oil on fingers.  Each of the archival supply companies has slightly different offerings and the prices do differ so you need to shop around.  Since it is not very moist here in West Texas I just buy the regular barrier board file boxes.  So far they have done well for my institutions.  File boxes also come with lid attached (cheaper) or a separate lid, which is more expensive.  I like the separate lid, but there never seems to be enough money to justify the expense.

              So to summarize look at storage boxes that are reinforced on the sides or have a high number of flutes making them rigid.   Order file boxes large enough to avoid the rumpling of the edges of your papers.  Don’t fill the file boxes to overflowing, but if they are not full make sure you provide supports to keep the papers upright.  The supply houses sell support material already made or you can purchase flat fluted boards and construct your own.

Next time – file folders

Making Sense of Archival Supplies - Storage Boxes

          The archival supply houses have a myriad of different items from which to choose.  It can and is daunting to figure out what you really need.  Let’s start with storage boxes.  I did talk about this before, but not in any detail and I will admit with some inaccuracies. Now I’m going to correct that. (Should have checked Wikipedia, the answer to all things.) 

         Your first decision is to determine the size of the archival storage box that you need.  The most common ones used by archives are 12x15x10 inches.  That size fits easily on most shelves, has an easily removable lid, and is not too heavy even when full. Archive supply houses do have larger or smaller ones if that is what you need.  Storage boxes tend to be made from corrugated board (like cardboard boxes with a flat board on each side of an accordion layer, commonly called a flute, in the middle).   

Example of an archival fluted box side

               Fluted boxes come in varying types.  There are A, B, C, E, and F.  According to Wikipedia, the letter designation refers to the order in which they were invented.  It is most definitely not the size, which is determined by the number of flutes (accordion folds per inch).  F has the most flutes. B and E also have more flutes that C.  Wikipedia says that C-flute is the most common type, but as noted above B would have more flutes and would therefore be stronger.  The archival catalogs have both.  What is more important than the linear amount of flutes is that you buy boxes that have double or triple reinforcement on the sides and bottom.  Don’t be cheap on that.  Single-walled boxes just are not sturdy enough.

Single walled box already losing shape

              Boxes come in a variety of colors.  Cost is what determines which ones I buy.  The classic color is a blue-gray (pictured) , but you can buy them in white, yellow, and tan if you prefer.  Aesthetically it looks better on a shelf if they are all the same color, but that’s really the only consideration.  Some boxes are buffered.  That means that calcium carbonate has been added to provide an additional barrier to acid migration.  Buffered boxes are chemically basic with a pH of around 8.5.  Regular acid free boxes are neutral that is they have a 7.0 pH.  Highly acidic paper would benefit from housing in buffered boxes or with buffered interweaving paper to reduce the migration of acid.  That said most archives have used the unbuffered and that is the safest when in doubt.  I follow the recommendations of the National Park Service.

                     http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/04-09.pdf

One thing to note is that all paper products will become acid over time, archival boxes included.  Buffered material resists acidity longer and appears to be the direction some archives are going with their paper storage.

            I should mention other types of archival storage boxes.  One is made from polypropylene, a chemically inert plastic type material that won’t off gas and damage objects. .  This type of box is also fluted.  It is more expensive than other storage boxes and really is only necessary if there is a need for moisture protection.  Hopefully your HVAC system provides some humidity control and you don’t live in a swamp. Gaylord also has boxes made of unbleached Kraft material.  These are acid-free, but are not adequate for long-term storage according to the company.  Read the information about the product carefully before you order.  Make sure you have acid free and lignin free for long-term storage.  Another type of coating on a box is acrylic.  This coating provides a moisture barrier.  Certainly not necessary here in West Texas.

            That’s it for storage boxes.  Pick the size and the color and make sure that the sides are reinforced.  By the way archival boxes have to be assembled when they arrive.  No glue is used for the manufacture since glue can be very acidic.  The boxes simply require folding to assemble.  It’s quite easy.  Just follow the directions.

Next time file boxes.