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.
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