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View Full Version : polyethylene vs polyester for film sleeves?



Darren Kruger
15-Mar-2010, 20:10
I'm looking to buy some fold locks for my 8x10 film and I see that there are film sleeves made of polyethylene and polyester. In the past I have purchased polyester sleeves for my 4x5 film.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of polyethylene and polyester?

-Darren

Robert Hughes
15-Mar-2010, 20:14
Polyethylene is softer, so will be less likely to scratch a negative. OTOH, it will scratch more easily itself, so if you contact print through the sleeve, you'll still see the scratch. It just won't be on your negative, which is good.

Oren Grad
16-Mar-2010, 01:08
I haven't seen fold lock sleeves in polyethylene - only slide-in pages and "negative preservers" such as those made by PrintFile and VueAll. The polyethylene in these products is very soft - I'm not even sure it's stiff enough to make a decent fold lock sleeve.

I do use fold lock sleeves in polypropylene, which tends to be much cheaper than polyester. Polyester is sometimes marginally clearer, but I don't contact print through the sleeves so it doesn't matter. Although either is stiffer than polyethylene, I think the risk of scratching is actually lower because you don't have to slide the negative in against pressure - just open the sleeve and drop the negative in.