Storing 8x10 negatives

[Degroto]

This year I (finally) started shooting 8x10 negatives. Awesome! However how do I store them? Foor my smaller negatives I have those paper sleeves and I put them in a holder that is that. I don't have those sleeves for my 8x10 negs. How do you keep them tucked away? And where do you buy the materials? Same goes for the 5x7. Hoewever I don't shoot those much at the moment.

Greets,

Peter

[Leigh]

PrintFile makes sleeves for 8x10, open at the top (narrow edge) with three-ring punching along the long edge.

You store them in plastic cases with the rings along the top edge, so the sleeves hang down.

- Leigh

[MIke Sherck]

I go to the office store and buy a box of plastic sleeves for paper documents. I get the ones that say 'archival' on the box. Much less expensive than buying the specialty sleeves for photographs, plus these have three-hole mounts so I can stick them in cheap 3-ring binders, also from the office store.

Mike

[Sal Santamaura]

Stay away from LDPE pages, etc., whether PrintFile or others. Not good for long term storage. See pages 485 through 500 here


http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_758_Pages_HiRes_v1a.pdf

for the reasons why.

Put negatives in these HDPE envelopes


http://www.archivalmethods.com/Product.cfm?categoryid=6&Productid=84

and place those in this box


http://www.universityproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=980&primary=1&parentId=1266&navTree[]=1266&navTree[]=1460&navTree[]=980

That's the best-value solution I've found. Note that one can write on the envelopes with a sharpie pen.

[Alan Gales]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Sal. Roughly how many sleeved negatives can you fit in a box?

[Sal Santamaura]

...Roughly how many sleeved negatives can you fit in a box?The 8x10 box is 5 inches deep. It should comfortably accommodate at least 300 negatives, possibly 350, depending on how tightly one packs them.


...Note that one can write on the envelopes with a sharpie pen.I should add that, in order to avoid embossing negatives with pressure from the pen, they should not be in the envelopes when writing.

[Brian C. Miller]

Stay away from LDPE pages, etc., whether PrintFile or others. Not good for long term storage. See pages 485 through 500 here


http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_758_Pages_HiRes_v1a.pdf

for the reasons why.

Thanks, Sal! I was wondering why some of my slides are showing little brown blotches.

[Oren Grad]

The 8x10 box is 5 inches deep. It should comfortably accommodate at least 300 negatives, possibly 350, depending on how tightly one packs them.

The only caveat I'd add here is that 300 sleeved 8x10 negatives makes for a pretty heavy box. Some (= me :o) find a shallower box with fewer negatives a bit easier to handle.

[Sal Santamaura]

...find a shallower box with fewer negatives a bit easier to handle.One of the few such flip-top boxes I'm aware of (half as deep, i.e. 2-1/2 inches) is available here:

http://www.conservationresources.com/Main/section_5/section5_06.htm

Otherwise, one is limited to boxes intended for prints, which means laying the negatives flat atop each other, probably not as good as storing them on edge.

[Degroto]

Ok thanks for the input! I have some reading to do!

[Alan Gales]

Thanks Sal for all the information!

[Leigh]

I would avoid any product that's not intended specifically for film.

All plastics outgas volatiles. Without testing there's no way to determine whether they will harm film.

- Leigh

[Tony Karnezis]

I would avoid any product that's not intended specifically for film.

All plastics outgas volatiles. Without testing there's no way to determine whether they will harm film.

- Leigh

You can store your negs in paper sleeves and store the sleeves in boxes similar to those people have recommended.

Check out Lodima Archival Materials for the sleeves and boxes.

http://www.lodimaarchivalmaterials.com/lam/index.html

[prado333]

Dear Sal:
i have got all my negatives in printfile or clearfile storage sleeves ,
Must i have to change them , and how to write in the new envelopes and wich pen is recomended?

[Sal Santamaura]

Dear Sal:
i have got all my negatives in printfile or clearfile storage sleeves ,
Must i have to change them , and how to write in the new envelopes and wich pen is recomended?It's entirely up to you whether or not to move all your negatives from LDPE sleeves to something safer. The Wilhelm book information I linked to above explains what conditions bring out the worst from LDPE. If your storage environment is not hot or humid and you don't consider the negatives irreplaceable, you might leave them where they are.

If you are concerned and want to move your negatives, the HDPE envelopes I linked to above seem like the best value to me. There are other good alternatives, such as polypropylene (but make sure it has no slip agents) and, for the ultimate, polyester interleaving folders inside paper open-end envelopes.

If you go the expensive route (polyester + paper), a ball point pen will be fine on the outer paper envelopes (without negatives inside). Should you decide on the HDPE envelopes I use, notes can be easily written on them (again, without negatives inside) using a "Sharpie" type pen. That is the trade name of a relatively fine-point felt-tip pen containing alcohol-based ink. There are undoubtedly other brands of the same type, but "sharpie" has almost become a generic term for them in the US.

[prado333]

thanks a lot Sal .