8x10 negative storage ?

[Chester McCheeserton]

Is it considered a bad idea to store 8x10 B&W negatives and their corresponding contact print touching each other in the same sleeve?
contact prints are fiber, and washed properly.


I know it's not as safe/proper as giving each material it's own enclosure, but trying to organize a huge backlog and wondering if anyone has experienced problems with doing this or could point me to a site that discusses it - couldn't seem to find one.

thank you

[Vaughn]

A lot depends of the type of sleeve, I suppose. One consideration; Any oils and dirt from hands getting on the contact print when looking at it will be in contact with the negative.

I do not think you'll find much written about it because it generally is not an accepted practice. I will have multiple negatives in a sleeve, but they are separated by a thin sheet of quality paper...and there is no sliding of negatives to get them in and out of the sleeve.

[Willie]

Don't do it. Any moisture that might concentrate and you have them sticking together.

Keep them in separate storage boxes or containers. Interleaving folders and inert negative sleeves will help a lot. Store them as individual negatives in each sleeve, not multiples. Again - moisture may be a problem if you have more than one per sleeve. In addition any grit or dust between negatives can scratch both it touches.

One worry is stacking them with heavier weight bearing down on negatives near the bottom of the pile. Good acid free boxes or containers will help as you store them.

[Greg]

For many years have stored my 8x10" negatives between 8.5"x11" sheets of archival paper. The stacks are stored in gray archival 1.5"x8.5"x11" archival boxes that I purchased from Light Impressions probably back in the early 1980s. Boxes stored on shelf in my darkroom which I keep at a constant temperature of 65-70 degrees with 50% humidity. After using the darkroom, the humidity might go up to 69 percent but the dehumidifier lowers it to 50% within a few hours so I don't think it effects the storage boxes at all. I have experienced 0% degradation to any of the film negatives.

Also over the years have stored negatives in Archival quality Polyester sleeves in 3 ing binders. But lately when I have retrieved some of them, I have noticed that some of the negatives have "stuck" to the Polyester sleeves. I assume this is because of residual moisture absorbed by the negative when I put them into the sleeves. Have switched to interleaving archival paper which seems to absorb any residual moisture in the negatives after drying. I postulate that when the negatives that I thought had "dried", there was still some residual moisture in the emulsion which was to be absorbed by the interleaved sheets of paper by not by the Archival quality Polyester sleeves.

[Michael Kadillak]

Top quality archival paper "folders" are unquestionably the best place to place individual negatives and these folders should be placed in top quality archival storage boxes.

During the learning curve when each negatives fall into the category of not ready to toss them into the circular file for technical or artistic reasons and not making A grade at first pass, I see no reason that these negatives cannot be economically stored collectively in a single folder for further review. Taking extensive notes and learning what went right or wrong in the process is a critical step in advancement so I use a lot of sticky notes that I adhere inside the paper folder. One other piece of advice with LF photography. Never EVER change more than one variable in your process from stem to stern because all you are doing is pushing the random number generator as it relates to making progress.

[Vaughn]

Top quality archival paper "folders" are unquestionably the best place to place individual negatives and these folders should be placed in top quality archival storage boxes...

This has been my practice for years. I get these: http://www.conservationresources.com...ection5_05.htm

At a dollar a pop, they are not cheap -- but it has been a good system for me.

[Michael Kadillak]

This has been my practice for years. I get these: http://www.conservationresources.com...ection5_05.htm

At a dollar a pop, they are not cheap -- but it has been a good system for me.

I have been able to find good quality archival paper in larger sizes that I make the effort to pull out the Rotatrim and cut and fold myself to reduce costs.

[Chuck Pere]

Vaughn, Do you use buffered or non-buffered material for B&W negatives? I was thinking that buffered was better but I'm not sure.

[Michael Kadillak]

I will throw out a suggestion.

Lets aggregate an order for some 8x10 folders and get the quantity discount. I would go in for two to three hundred. Any interest? I would be happy to be a part of the search for acquisition "options".

[Fred L]

This has been my practice for years. I get these: http://www.conservationresources.com...ection5_05.htm

At a dollar a pop, they are not cheap -- but it has been a good system for me.

Vaughn and anyone else interested, Carr McLean is my go to shop for conservation and archival supplies (they have the best white, cotton gloves I've ever used). For those in the U.S., their price is beyond a very good deal, esp with the exchange what it currently is.

https://www.carrmclean.ca/CategoryGr...59&GroupNo=935