How to store-archive color slides?

[tim atherton]

here's some stuff from Filmguard - we've used their pro-line stuff

http://www.filmguard.com/pro-line/archivalissues.htm

you can see the links to all the different standards there

anoher product is Secol

[tim atherton]

this site which was listed in the last thread on negs sets it out as clearly as anywhere:

http://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/photolea.html

[Paul Schilliger]

Thanks for the extensive description and links! Maybe I should ask the manufacturers what the composition of their product is, as suggested. But of course, the products evolve and my stock is for some nearly ten years old.

Would you trust the sleeves one side clear and one side mat that the labs provide with sheet film processing? I would if there is no known problem with them. In doubt, I think that I will store my valuable slides in those, and in metal boxes.

[kthompson]

if you mean 4x5 sheet film, a transparency? then really the best thing is to use a locking 4x5 mylar d sleeve and an envelope--usually an unbuffered, acid & lignin free--to store the chrome in juts like you would film. Light Impressions, Gaylord, Univ Products, Hollinger, Conservation Resources, etc--they all have similar products to store them in. Whether it's flip top boxes or cabinets.

I work in a museum, and we store our slides (35mm) in a manner like I described above with either the single sleeves within a sleeve, or using a saf-t-stor. Our 4x5 film and rollfilm is stored differently though. We use mylar D locking sleeves and then a PAT enclosure--buffered for b/w and unbuffered for color. The rollfilm goes into a long, narrow envelope basically and the 4x5 into a std. envelope. The b/w is stored apart from the color as well.

we use Russ Bassett film filing cabinets--they sell them through library supply houses like Gaylord etc. Basically it's a heavy duty baked enamel, steel filing cabinet that is the perfect size for filing 4x5 film. You can fit about 900 sheets in a drawer. The smallest cabinets stack and are sold in sets of two drawers--the visuflex brand. stacking media cabinets. The larger models are floor models....I use the visuflex's at home for my own stuff, because you can store so much more film in them than buying a bunch of flip top boxes, and you won't have to replace them either over time. Even "archival" boxes, enclosures etc wear out over time....the cabinets are expensive, but so are the boxes etc, when you add them all up.

like I said though--don't waste your money if you can't control the room temps & rh decently. If you contact Gaylord, Light Impressions, Universisty Products, Hollinger etc--they all offer pamphlets and guides for storage options.

hope this helps.

[Paul Schilliger]

Thanks! Yes it does help. I wish I knew if the sleeves furnished by the lab are archival or not. It is a material that seems strong but tears easily once a cut is started. The mylar sleeves are no longer produced. Dupont has stopped it's production some years ago have I read. Are they any other polyester sleeves with flap seal? Preferably from an european or swiss source if any?

Is storing color slides in an air tight metal box (or flap sealed sleeve) OK or not advised?

Lots of questions! Thanks!

[tim atherton]

http://www.secol.co.uk/

Secol is Europe's leading manufacturer of polyester film based archival storage ...

(which doesn't seem to be working right now?)

[Paul Schilliger]

Tim, thanks!

The website works but for some reason the content of the pages is shifted to the right.
I found these products:

http://www.secol.co.uk/COLOURVIEW.SHTML open two sides (they do look pretty much as the ones my lab uses)

http://www.secol.co.uk/POCKETS.SHTML open 1 side

http://www.secol.co.uk/TRANTEC.SHTML "captive" as they say, but it seems from the view that they are open on two sides.

http://www.secol.co.uk/SLEEVES.SHTML

No sleeves with closing flap though.

[kthompson]

sorry-you're right, Myalr D is no more, but only under that name. Dupont made a number of grades of polyester, and there was some confusion when they announced they had discontinued the polyester products--there's quite a bit about this on museum & archive listgroups--but eventually the products came back under a different name, "Dupont Archival Polyester", it was also called Melinex 516. It's still available, only not as mylar D. I call it that, because, well I dunno, everyone I know calls it that---like they call a metal edge, flip top box a "hollinger box. force of habit...

there should be some supplier in Europe, sorry I can't really help here--but polyester is a tough material. It doesn't tear very well and has really good stability. It has some drawbacks, mainly static and the fact that it's hard to form into sleeves and the like. It's very stiff....it's hard to work with if you want a pliable plastic material. Yet it's sold in rolls and cut out, sealed with special tape etc to encapsulate documents for archival work. Or you can cut out sleeves from large sheets/rolls and then fold it over to shape, and press the fold with tools etc. It's used for making museum mounts and the like, where it gets used as a barrier basically. Some people don't liek polyester and other plastics for encapsulation and enclosures because of "ferrotyping"---or the possiblity of the material sticking & coming off against the smooth plastic. I have never seen this to be honest, but it's worth pointing out that all these sleeves have pluses and minuses when it comes to different situations.

Very difficult question to answer, but I wish you good luck all the same.

[Henry reed]

Hi There,
my first time here, no idea where everyone is etc. Can anyone tell me where to buy Panodia A 4 Printibook's at wholesale in London UK??