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Re: Taking Care of Old BW Safety Negatives



You should contact James Reilly or Doug Nishamura at the Image Permanence
Institute in Rochester, New York at 716-475-5199 for questions on storing
acetate based films which have begun to acidify.

Robert Mottice

> ----------
> From:         Robert Schmidt[SMTP:rschmidt@LIB.MUOHIO.EDU]
> Reply To:     Robert Schmidt
> Sent:         Wednesday, May 02, 2001 10:55 AM
> To:   ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject:      Taking Care of Old BW Safety Negatives
>
> Wanted to run this by everyone for comments,
> observations.
>
> Our archives has recently received a gift of ~2000
> B/W 3"x5" safety film negatives in the old brown
> paper enclosures that were typically used years
> ago. Some of the negatives have deteriorated
> badly, others appear nearly perfect, but the
> entire collection has a very strong vinegar odor.
> I am first planning to put the negatives in
> acid-free enclosures and then try to arrange the
> most suitable storage environment--probably
> off-site.  I am also thinking it would be wise to
> separate the deteriorated from the apparently
> intact negatives for storage purposes.
>
> Although I'm by no means a preservation expert, I
> realize that colder is almost always better when
> storing negatives. Would anyone out there have any
> opinions as to whether freezing, and the
> prepartion involved, would be worthwhile, or would
> it be most cost-effective to store them in their
> new containers at around 40 degrees 20 % humidty.
> It's my understanding that the vinegar syndrome,
> once started, can only be delayed--not halted
> entirely, and money, for my institution, will
> naturally be a major consideration. In any case, I
> am going to try to arrange getting prints/scans
> done from the negatives as soon as is practical.
> Any advice would be welcome. Please respond
> directly to me.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob Schmidt
> Archives Listserve Coordinator
> Miami University Archives
> Oxford, Ohio 45056
> 513-529-6720
> rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu
>
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> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>
>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>