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Re: ThermoFax Paper



My general practice has been to copy the document onto acid-free paper and
toss the original, because of the extreme instability and low quality of
these papers.  (Hope Nicholson Baker isn't looking!)  If, for some reason,
you need to retain the originals, segregate them from the neighboring
records by placing them in sleeves (pH-neutral paper or mylar) or
interleaving pH-neutral paper.  The acid in ThermoFax paper will quickly
migrate to surrounding documents, accelerating their degradation and
leaving horrible discolorations.

As an afterthought, I decided to check my practice against a preservation
text - Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler's Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (1993).
To quote from p. 31, "text on thermal copies is likely to fade, become
illegible, and/or the paper may darken overall in a relatively short period
of time.  They cannot be considered permanent....Given the difficulty of
differentiating between potentially stable and unstable facsimile copies,
all should be photocopied onto alkaline bond paper."

Joseph M. Komljenovich
Assistant Archivist
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
joseph.komljenovich@ny.frb.org

Any comments or statements made in this transmission reflect the views of
the sender and are not necessarily the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York.



                    Pat Perreault
                    <pperreault@MONH.ORG        To:     ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
                    >                           cc:
                    Sent by: Archives &         Subject:     ThermoFax Paper
                    Archivists
                    <ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.M
                    UOHIO.EDU>


                    07/26/2001 03:20 PM
                    Please respond to
                    Pat Perreault






Dear List:
I'm processing a collection that contains quite a bit ThemoFax (ranging
from
brown, to salmon in color) paper dated 1965,  From what I remember from
back
then the colors do not seem to indicate deterioration, for right after use
they turned color.  What is everyone doing with these, photocopying and
throwing away, or what?

Thanks,

Pat Perreault
Museum of Our National Heritage
Lexington, MA

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