[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Spirit Duplicated Materials



My experience with spirit duplicated materials (I assume you mean what is
commonly called "ditto"?) is that they have a relatively short lifetime
compared with typed or printed materials.  If these are valued papers, they
should be copied as soon as resources are available.  Here's what I've
observed:

They fade relatively rapidly.  Depending on the original medium and such
things as the generation of the copy from the master, the condition of the
master when copied, the pressure and amount of "spirit" used in the
machine, the depth of stroke of the typing on the master, etc., the copy
may have printed in lighter or darker blue to purple.  The darker print of
course lasts longer.  But they all fade more rapidly than typed materials.

The paper used is generally the cheapest and most fiber-filled of white
papers, making it the most likely to yellow and become brittle.

When these papers are moistened, either with flooding or with just
environmental humidity, the print can run, fade and stain surrounding papers.

They can be very hard to copy because the print is often a shade of blue
that does not photocopy well.  It may be necessary to transcribe some of
the content of very faded papers.  Once copied, the originals may fade
beyond legibility, and it might be an idea to make a color copy of a sample
of the papers to retain a sense of the look of the original.

Keeping the masters may have a purpose (if only to demonstrate the
process), but they are extremely messy and should definitely be isolated
from other materials, preferably in a plastic bag.

Good luck!

Arel
Arel Lucas
Tobacco Control Archives
Library and Center for Knowledge Management
University of California San Francisco
http://www.library.ucsf.edu/tobacco/
-------------------------
At 11:00 AM 5/2/2002 -0400, Jean L. Root Mahalov wrote:
Dear Folks,

I am currentlly processing a collection of college materials which contains
a fair number of spirit duplicated handouts. I would be interested in
hearing from anyone who has experience with these materials regarding their
storage and longevity issues. I am happy to accept personal replies by
email at: klstarr@earthlink.net

Thank You

Karen Starr
Archival Intern
Saint Rose College

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
     In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                   *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
    http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>