I bought some archival Mylar envelopes to protect and store documents. I am wondering if it is a good idea to put a piece of acid-free, lignin-free, buffered paper behind the document in the envelope to support the document and to help absorb or neutralize the acids in the document, or to inhibit any increase in acidity. I have some black mounting paper for this purpose. Is this a good idea? I am wondering if there is any risk from using the paper vs. just putting the document in the Mylar. I would appreciate any comments.
-
-
Chris.. Yes, highly recommed the usage of a acid free buffered paper backing on documents it's also added protection even on fragile documents. About a 24 pound paper is a good start. I use this on all my documents. It's sound like you have a good handle on your storage, and good to help keep the paper acidity down. Remember If you need to you can have a document de acidfied. A good paper conservator can handle it. However it's not cheap. Paul -
Some of the high end comic shops sell Mylars [and acid free boards] by the piece as usually you have to buy 300 or so!! They aren't exactly cheap and then you have to store them,,,that is unless you have the 300 to 500 docs!
They even offer different thicknesses [mils],,Mylites, Myguards etc. Many different sizes from a postcard up to Life magazine and newspaper size..
I sometimes put a doc on each side of the board in a mylar with foldover top.. ,,every 3 years or so I change the boards...
The mylars are crystal clear, and easy to clean off the greasy finger prints from your buddies ogling your SS paper!
Comment
-
Gaspare said it before I could,
as one who went to the San Diego Comic Con a few weeks ago, I can assure you, the comics that are worth 100$ to a couple thousand are all nicely bagged and backed with the type of material you have mentioned. Do check the high end comic preservation products.
-MichaelComment
-
I have visited several high end comic book store. Yes, most carry some mylar bags for comic and news magazines. This one store repackaged them in 3-5 per bundle. Which makes good sence. However there was no product label on them. The one store you need to ask. One sale clerk did not have a clue. The other clerk said Oh, yes everthing is. It was proven wrong. In short ask or find out from the manufacture. PaulComment
-
I also bought some acid-free cardboard supports from a local comic book shop. However, the boards I bought indicated that they were acid-free on the manufacturer's label. I would personally NEVER trust an employee anywhere when gathering information about such material. This is in no way not meant to be an insult to employees at such places. I have simply found, in my own experience, that employees don't often know such specifics about unlabeled materials anymore than the person asking the question. I have, in several cases, actually had employees tell me that material was archival when it was, in fact, not archival. Sometimes the motive to sell something will make people tell you just about whatever they think you want to hear. Again, what we collect is valuable and expensive enough that we need to know such things for sure. Beware!
Chris
Comment
-
http://www.bcemylar.com/comics.cfm
to any who care: this site BCE is the place to check for info on their products.
And yes, getting paid minimim wage is a poor insurer of quality customer service... I meant you/or whoever needs to find the owner of the comic bookstore who also has a passion for comics and their care.
When you find THAT guy , he will have answers...till then check this link out.
Cheers, MichaelComment
Comment