Caring for Cultural Material 1
Caring for Cultural Material 2
Damage and Decay
Managing Collections
Managing People
Handling, Transportation, Storage and Display
Glossary
Index
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Caring for Cultural Material 1
In this volume:
arrow Paper
– Books
– Photographs
– Paintings
– Electronic Information Media
– Acknowledgments
Paper
In this chapter:
– Objectives
– Introduction
– Paper in collections
– What is paper?
– Ingredients and properties of paper
– What are the most common types of damage?
– Common causes of damage
– The do’s and don’ts of handling flat paper
– The do’s and don’ts of repair and labelling
– Guidelines for storing and displaying flat paper
arrow Materials suitable for the storage and display of paper
– Preparing flat paper for storage
– Housing flat paper
– Mounting/hinging flat paper
– Protective enclosures for flat paper
– Storage boxes for flat paper
– Displaying flat paper
– Framing flat paper items
– Paper items with special needs
– Papyrus and Parchment
– Some miscellaneous information
– Summary of conditions for storage and display
– Paper in Australia’s climatic zones
  MORE ABOUT PAPER
– Cellulose fibres and paper quality
– Acidity and alkalinity
– For further reading
– Self-evaluation quiz
– Answers to self-evaluation quiz

 

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Pape

Materials suitable for the storage and display of paper

Materials which are to be in direct contact with items for any length of time should be free of acids and other impurities which might damage paper. These products are usually marketed as archival, museum quality, acid-free or permanent materials. They will be referred to as 'archival' materials in this chapter.

Paper, card and board

Archival paper, card and board should:

  • have a pH of 7 or above;

  • be made from fully bleached, alpha cellulose pulp and sized with an alkaline size;

  • be free of lignin, ground wood, metal particles, plasticisers, sulphur, oxidising chemicals and other potentially harmful products; and

  • meet stringent strength and permanency specifications.

The highest quality paper products are 100% cotton. They are often referred to as 100% rag.

CAUTION:
Alkaline-buffered products should not be used with some photographic material or with silk-based material.

Plastics

Inert plastics should be free of plasticisers, surface coatings and other harmful chemicals. Polyester films, known as Mylar D or Melinex, polypropylene and polyethylene, are all suitable. Polyester is the superior archival plastic.

Adhesives

Adhesives are used to hinge paper items to their mounts/mats, as well as in the construction of storage enclosures. Adhesives which are water-based, chemically inert and fully reversible can be used in direct contact with paper; for sticking hinges to paper for example. Home-made wheat starch paste and methylcellulose are recommended. Some archival, acid-free gummed paper tapes can also be used.

Adhesives to use if you are making enclosures, photo corners, boxes etc. are:

  • 'acid-free' double-sided tape—3M double-sided tape #415; and

  • PVA.

These products should never be used directly on your paper item because they are difficult to remove, especially PVA.

Furniture

The materials in storage and display furniture can damage paper. Many materials give out active chemicals which can contribute to the deterioration of paper items. The following list of good and bad materials can help you in selecting storage and display furniture, or the materials to use when making them yourself.

Good Bad
enamelled metal chipboard, Customwood, unsealed woods, especially hardwoods
glass PVA glue
ceramic uncured paint
inorganic pigments protein-based glues, for example animal glues
polystyrene wool
polyester film felt
cotton cellulose nitrate
linen polyurethanes
acrylic paints and varnishes PVC

Stainless steel, anodised aluminium or metal coated with baked enamel are preferred for storage furniture.

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