Photographs

The do's and don'ts of labelling and repair

Inappropriate labelling and repair methods can damage photographs. The following guidelines can help prevent damage.

Biros, other ink pens and markers should not be used to label photographic prints. Many of these inks, particularly felt tip pen inks, can spread and cause unsightly staining.

When it is necessary to label a photographic print, write in soft pencil—a B pencil is good—on the edge of the back of the print. Don't apply pressure because this can leave indents in the photograph and can fracture the emulsion.

Sometimes it is necessary to label negatives. This must be done with extreme care. It is best to use a permanent ink, such as Indian ink. The information should be recorded on the very edge of the negative, outside the image area. It is very difficult to write on the shiny side of the negative, so write on the duller side: this is the emulsion side of the film.

Paper clips, even plastic ones, can damage and distort photographs. They should not be used for attaching labels, even temporary ones, to photographs. If you need to place a temporary label with a photograph, write it on a piece of paper large enough to fold around the whole photograph.

Do not mend photographs using self-adhesive sticky tapes of any kind.

These tapes go through a number of stages when they deteriorate. Firstly, the adhesive becomes very sticky and will be absorbed easily into paper, fabrics and emulsions. In the next stage, the adhesive changes chemically and begins to yellow and eventually turns a dark orange. At this stage the adhesive is almost totally insoluble and the stains cannot be removed.

These photographs were attached to a scrapbook page using masking tape. The adhesive became sticky and stained the photographs. Photograph courtesy of Artlab Australia, reproduced with permission of C. Braham

If you have a damaged photograph, place it in a protective sleeve or wrapper, to prevent further damage until you can get advice from a conservator.

Never use adhesives such as rubber cement with photographs. It ages in the same way as sticky tape adhesives and contains sulphur. Sulphur reacts chemically with photographs, which are made up of silver particles.