Print-Through neg pages: archival?

perkeleellinen · Mar 31, 2009

As the title says, are the clear neg pages that you can print though archival?

I normally use the Kenro translucent type, but in Sweden all I could find was the clear acetate pages. They're a joy for making contact prints, but are they safe for my negs?

wogster · Mar 31, 2009

perkeleellinen said:
As the title says, are the clear neg pages that you can print though archival?

I normally use the Kenro translucent type, but in Sweden all I could find was the clear acetate pages. They're a joy for making contact prints, but are they safe for my negs?

I've got B&W negatives that have been in the pages for over 30 years, none have been damaged by the pages, that archival enough for you?

perkeleellinen · Mar 31, 2009

That's all I needed to know. Thanks!

nworth · Mar 31, 2009

I've seen two types of these pages - acetate and polypropylene. The acetate type is similar to the film base itself, and it should be very stable unless it is glued together. If glue is used, the composition of the glue is a factor to be considered. Polypropylene is very inert, but there may be plasticizers and other additives remaining in the (polypropylene) film that could cause problems. Unfortunately, you can't tell. These additives are proprietary, and what is used depends on the brand and lot of the bulk film. Almost all of the harmful stuff is almost always removed in processing and aging, however. Your best bet is to get sleeves from a big, old company who has experience in the area. I have had polypropylene sleeves stick to the film base. This is more annoying than anything else. I suspect it is physical rather than chemical. It makes the negatives hard to remove, but otherwise it seems to do no harm.

perkeleellinen · Mar 31, 2009

I've noticed a slight 'clingyness' with the clear neg files and I have to pull the negs a little to get them out. This was really why I asked as I was worried that today's cling could be tomorrow's completely stuck. I buy my neg files from Kenro, not sure if they are a UK, Euro, or US firm.

Larry.Manuel · Mar 31, 2009

I don't think polypropylene uses or requires plasticizers.

Poohblah · Mar 31, 2009

Are the Printfile sleeves not archival?

Kevin Caulfield · Mar 31, 2009

PrintFile are archival, at least the ones I have in front of me at the moment are. Item #020-0180.

wogster · Mar 31, 2009

nworth said:
I've seen two types of these pages - acetate and polypropylene. The acetate type is similar to the film base itself, and it should be very stable unless it is glued together. If glue is used, the composition of the glue is a factor to be considered. Polypropylene is very inert, but there may be plasticizers and other additives remaining in the (polypropylene) film that could cause problems. Unfortunately, you can't tell. These additives are proprietary, and what is used depends on the brand and lot of the bulk film. Almost all of the harmful stuff is almost always removed in processing and aging, however. Your best bet is to get sleeves from a big, old company who has experience in the area. I have had polypropylene sleeves stick to the film base. This is more annoying than anything else. I suspect it is physical rather than chemical. It makes the negatives hard to remove, but otherwise it seems to do no harm.

Most of the pages are welded together rather then glued, two pieces are put together and a small section is heated until the plastic melts slightly, joining the two pieces into one.

kraker · Apr 1, 2009

perkeleellinen said:
I've noticed a slight 'clingyness' with the clear neg files and I have to pull the negs a little to get them out.

YMMV, but I noticed more than a slight clingyness with the clear neg files. I switched to them after years of using the paper ones (pergamin), but I'm switching back immediately. The film clings to it, dust clings to it, I just can't handle the film properly with those static, clingy neg files. Easy contact printing, sure, but that's just not worth the hassle for me.

(Want to have about 90 clear neg sleeves for 120 size film for a nice price? Let me know...)

George Collier · Apr 1, 2009

Printfile preservers have always been considered safe for archival storage. Although stored in books, they still don't protect against moisture over time - I have had to clean negs with alcohol to remove light fungal stuff if kept in a humid environment - I also dumped the preservers.
To answer about printing through, the back layer (behind the emulsion, which would face away from the viewer) is made of a thinner material, and works well for contact printing. Although it really isn't as sharp as a true contact (since it is slightly out of contact), if you use an enlarger to make the contacts, with the light focused on the film/paper, it's pretty hard to see the difference.

cmacd123 · Apr 1, 2009

nworth said:
I've seen two types of these pages - acetate and polypropylene. The acetate type is similar to the film base itself, and it should be very stable unless it is glued together. .

I always wonder about Vinegar syndrome? if the film is in plastic, and it starts to break down, the plastic may hold the gases in and speed up the process. Any one have any idea if I am just being paranoyd as usual? (charles in the tin hat) :rolleyes:

Print-Through neg pages: archival?

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