Storage of prints in glassine envelopes

Hi all!

I have a question about storage of RC black and white prints, inspired by a recent thread on negative storage. Lately I decided to buy glassine envelopes to file my prints in a binder folder. I prefer glassine to anything made of plastic, to avoid static electricity and dust, which have previously been an annoying issue for me. I am now wondering are there any adverse effects of storing prints stacked in such envelopes (due to pressure) and what is your preferred method?

It will be expensive to have single envelop for every print. What I have see in galleries is that they have prints in big cardboard box and thin glassine paper between every print. This is also too expensive for me, I just use original boxes where papers came from (50 and 100 pieces box).

Glassine is generally not recommended for long-term storage. See the discussion from p 502 onward in chapter 14 of Henry Wilhelm's book:

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Interesting article. So it seems I´m doing it wrong if I want long term storage. Maybe Darko´s idea is the cheapest and most effective? It´s then difficult to organize the prints with some kind of order though.

The cardboard boxes that paper is supplied in aren't designed for long-term storage either - the card and paper stocks used to make them are not acid-free. Beyond that, if you've been handling and/or storing them in the darkroom, there's some risk that they will have been contaminated by fixer or other chemicals.

In the US, sleeves made of polypropylene or polyester, paper folders made of acid-free stock, and boxes made of acid-free card stock are widely available at reasonable prices. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with availability and pricing for such products within the EU.

Thank you Oren, very useful info. Would you mind pointing me to a link for the archival sleeves you find in US, I try to see if I can find the same type here.

There are several companies online that sell archival boxes and other materials. Such materials are rather expensive. However I have stored prints in the original paper boxes for decades without any ill effect. If the cardboard is safe for unexposed paper it certainly is safe for a finished print. I would not put prints in sleeves of any material. The prints need to "breathe" that is to be able to equilibrate to the ambient humidity at all times. This was something learned from the failure of early RC prints that were mounted under glass. This is not a problem with negatives as they are not on a paper substrate.

Gerald C Koch said:

If the cardboard is safe for unexposed paper it certainly is safe for a finished print.

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Unexposed paper is not intended to be stored for many years, and materials for the boxes are selected accordingly to serve the short-term packaging function but otherwise to minimize cost.

Sometimes one can get away with using the paper boxes, but it's impossible to know for sure up front. So it's a question of how highly one values one's work, how long one intends for it to last and how much one is willing to invest in minimizing known risks to long-term stability. We all have limits to what we can afford and how much we're willing to fuss.

RC papers of today are different from the original RC papers. Also, the deterioration mechanisms that are most important for a framed RC print on display are not identical to those that are most prominent in dark storage.

FWIW, I store most of my RC prints, all selenium toned, loose in acid-free storage boxes. If they were going to be handled frequently, I might include acid-free tissue interleaving. It's not expensive at all per print, taking into account the materials cost and amount of my effort that goes into them. I use polypropylene sleeves extensively for negatives, occasionally for prints under special circumstances.

mauro35 said:

Thank you Oren, very useful info. Would you mind pointing me to a link for the archival sleeves you find in US, I try to see if I can find the same type here.

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Here are examples of the kinds of products I use:

http://www.archivalmethods.com/product/side-lock-film-sleeves

http://www.archivalmethods.com/product/side-loading-print-sleeves

http://www.archivalmethods.com/product/drop-front-boxes-1-1-2-inch

Similar ones are available from multiple vendors in the US.

Thank you all for the replies and Oren for the links! I try to see if I can find something similar locally.

Oren Grad said:

The cardboard boxes that paper is supplied in aren't designed for long-term storage either - the card and paper stocks used to make them are not acid-free.

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I did a bit of checking. The boxes used for film and paper are made of special cardboard that will not effect the materials sold in them. In this respect a process similar to that used to make the print paper stock is used for the cardboard in the boxes. Granted there appears that no research has been done with respect to the silver in finished prints. But empirical evidence from more than one source indicates that prints are safe for several decades when stored in the original paper boxes.

One more thing I can´t really grasp is how can plastic (polypropilene or polyethilene) be more archival for RC prints, don´t they need to "breathe" somehow, or anyway be stored in a way that can facilitate air exchange from their surface? Just trying to understand.

The recommended storage for unmounted prints is in approved boxes with acid-free paper or glassine separators. No plastic should ever contact the emulsion surface. Prints mounted under glass should be double matted to provide sufficient air space between the print and the glass. The entire mounting system should provide some gas exchange between the print and the air.

I see now. I was starting to get a bit confused between negative and print storage, reading many articles and reports.