Yet another post on storing negatives

I have read various articles online and posts in this very forum about storing negatives / slides but I still have some unanswered questions. My target is storing with no noticeable color shifts until I die (I guess up to 60 years from now). Film in question is various color negative, slide (E6), and BW films, mostly from the year 2000 and later.

So here's what I understand so far:

• Print File sleeves in fully enclosed binders (don't let dust get in). Remove dust/moisture before sleeving.
• Store in a dry dark environment with few temperature fluctuations
• Lay flat so they don't warp.

And my specific questions:

• I read that you shouldn't crush your films (i.e, don't stack), but also that you have to lay them flat. How can do you both of these at once without a huge amount of horizontal storage area? I currently stack them in sleeves, in paper envelopes, stacked up to like 200 to 300 high. Films are not in contact with each other, they are only in contact with the sleeve. I can put them into binders and stack the binders, but then inside the binders, they'd still be stacked 100 high. Is that too much compression? Maybe no because this is what everyone does?
• I don't have any temperature-controlled humidity-controlled room in my house i.e., not a professional archival space. Is there any practical way to control the temperature and humidity? Like a wine refrigerator maybe? Currently I just put them in stacks in a closet, which receives very little light but I can't control the temperature...unless I leave the AC/heater on 24/7, which is unreasonably expensive. I don't have anything to record the temperature/humidity in the closet over time.
• I know Print File is the golden standard but how much worse are Fujicolor sleeves / random brandless sleeves from my camera shop? Not sure what material they are. but it's a reputable camera shop. But I have so many sheets of negatives in their sleeves, it'll take me days (weeks?) to transfer them to Print File. Especially considering how tight the Print File sleeves are, it takes time getting the films in.

Garb said:

I read that you shouldn't crush your films

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That's correct. The problem you're risking is essentially ferrotyping your film, and in the worst case gluing it to the storage sleeves by means of the emulsion gelatin. But it generally takes high humidity for this to happen.

Garb said:

I can put them into binders and stack the binders

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That would be a better option, since the binders themselves will take the weight off of the film itself for the most part. The idea is that the binders support each other, so the film inside only has to carry the weight of the film within the binder in the worst case (the bottom sheet).

Garb said:

Is there any practical way to control the temperature and humidity?

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No. Don't worry about it too much. Pick a place that doesn't get too hot or too cold, or too moist, and leave it at that. So generally avoid attics, cellars, garages and sheds. Bedrooms are not the best choice either because they are relatively humid environments (breathing, sweating). In the end, you'll probably have to compromise somewhere; just pick the best compromise.

Garb said:

I don't have anything to record the temperature/humidity in the closet over time.

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Cheap devices are available for this, that will log temperature & humidity, but I wouldn't go overboard in trying to "sensor up the house".

Garb said:

Not sure what material they are.

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There's your answer - if you don't know what they are, you can't know how good they are. If you're truly concerned about this, use only materials that come with a PAT certification: https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/tests/pat.html

Overall, I wouldn't worry too much about the black & white, since that's pretty durable and resilient stuff. The E6 will be a little more sensitive, so if you have to prioritize, I'd start with those.

In the end you'll always have to compromise between optimal archival stability and practical concerns. Don't be too afraid to compromise. Don't drive yourself crazy.

I've kept my 60 year old stuff in the top of a dark closet in a box or album. They've
lasted pretty well.

I store my enclosed binders vertical. Never had an issue with negatives warping. Mine have contact sheets in with them and they’re full so maybe that helps. I can’t imagine storing them flat on top of each other in a pile. The binder you would be looking for would certainly always be on the bottom.

brian steinberger said:

I store my enclosed binders vertical. Never had an issue with negatives warping. Mine have contact sheets in with them and they’re full so maybe that helps. I can’t imagine storing them flat on top of each other in a pile. The binder you would be looking for would certainly always be on the bottom.

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Same here.

I have used binders and boxes for storage. While binders keep them in order, I found that boxes were easier to move the PrintFile sheets around to use and use in the darkroom.

These days I store my negatives in sleeves (slightly bigger than A4) and binders. One or two binders per year covers me. But I do have older stuff in boxes, sleeved negatives in the envelopes one used to get from labs. And going back further, the photos I shot in my childhood were stored for decades in a drawer in my parents' house in sleeves and sometimes envelopes. These date as far back as the late 1970s and everything I've looked at in recent years is preserved well.

Going back further I received a great aunt's output of negatives, slides and prints from the 1950s to 1990s when she died in the 2000s. Everything except some of the non-Kodachrome slides is still in great shape

Negatives are quite hardy if not abused. The main thing is keep them in the dark, so a dawer, box, closet, cupboard. Keep them from extremes of heat, cold and humidity....which doesn't mean climate controlled rooms but simple things like keep them in a regular family room or spare room....not a shed, garage, attic or kitchen. Bedrooms are a bit unsafe too because when people sleep in there, they will create a fair amount of humidity.

If you live somewhere that regularly experiences very hot weather, even just for one season a year, you probably have some form of air con in at least one room. Likewise if your location gets cold, consider storing in a room that's heated adequately...not because cold per se will damage negs but rapid changes of temperature might, and could be accompanied by changes in humidity.

Slides might need a little more care. But you still don't need to install sensors and climate control.

But the first thing is to keep them out of sunlight, and preferably in the dark.

As for what to store them in...some sort of sleeves. If budget runs to it, the more expensive "archival" sleeves but to be honest I've got 60 year old negative in chemist/pharmacy provided mass produced sleeves and they're in great shape.

To be entirely honest I have not really worried much about negative storage since I started photography but I have probably been fortunate. I have lived in very low humidity, high desert country since the late 70s and they are kept in the house, so my negatives are really not exposed to a lot of moisture or high temperature swings.

I use printfile sleeves primarily in binders stored upright though I do use some negative boxes as well. They have held up really well but the majority of my negatives are only 20 years old at most. My really early negatives, those older than 20 years, were kept in the plain glassine envelopes used by the camera store that developed them and stored in cardboard boxes. I have moved some of those into printfile pages now but they were actually still in pretty good condition.

Thanks everyone, some really helpful information here. I will summarize what I got out of this:

• Don't go overboard with controlling the climate, enclosed in the dark in binders or boxes and in living room is adequate. (I actually didn't know bedrooms have more humidity variation due to people sleeping, compared to living rooms, it is true I spend more time in the bedroom than in the living room.)
• While Print File is a known good sleeve, even regular sleeves from the camera shop (probably) result in no noticeable degradation for multiple decades. But if migrating into Print File, then prioritize slides.

Everything except some of the non-Kodachrome slides is still in great shape

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Actually all my slides are non-Kodachrome.