Storing Your Photographic Collection: A Guide to Choosing the Proper Materials for Long-Term Storage

This technical bulletin offers guidelines for the long-term preservation of photographic collections. One of the first steps to this achievement is the re-house of collection materials in storage folders and boxes that meet the proper storage criteria. Placing photographic objects in direct contact with good quality materials limits the amount of acids and other pollutants that will damage your photographs over time. When purchasing supplies, the most important factor is to ONLY buy materials that have passed the Photographic Activities Test (PAT), which ensures the storage materials do NOT react with the photographic image.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD MATERIALS TO USE

Enclosures

If housing supplies are constructed of paper or paperboard, make sure they are lignin-free and either buffered or non-buffered. In the case of plastic materials, use only the following types of plastic: polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester. And make sure these materials have passed the PAT test as well.

*ENCLOSURES*	Paper envelope Balanced seam, no thumb cut preferred	For film and prints
	Paper 4-flap enclosure	For film and glass negatives and other photos on glass
	Plastic enclosures “L” sleeve and other designs	For prints
	Folder with interleaving	For prints, especially over-size or panoramic
	Plastic pocket page	For prints or new film

Containers

Storage boxes should also be constructed of good quality materials and pass the PAT test. Boxes for photographic materials come in standard sizes according to the format of the photographic material. As a general rule, vertical boxes provide easier access to materials than horizontal boxes. Make sure to pad out any extra space in a box with good quality rigid support materials, like alkaline blue board or mat board; excess space should be filled to provide a solid support for the photographic materials. Placing rigid materials every few inches within the box will also provide a solid support to your floppy photographic prints, minimizing their ability to curl.

CONTAINERS

Flip-top box

Vertical storage

for all negatives

and smaller prints

Telescoping box

Vertical storage

for all negatives,

smaller prints,

mounted prints,

slides

Drop-side box

Horizontal storage

for all prints and negatives,

in enclosures and folders

Museum case or Solander box

*boxes made prior to the late 2000’s did not pass the PAT test

Horizontal storage

for matted prints

Supports and albums

Support boards and interleaving tissues should be made of good quality materials and pass the PAT test. To avoid abrasions and to prevent photographic emulsions from sticking to each other when humidity fluctuates, place a sheet of interleaving tissue between each photograph when stacking. Always stack photographs with the emulsion facing in the same direction, never face to face. In addition to providing rigid support within storage boxes, good quality boards can be used to make custom storage folders for oversized photographic materials, such as panoramas.

PAPERS & BOARDS

Matboard

For mats,

box dividers,

custom housings, etc.

Alkaline corrugated blue board

For folders,

box dividers,

custom housings, etc.

Interleaving paper

e.g. Microchamber,

Phototex, Renaissance

In folders and

original albums

Photographic albums with magnetic pages contain poor quality plastic overlays and acidic paper board supports with adhesive materials that will degrade photographic materials overtime. It is recommended to replace those styles of photographic albums with those that contain good quality materials.

ALBUMS

3-ring binder

For plastic pocket pages or album pages

Album

For prints

For paper pages with coversheets or

plastic pocket pages

Secure objects onto pages with photo-corners

Markers

Labeling your photographic materials should be done with care. As a rule of thumb, mark the photograph using a graphite pencil with as little pressure as possible on the back side (verso) only, preferably in the margin. Labeling your storage enclosure and container is also recommended.

*MARKING HOUSINGS*	Soft pencil 4B or 6B	For paper and paperboard
*MARKING HOUSINGS*	Sharpie permanent black marker	For plastic enclosures only
*MARKING PHOTOGRAPH*	Soft pencil 4B or 6B	For paper supports and mounts
*MARKING PHOTOGRAPH*	Solid graphite pencil 4B or 6B	For resin-coated supports

EXAMPLES OF MATERIALS NOT TO BE USED

There are many reputable supply companies that manufacture and sell the proper storage materials recommended for photographic collections. These companies also sell many other products that are good quality and useful for other types of archival and art materials, but those materials might not suitable to use for your photographic materials. Remember again the rule that materials for storing photographic collections must pass the PAT.

*LABELING AND ATTACHMENTS*	*Material*	*Examples*	*Problems with photographs*
	Blue pencil		Use only soft graphite pencils on the back of photographs. Other writing media can fade, rub off, or bleed during a disaster resulting in staining of the photograph and a loss of information.
	Pressure-sensitive labels		The pressure-sensitive adhesive on the label will damage photographs, become harder to remove, and/or fail over time so that the informational content is lost. A foil backing will not address these problems.
	Paperclips or staples		Do not use any paper clips or staples, even rust-proof ones. Over time, they will create permanent dents in the photograph. Clips containing iron will rust in high humidity creating stains and weakened areas.
	Self-adhesive notes		Do not use any brand, even temporarily. Like other pressure-sensitive adhesives, the adhesive on the Post-it will cause staining and deterioration in the photograph as it ages and become difficult to remove.
	Rubber bands		Rubber bands contain sulfur and other compounds that will discolor photographs. They decay over time and fall apart so that they no longer function.
*ADHESIVES AND MOUNTING*	Tapes		Pressure-sensitive tapes will damage photographs, become harder to remove, and/or fail over time.
	Adhesives		Many adhesives will damage photographs, become harder to remove and/or fail over time.
	“Magnetic” albums		Photographs adhere to pages over time and become stained by the rubber-based adhesive that creates the sticky page.
*CLEANING PRODUCTS*	Photo cleaning spray and wipes		May dissolve or otherwise damage photographs including removing surface coatings. Do not attempt to clean photos without the advice and supervision of a conservator.
*CLEANING PRODUCTS*	Rubber sponges		Contain sulfer-based materials that will degrade the silver in a photogrhic image.
*BOARDS AND PAPER*	Foamcore or foamboard		Poor quality and acidic materials will potentially cause chemical deterioration of the photograph leading to fading, staining, embrittlement. Weak and poorly constructed housing materials will endanger the physical integrity of the photograph. They should not be used for boxes, dividers, mats, framing, etc.
	Colored mat boards and papers
	Brown corrugated board
	Acidic cores
	Glassine Interleaving or enclosures		This paper may cause deterioration in photographic images and stick irreversibly to gelatin in very high humidity, even if it passes the PAT.

*Compiled, written, and revised by Barbara Lemmen, Jessica Keister and Rachel Wetzel for CCAHA.

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