Neg sleeves - paper or plastic?

[jbrough]

I'm just about to go through the process of archiving the last decade's worth of negs, and am wondering people's opinions on whether paper or plastic storage sleeves are better. It used to be that acid-free tissue sleeves were considered the best, but is that still so? And can anyone recommend any brands?

Many thanks,

Jonathan.

 

[RFOBD]

I'm using plastic Print File Archival Preservers and I love them.

 

[Chris101]

I'm using plastic Print File Archival Preservers and I love them.

Me too! 🙂

Since they are clear and have a place to write information, they are perfect for scanned "contact" sheets.

 

[kaiyen]

glassine envelopes are the absolute best - no chance of scratches. But plastic print file sleeves are probably the most convenient. I use the latter

 

[David Goldfarb]

I use glassine sleeves. I keep them dry, and I find them handier than pages.

I used to use file pages, but humidity sometimes causes the film to adhere to the plastic.

I don't like negs proofed in file pages, because they aren't sharp. Of course it is possible to scan a file page and sharpen it, but that doesn't tell you how sharp the neg is. A real contact print made with the neg in contact with the paper can be examined with a loupe to determine enlargability. Of course one can also examine the negs directly, but why make less than the most useful proofs possible?

 

[amateriat]

I've used glassine sleeves for Dog knows how long, ant they've worked fine. SOme have been wary of the material yellowing with age, but in 20 years' use I've yet to see this happen to any noticeable degree. In addition, I store an entire roll in a single glassine, and have yet to have problems related to scratches. Easy to write on with a Sharpie to I.D. Cheap, too.


- Barrett

 

[bsdunek]

Glassine for me. My Dad started using them in the late 40's, and they and the negatives still look good today. I'm sure the good plastic ones are fine, but I have enough glassine to last me the rest of my life.

 

[dshfoto]

After I saw a article about how Capa's negatives from the 30's turned up -- rolls in a box with dividers -- I started making my own storage boxes. I use scrap matte board and artist's tape, to make 12 x 12 inch boxes with 2 inch square dividers.
The negatives are stored in rolls in the box. No sliding in and out of sleeves. Each box holds 36 rolls of film. You can grid off the top, and add notes about each roll.
They probably did this (Capa and Cartier-Bresson) because of how Cartier Bresson's family sold thread in boxes with dividers.
The other advantage of this, is that you keep a clear record of the shooting sequence for each roll of film.

Some of the cleanest negatives that I came across recently were ones that I have put in 100 foot roll cans, back in the 70's (no sleeves). They came out as clean as the day I put them in 40 plus years ago.

 

[spyder2000]

And plastic for me. Here in the sunny and humid southeastern US, a weekend without air conditioning can easily cause a moisture problem that will make the glassine stick to your negatives thus ruining them forever.

More than once I have been asked to try and remove the glassing from the emulsion. Degrees of success vary widely but it is never perfect.

 

[Ronald M]

Mylar or polypropelene sleeves. All plastic outgasses and you will eventually be sorry. Ever wonder what the fog is over the inside of your windshield?

They come from Light Impressions along with the envelopes and archival boxes.You will not like the cost.

 

[Matthew Allen]

From my very limited experience (I too was havering recently) it's a lot easier to get the negatives into the tissue/parchment/pergamen/whatever type sleeves - they slide in without any hesitation whereas with the plastic ones I've encountered the process was a bit of a struggle.

After I saw a article about how Capa's negatives from the 30's turned up -- rolls in a box with dividers -- I started making my own storage boxes. I use scrap matte board and artist's tape, to make 12 x 12 inch boxes with 2 inch square dividers.
The negatives are stored in rolls in the box. No sliding in and out of sleeves. Each box holds 36 rolls of film. You can grid off the top, and add notes about each roll.
They probably did this (Capa and Cartier-Bresson) because of how Cartier Bresson's family sold thread in boxes with dividers.
The other advantage of this, is that you keep a clear record of the shooting sequence for each roll of film.

Some of the cleanest negatives that I came across recently were ones that I have put in 100 foot roll cans, back in the 70's (no sleeves). They came out as clean as the day I put them in 40 plus years ago.

I vaguely seem to remember one of the articles about the Capa negatives talking about the difficulty in straightening the negs after they had been stored that way. I have enough trouble with negative curvature with freshly developed films - wouldn't storing them this way would make future scanning an absolute nightmare?

Matthew

 

[sjw617]

I vaguely seem to remember one of the articles about the Capa negatives talking about the difficulty in straightening the negs after they had been stored that way. I have enough trouble with negative curvature with freshly developed films - wouldn't storing them this way would make future scanning an absolute nightmare?

Matthew

I always store negatives / transparancies flat. I think the curl will cause problems later on for rolled negatives.
Weren't the recently found Capa stuff his outtakes? He may not have cared what happaned to them.

Steve

 

[David Goldfarb]

No, I think there were some famous shots in there, but they hadn't all been examined yet when the negs were found. I think it was just a convenient method of storing negs while covering a war, but it doesn't seem like a great idea long term.

Another recommendation I've heard from a conservator is that with glassine sleeves, the base side of the negatives should be toward the seams.

 

[amateriat]

Another recommendation I've heard from a conservator is that with glassine sleeves, the base side of the negatives should be toward the seams.

Perhaps that conservator is privy to some knowledge I don't have, but over the last few decades I've stored my negs the opposite way with no ill effects. And, it's that seam that I count on to prevent a moisture "seal" from being created between the glassine and emulsion-side negative. I might be proven wrong in 50 years, but I might not be around for a mea culpa. 😉


- Barrett

 

[fidget]

it's all recycled for me.
My film is scanned then filed away, each film in one of those return envelopes that come in junk mail, then stored in a cardboard shoe box. But, I have no idea what long term storage will do to them.
I have damaged one or two negs getting them in or out of the plastic files. so I bought no more...

 

[MartinP]

My film is scanned then filed away, each film in one of those return envelopes that come in junk mail, then stored in a cardboard shoe box. But, I have no idea what long term storage will do to them.

Beware that those envelopes are just about the most cheaply made that you will ever come across and the paper is extremely unlikely to be acid-free . . . .

 

[Freakscene]

Glassine is bad for negatives - it will cause the emulsion to yellow and harden and over time the emulsion will flake away from the base. The timeframe that this occurs over is decades, but I have photos that my father took in the 1950s that have suffered very seriously from having been stored in glassine.

Not all plastics leak plasticisers and 'archival' sleeves made from non-reactve mylar or polypropylene are a much better, less reactive option than glassine.

I stick with good quality archival plastic sleeves. Storage temperature and humidity are just as important and harder to manage, but why risk all your effort in using something that you suspect or know might be eroding your negatives?

Marty

 

[regularchickens]

I put mine in Lineco Polyguard film sleeves that come in a roll. The entire roll of film goes into one sleeve, and then I cut that apart and store it in Print File Ultima binder sheets that store the flim + sleeve together. I stopped using the regular Print File sheets after I realized that the scratches in my neg scans were coming from the Print File sheets themselves. I haven't had a problem with scratches since. It's an expensive solution, but it's better than spending time getting rid of scratches in Photoshop.

 

[photophorous]

I've been using the Printfile sleeves, but I'm considering switching to something else. I was reading about dusty negs and how to keep them clean when I came across a very logical comment by someone saying that when you slide your negatives out of one of those plastic sleeves it gives it a little static charge which will make dust stick to it. And, I've also noticed tiny scratches on my negatives that I think are caused by the sleeves. I guess that makes me an unhappy printfile customer.

Paul

 

[ARCHIVIST]

Just a point here.

Many of you are using the word 'plastic' in relation to neg file pages.

The plastic page is commonly PVC and should be avoided at all costs as it gives off gasses which are absosorbed by the emulsion of the processsed film and in time cause it to breakdown. stain etc.

What many of you call plastic is in fact polypropelene. This is an archivally safe material and is acid free, ph neutral. Print File is one make that uses this material. Mylar is another material which is also stable and most suitable.

The glassine pages are archivally stable ( the modern manufactured ones ) but the one big problem is moisture. In the event that they may become damp they will react like any other paper and stick to whatever is near them - in this case it will be the negatives. You will need to wash the paper residue from the negs, re-wash the negs, dry and re-file.

Glassine or polypropelene - it does not matter. Personal choice & preference.

I saw the comments on film being stored in rolls. I find that storing film this way can be a problem as the rolled film beccomes almost impossible to lay straight and always wants to curl up. It can also be difficult to have 36 exposures hanging either side of the neg carrier when printing. The risk of physical damage is too great.

Regards
Peter