Photographs

• Do not keep your photographs in Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or Vinyl) or acetate pouches.
• Do not store your photographs on cardboard containing acid. Do not store your photographs in direct sunlight, humid or conditions of excessive heat.
• Do store photographs separately as this minimises damage.
• Do store photographs in paper enclosures that are acid and lignin free (lignin is co-product from pulp in the manufacturing of paper and is used as a binding agent).
• Do keep your photographs in a suitable plastic container such as polyester or polypropylene (Tupperware). Do store your photographs horizontally, as this prevents bending and mechanical damage.

Books

• Do not store your books directly against walls, but keep them at approximately 1,5cm away.
• Do not let your books lean to one side on the shelf.
• Do not let your books hang over the edges of the bookshelf.
• Do not store larges books next to store small ones.
• Do not store paper- and cloth-bound books next to leather ones.
• The acidity and oil in the leather will permeate the paper and cloth and speed up deterioration.
• Do not stack books in a pile. Do not ever use elastic or string to keep books together.
• Do not try and feed your book into a photocopy machine.
• Do keep your books in an upright position.
• Do keep your bookshelves full to prevent them from leaning over.
• Do use bookends if your shelves are not full.
• Do store rare, expensive and vellum books in book boxes.
• Do store books in fragile condition in book boxes.
• Do make sure that your book boxes are made of high archival-quality material and that the box is made to fit the book’s dimensions exactly.
• Do keep books that are fragile together with flat undyed cotton, linen in a box wrapped with acid-free paper.
• Do remove all acidic components from books e.g. bookmarks, scraps of paper, pressed flowers or any other foreign objects such as paper clips, pins and staples.

Unbound paper

• Do not store paper for different weights and sizes together.
• Do not store single sheets of paper with books, as the weight of the books will damage the paper.
• Do not store more than fifteen sheets together at a time, but rather place them in separate folders.
• Do separate documents of different paper quality separately e.g. historical manuscripts and computer printouts.
• Do keep your folders in archival-quality document storage boxes.
• Keep all folders of the same size together. Do store your folders in an upright position – hanging folders and racks are ideal.

Large documents

• Do not keep alkali-sensitive documents in alkali-buffered folders.
• Do keep large documents such as plans, maps and family trees flat in acid-free buffered folders.
• Do remember that the acceptable humidity for ideal storage conditions is 30% to 50%.
• Do use acid-free tissue paper to separate documents with colours or of special value.
• Do remember that oversized documents in good condition can be rolled up individually.
• Do keep rolled-up documents in a tube with low lignin and pH-neutral materials.

Old newspapers

• Do remember that newspaper deteriorates extremely quickly and should be preserved carefully.
• Photocopying and microfilming are the most practical ways of preserving this type of paper.
• Do remember to keep a stock of acetate pouches to keep your newsprint as well as photo’s and documents in.
• Do remember that pollution severely damages anything.
• Do remember that with basic and proper care papers, documents and photographs can be stored with relatively little expense. If grandma’s boxes of photographs are still in the old biscuit tin in the back of the cupboard where they have been for the last 100 years, they are probably best left where they were.

Acid Free Stationery

What and where in and around Cape Town:

Boxes and lids Info Store 2 Silverstone Rd, Kilarney Gardens, Tel: 021 557 9656  or  021 557 9656  Cell: 082 781 9099

Mike Ressel (Sales) www.myinfostore.co.za Size: 12 x 33 cm x 25 cm high, manufactured in art alkaline-based process, guaranteed 100% acid-free. Holds A4 size paper. Box: R11.50 ex VAT, subject to change. Lid: R3.70 ex VAT subject to change. Minimum: 10 boxes.

Buy the same per box from Cornerstone Family Projects Contact: Marianne Meyer Tel: 021 976 9710; Cell: 083 772 5859

Paper and poster board Le Papier De Port Shop 39 A, Mill Street, Gardens Shopping Centre, Gardens. Tel: 021- 462-4796 Canson – A2, A4 160g – all colours Cansord – A4, A1 150g – all colours Xerox printer paper: According to the scrap bookers all printer paper is acid-free. I would rake this with reservation until proven.

Rotatrim paper: I have spoken to the manufacturers and they assure me that their paper is also ph neutral Typek-printer paper: ph neutral; guaranteed not to yellow if stored under archival conditions.

Scrapbook A4 paper: in various colours and in fancy background prints as well as poster board in black etc. All acid-free.

S Star Elements paper: 100 sheets for about R50.00, A4 size is acid Free. (Available at Pick and Pay Hypermarket).

S Star paper products: A4 board 160 gsm, free of acid and lignin.

Plastic sleeves Lion Brand When selecting page protectors or photo protector sheets remember that the three Poly’s: polyester, polyethylene, arid polypropanol are only archival-safe materials. If the package or your vendor can’t verify the ‘P content of the materials, don’t buy the product.

Pens and glue All Pentel products: Pens, gel pens etc. all are acid-free.

All gel pens: All get pens are manufactured, at the same factory as Pentel regardless of the make. Thus acid-free.if you

Prit glue stick is acid free.

Bic stick is acid free.

Henzo glue: available at “the deckle edge” in Tyger Valley.

Scrapbooks and photo albums

Scrapbook photo corners are acid-free.

Henzo photo corners: Photo First, Tyger Valley Centre. Henro photo album: with acid-free photo corners (300 photos) Good buy but pricey.

Photo First Tyger Valley Centre.

Written by Marianne Meyer [email protected]

Article published in the 4/2006 Edition of Capensis With kind Permission Western Cape Genealogical Society of South Africa http://www.ggsa.info/