Expert: Peter C. Amsden - 7/22/2006

Question
Peter, thank you for your response.

What is the best way to store older negatives?  I have discovered some 30-60 year old negatives in my sorting and wish to store  them as well.  Do they need the care of a photo?
I will follow your advice on labelling old photographs.  I plan to start labelling recent photgraphs of my family (for example, photos in the last 10-15 years) when I have completed sorting the older ones.  I have seen special felt-tip pens in photographic stores designed for labelling photos.  Would one of these special felt tips be acceptable for modern photos?

Thank you once more for your assistance.

Jim C.
St. Paul, MN

Answer
Jim,

Negatives do need the same care for sure. In fact they are THE originals. I presume that you are not talking about glass plate negatives. If you are then these need to be carefully folded into acid free paper one at a time.

If you are talking about the normal flexible variety then they should be kept in acid free negative sleeves. Store them at around the same temp. and humidity as the other photographic things. High humidity is the big killer for archived material.

I did mention a way in which to get acid free paper, but negative sleeves may be more difficult. Unfortunately it is hard to rely on sales people in stores. The chemistry of paper and plastic is pretty complex, and they rarely know about it. Their suppliers may well say that things are acid free, but they may not remain so. You can only rely on genuine suppliers such as:

Conservation Resources LLC
8000-H Forbes Place
Springfield
Virginia 22151
Tel: (800) 634 6932
Fax: (001) 703 321 0629

The Library of Congress, etc. will use these people, so they tend to be expensive, but it is the only certain way in which you can know that what you are buying is for real.
They may send you a catalogue, and they do sell small quantities.

They also sell these pens that you mention, but frankly they need to be treated with caution. Again, I know that the store people say that they are safe, but usually they are reading the box, and some manufacturers will tell you anything.  

The problem is that poor quality pens and materials are not going to have an instant effect - you may not notice anything amiss for fifty years, by which time the store owner will probably have closed his doors for good!

Me? I stick with the pencil and if you MUST write on negatives use white drawing ink and a mapping pen, but only on the very edges. If you spill the ink, you will not be able to remove it easily.

Needless to say, never use anything like adhesive tapes or glues - most contain all kinds of harmful chemicals.

Trust this answers you query, but always get back if you need something else.

Regards

Peter