[NHCOLL-L:4286] re: Nalgene paper and Tyvek

Mon Apr 6 06:41:28 EDT 2009

Hi John,

Many thanks for this often non-realised piece of information about the
relative instability of Tyvek.

Could  this UV-instability also apply to labels of spun-bound
polyethylene (cf. Tyvek) which are currently being experimented using
'hot printers' for labelling fluid-preserved material?

With all good wishes, 
Simon Moore, MIScT, FLS, ACR, 
Senior Conservator of Natural Sciences. 
Hampshire County Council 
Recreation & Heritage Department, 
Museums & Archives Service, 
Chilcomb House, Chilcomb Lane, 
Winchester SO23 8RD. UK. 
Internal  8 327 6737 
01962 826737 
http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/biology 

________________________________

From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of John E Simmons
Sent: 03 April 2009 15:35
To: halford at sfu.ca
Cc: amsnyder at unm.edu; NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4285] re: Nalgene paper

The person who posted the query about Tyvek seems to have the
terminology a bit confused.  Tyvek is not considered archival (meaning
stable in the long-term), but is considered inert.  Polymers are not
archivally stable systems.  Tyvek is a form of spun-bonded polyethylene,
and like any polyethylene, it is susceptible to deterioration caused by
exposure to UV.  It is not surprising that it disintegrates inside the
walls of houses, considering the dose of UV it gets before the walls go
up.  It is not surprising that a map printed on spun-bonded
polyethylene, exposed to UV from natural light and probably unfiltered
fluorescents would disintegrate, either.  If you can avoid exposure to
UV, spun-bonded polyethylene can be reasonably stable, but how long it
will last depends on the formulation--it gets loaded up with other
materials to give it color, texture, rigidity, and so forth, any of
which can hasten its demise.  The company selling it may call it
archival, but this does not make it archival.

--John

John E. Simmons
Museologica
128 E. Burnside Street
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010
simmons.johne at gmail.com
303-681-5708
www.museologica.com
and
Adjunct Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
19 Deike Building
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-2709
jes67 at psu.edu

On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 11:44 PM, Steve Halford <halford at sfu.ca> wrote:

	This was just posted to SCIART-L:

	From: Andie Thrams <andiethrams at EARTHLINK.NET>
	Date: April 2, 2009 5:48:45 PM CDT
	To: BOOK_ARTS-L at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
	Subject: [BKARTS] Tyvek Tales
	Reply-To: Book_Arts-L <BOOK_ARTS-L at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>

	Two tyvek tales:

	1. I listened with horror to friends, who are general
contractors, as
	they discussed finding disintegrating tyvek inside the walls of
homes
	built less than twenty years ago. They said they found tyvek
sheeting
	in the walls of homes they were renovating in tattered shreds.
They
	are returning to using good old tar paper for their own  work as
a
	result.

	2. A USGS map from REI, that has been on our wall for under four
	years, recently crumbled into a zillion pieces and fell right
off the
	wall. It had been printed out from their in-store on-demand
machines
	on a tyvek-like material, though I am uncertain exactly what
that
	material is. To their credit, REI refunded in full. I asked
about
	printing out on paper instead, but this option is not available.
	(Yikes.)

	So, what of tyvek and the book arts? I understand some tyvek is
sold
	as "archival," and that this has to do with the various coatings
on
	the tyvek. And, this is what I have been using. But... now I
really
	wonder about tyvek. Can we rest assured about the longevity of
this
	material? Or am I nuts to use it in books I would not want to
fall
	apart in the near future? I really do love how it takes color
and have
	enjoyed using it for end sheets and other purposes, too.

	Any thoughts out there?

	Thanks!
	Andie Thrams

	On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 7:38 AM, Alexandra M Snyder
<amsnyder at unm.edu> wrote:
	> Dear Alastair,
	>
	> I have used Tyvek (product name), which is also made of
spun-bonded
	> polyethylene olefin fibers, for labeling oversize fish
specimens in tanks of
	> ethanol, formalin, and isopropanol.  The label is printed
using an impact
	> printer (Epson LQ 870). The thermal transfer labels/plastic
paper do not
	> work as well for tank specimens as the hole tends to tear out.
I purchase
	> Tyvek 6060 sheets (#18)  of 23"x35" from University Products,
Massachusetts
	> USA. (www.universityproducts.com) This is a heavier paper than
the rolls of
	> type 1443R.
	>
	> Lex
	> **************************************
	> Alexandra M Snyder
	> Collections Manager-Fishes
	> Museum of Southwestern Biology MSC03-2020
	> 302 Yale NE
	> University of New Mexico
	> Albuquerque NM 87131 USA
	> PH/FAX 505.277.6005
	> http://www.msb.unm.edu/fishes/index.html
	>
	>

	--
	Steve Halford (halford at sfu.ca)
	Museum Technician
	Department of Biological Sciences
	Simon Fraser University
	8888 University Drive
	Burnaby, B.C. Canada               Phone
	V5A 1S6                                  778-782-3461

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