[Nhcoll-l] Archival paper vs plastic

[Gill Comerford]

Hi Tonya

As requested some thoughts - I do not think paper products are outdated, indeed far from it.

However if you are thinking of making a change from card to plastic then you will need to compare the composition and properties of the both plastic and paper/card. If you wish to prevent mould then I suggest you do not place collection items in plastic lidded boxes as that will increase the likelihood of your objects becoming mouldy. If your objects are stored in card boxes and becoming mouldy then you need to make a thorough environmental survey of the building and services (RH and T) housing your collections.

There are many reasons for using archival quality paper products not least the life of the box and buffering properties of the card. A good archival box will last a least 100 years. How long will the plastic box last before becoming brittle. Will the composition of the plastic box endanger the object?

Cheers

Gill


Gill Comerford
Principle Conservator
The Conservation Centre
The Natural History Museum
Cromwell road
South Kensington
London
SW7 5BD
Tel 0207 942 5018
Mob 07920007064
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/core-research-labs/conservation-centre.html



From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Tonya.Haff at csiro.au
Sent: 06 August 2018 01:20
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Archival paper vs plastic

Hello all (again),

I have a question regarding the use of archival cardboard boxes vs plastic boxes for housing small plant and animal specimens. Do you all have thoughts or advice about which is preferred for long - term storage? I personally gravitate towards archival paper products, but realise this might be a bit outdated, given that there are archival plastics that may be better in terms of not providing food for moulds, etc. Thoughts appreciated.

Cheers,

Tonya

---------------------------------------------------------
Dr Tonya Haff
Collections Manager
Australian National Wildlife Collection
National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
Canberra, Australia
Phone: (+61) 02 62421566

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