Cleaning of Paper Negatives
From Conservation of photographic negatives
| Conservation Treatments |
Surface cleaning shouldn’t be a standard treatment.
Every treatment should be tested first on a small spot under magnification.
[edit] Possible reasons for cleaning treatments
(NORRIS, DEBBIE HESS, 1998)
- Improvement of legibility of information and detail
- Improvement of stability due to removal of deteriorating adhesions
- Protection of the surrounding materials
Extreme caution with:
- Molded or otherwise degraded material
- Lifted emulsion
- Varnished (partial or complete) negatives
[edit] Treatments
- Unwaxed negatives: possibly eraser
(ALBRIGHT et al., 2003)
- Waxed negatives: Soft brush, Ethanol or hexane moistened cotton swab (weak solvents for wax)
(ALBRIGHT et al., 2003)
- Removing of old adhesions tapes: mechanically, direct contact or vapors of water or other solvents (depends on the solubility of the adhesion tape)
(ALBRIGHT et al., 2003)
- Experiments with
(JENNINGS ET AL., 2005)
- Bath of acetone: brightening of beeswax due to partial solubility in acetone (more on post than in pre waxed negatives, no visible changes in unwaxed negatives)
- Bath of water: slight removing of the yellow wax-color and reduction of transparency (more on post than in pre waxed negatives, no visible changes in unwaxed negatives): loss in transference after the wet processing of pre waxed negatives is already mentioned in the historical literature, can be reduced by subsequent overall application of heat which shouldn’t be recommended as a conservation method)
[edit] References
- ALBRIGHT et al., 2003. Albright, Gary E.; Chen, Jiuan- Jiuan; Jennings, Kate. Treatment Options for Paper Negatives. Topics in Photographic Preservation, 10, 19-28
- JENNINGS ET AL., 2005. Jennings, Katherine; Chen, Jiuan-jiuan; Albright, Garry E.. The Treatment of Wax-impregnated Paper Negatives. In: Constance McCabe ed. Coatings on Photographs. Washington D.C.: AIC. 255-266
- NORRIS, DEBBIE HESS, 1998. Surface Cleaning of Damaged Photographic Materials; Current Practice and Concerns. In S. Clark ed. Care of Photographic Moving Image & Sound Collections, 20th-24th July 1998, York, England. Institute of Paper Conservation. 96-101
