Blocking of RC prints

    1.  Is there a brief explanation as to why resin coated
        photographic prints bond together as if they where glued,
        even when there is just a spot of moisture on one of them
        and they are placed together before they are completely dry?
        Also why, if there was some moisture present, and they are
        separated before they are "completely dry", is there a mat
        finish at the point(s) where the two prints touched on the
        print in which emulsion side was up?

    2.  As I just make another print when the above happens I have
        not given this much thought or testing.  When I find two
        resin coated photographic prints stuck together, I have just
        placed them in water and then tried to separate them after
        the are wet by slowly pulling them apart.  I can only save a
        print which has its back bonded, on the ones in which the
        emulsion side is bonded, the emulsion usually tears off (or
        has the surface damage mentioned above).  A staff member has
        prints and no negatives, so is there a procedure for
        separating them that works better?

Frank A, Reynolds
Hunt Institute
Carnegie Mellon University

                                  ***
                 Conservation DistList Instance 10:101
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 15, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-101-007
                                  ***