Solander boxes

Lydia C. Egunnike <l.egunnike [at] snark__slq__qld__gov__au> writes

>... If anyone knows of a
>solander box manufacturer in Australia not using wood (i.e a
>suitable board instead), could I please have the details. I would
>also be interested in hearing from anyone who has carried out any
>research on solander box materials and their effects on paper based
>material.

Would you consider polypropylene solander boxes? Here at the
Australian National Maritime Museum we have been working with Jack
Jones, agent for Corex Plastics, to produce low cost and durable
corrugated polypropylene boxes to store our `Fini' frames in (sizes
A-G). They come with polypropylene web (seatbelt) lifting straps and
heavy duty 3M Dual-Lock Reclosable Fasteners. The material used is
4mm archival/food grade corrugated polypropylene sheet (also known
as "coreflute") and the vertical walls are ultrasonically welded
across three thicknesses. This makes the whole construction very
strong. Currently the sizes available are (internal dimensions):

    595 x 435 x 50 mm (B)   around AUD $ 25.00
    900 x 665 x 50 mm (D)   around AUD $ 55.00
    1280 x 930 x 50mm (G)   around AUD $ 85.00

Minimum quantities do apply. Fillers are available to reduce
internal size if required. We are in the process of producing the
following sizes:

    (A) 410 x 305 x 50mm,
    (C) 745 x 550 x 50mm and
    (F) 1040 x 835 (with filler to give (E) 1040 x 760) x 50mm

We had a prototype box tested by Vinod Daniel (Head, Research Centre
for Materials Conservation and the Built Environment) at the
Australian Museum, for hygrometric half-life. As expected, the lag
was 2-3 hours. The boxes would be suitable for the storage of flat
works (mounted or unmounted). You may decide to include a sheet of
microchamber mountboard as a buffer if you think the boxes will be
moving in and out of air-conditioned areas.

We have investigated the polypropylene material and are satisfied
that it is chemically inert. You may have boxes constructed in a
range of colours--some people use this for colour coding
collections. The only colour not recommended for archival purposes
is black, as this contains recycled material. Similar boxes have
been developed with conservators and registrars at other Australian
institutions and their dimensions are as follows:

    686 x 515 x 60mm
    620 x 450 x 70mm
    450 x 320 x 100mm

For orders and further information please contact

    Jack Jones
    3R Packaging Services Pty. Ltd.
    7 Ocean View Road
    Gorokan,  New South Wales, 2263
    Australia
    Phone/Fax: +61 02 4392 3347

Veronica Bullock
Paper Conservator
Conservation
Australian National Maritime Museum
PO Box 5131
Sydney
New South Wales, 1042
+61 2 9552 7763
Fax: +61 2 9552 2318

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:42
                 Distributed: Monday, November 9, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-42-012
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