Testing materials

I am a free lance conservator working in India, in the field of
conservation of paper and materials, in the form of documents, etc.
I, along with my other colleagues in the field, are finding it very
difficult to know whether the materials that we are using in the
conservation process meet the specifications required. I and my
colleagues would be interested in having comments as to

    1.  Should one accept the specification as suggested by the
        suppliers or,

    2.  Should one have a testing facility of ones own to test the
        materials for their specifications before actually using
        them.

    3.  If the testing is to be carried out in house what are the
        minimum test that one must carry out and equipments on
        requires, and where from one could procure them.

    4.  I would also like to know whether any specifications are
        framed for the materials used in paper conservation? if so
        what are these specifications?

    5.  It would be helpful if the specifications for these
        materials are listed or stated:

            Tissue paper
            Handmade paper
            Thread
            Glue
            Pastes

I, along with my colleagues, would be enlightened to have the
comments on the above points in order to facilitate making a
decision.

Anand S. Akolkar


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:29
                Distributed: Tuesday, September 16, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-17-29-012
                                  ***