Volume 12, Number 1
Jan 1988

Products & Services

Paper Conservation & Scientific Equipment

• A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer that scans a range from 7800 to 350 cm^-1 with a resolution of 4 cm^-1 has been introduced by Perkin-Elmer Corp. at a price of only $16,500, according to the Oct. 12, 1987 Chemical & Engineering News, p. 21.
• At the Gadgets Meeting of IPC Sept. 18, Tom Collings described the T.C. Suction Probe, saying that it was the only way to properly wash after spot bleaching. He said a semi-circular probe could be used for in-book work near the spine and a rectangular probe for the removal of pressure-sensitive tape will be available shortly. (This probe is supposed to be distributed in the U.S. by Conservation Resources International, but they have not responded to requests for prices and descriptive material.)
• At the same meeting, Ron Buxton of Powder Products Ltd. described a new Paper Cleaning System, the same one mentioned on p. 74 of v.11 in this Newsletter. He described it as a dry cleaning process for all types of paper and parchment, which removes stains without leaving any chemical residue. One or several leaves can be treated in a 30" x 40" operating area. It works by ozone bleaching, generated by a high voltage discharge tube. Being a health hazard, the glass lid on the table top unit is lacking. There was some concern from the audience as to whom this was being marketed to, and Mr. Buxton said that it was primarily designed for gallery and framing establishments. Other questions, e.g. from Vincent Daniels, were concerned with the carbonyl groups in the aldehydes and ketones generated by this process and the subsequent stability of the cellulose structure and the possibility of color reversion (return of the original stain or color). Deacidification was seen by Mr. Buxton to be essential after bleaching, but he said that there was no need to wash the object beforehand. The ma-chine retails at about �8,000 ($14,400). [From Conservation News #34, Nov. 1987, p. 31.]
• A Cellophane Tape Removal Kit is now available from University Products, P0 Box 101, South Canal St., Holyoke, MA 01041. A high-temperature, hand-held, easy-to-use time saver, the tape remover heats and loosens the carrier. Often the tool is enough to completely remove all sticky residue; other times one must use a pick-up or rubber cement remover. Inventor: Bill Minter. [From Consect News, the newsletter of the Conservation Section of the SAT.]

For Sale By Owner

57 Decorative gilding/stamping tools, all with handles, in good condition. Inked copy of impression on request. $250 for all, will not split. Also: 7 lines rolls, 5 decorative rolls, 2 spine polishers, 2 barrel polishers, and brass self-center type holder. All but 2 rolls have handles. Inked copy of impressions on request. $200 for all, will not split, or make offer. Philip Alleyn, P.O. Box 9052, Boston, MA 02114 (617/266-6292).

For Book Conservation And Binding

• Knives that supposedly never need sharpening (but for kitchen use, not for bookbinding) are sold for $11.50 each by Orvis, Blue Hills Dr., P0 Box 12000, Roanoke, VA 24022-8001 (703/345-3600). Barbara Kretzmann of Ithaca, NY, wants to know if any readers can think of a way to persuade a manufacturer to produce them in the form of a bookbinder's paring knife.
• A paste strainer can be made for $5 with an embroidery hoop and nylon mesh or other woven material, or plastic screen.
• A quilters' tool shown at the GBW Standards Seminar by Carol Sue Whitehouse, and used to push the needle through the spine in headbanding, is available from House of Quilting, Rte. 3, Box 433, Fayetteville, NC 28306 (919/868-3842). An illustration can be included in the next issue; no room here.

Suppliers & Catalogs

• The Guild of Book Workers' 1985 Supply List is due for revision this spring. The old one cost $12.50, which seems high, but it is comprehensive and easy to use, with approaches by supply type, geographical area, and supplier.
• William E. Young Co. (906 Sewall Ave., Asbury Park, NJ 07712, 201/988-6060), sells a radiowelder in different models for about $6,000 up, for semi-automatic production. They also sell rolls of encapsulating material which have been heat sealed on each edge to form a sleeve--polyester, polypropylene and spunbonded polyester. The sleeves may then be cut off to length and sealed. They come in widths up to 9". Examples of prices for 9" inside dimension flat tubing, on a 100' roll:

  200 gauge polyester Type D or equivalent
  200 gauge polypropylene (archival)
  $34.68/roll*
  26.97/roll*

• ^*Prices are FOB Asbury Park, NJ, as of August 18, 1987. Archival Aids (P0 Box 5, Spondon, Derby DE2 7BP, England) has sent a number of product sheets and price lists for archival and nonarchival supplies and equipment, but it is hard to recommend any of them because they give no indication of the chemicals and other ingredients of the products listed. The principle of full disclosure, which American conservators require from their suppliers, is not heeded by this company. There is a nonaqueous deacidification solution, and one for deacidification and strengthening called HCMC, but no information on what is in either one. The book repair materials are "not necessarily archival"--but what are they? There is a commercial flood recovery service which uses the same process developed by Eric Lundquist for Document Reprocessors (including inventories, smoke removal, freeze drying, fumigation, rebinding, restoration and replacement)--but some of these are skilled operations; who does them, and how does the customer know how well they will be done? The "Mills 03 Ozonator Cleaning System for Paper and Parchment" is optimistically described, but no mention of the destructive nature of ozone is made. There are no references to published or unpublished literature relating to the soundness of the procedures and materials advocated.
• A note in the CBBAG Newsletter says that the Russell tannery at Bancroft Hitchin has closed, but Oasis is still being produced at another tannery within the Garner group. Russell Bookcrafts (bookbinding supplies) is also vacating the premises at Bancroft Hitchin, but is seeking alternative premises. Their new address will be available shortly. [Another newsletter says that G. W. Russell is going out of the bookbinding supplies business.]
• Miriam Studio (Via Mameli, 3; 37126 Verona; Italy) offers conservation products and services, including those needed for books and documents. Their multilingual flyer says, "We send our materials all over the world and can correspond in English, French and German."
• In July Paper Technologies, Inc., announced their new address: 25801 Obrero, Suite 4, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 (714/768-7497, 7498). This month they surveyed their customers, to ask them what their preferences were in an archival endleaf, so they could have it made the way they wanted it. They also have adhesives, backing boards, blotting papers, boxboard and boxes.
• Pohlig Brothers, Inc., Century Division, sent their catalog in October. Two notable items in it are: 1) their "Econo" microfilm boxes of acid-free stock, at 19� apiece the cheapest around, probably; and 2) "For-Mat" acidity test kit, which contains 1 fl. oz. of "test solution" for $12.
• Conservation Materials, Ltd. (P0 Box 2884, Sparks, NV 89432, 702/331-0582) sent their $4.00 catalog in November. Some interesting items are: dry Kizukishi paper precoated with Zin Shofu starch paste, 7 or 8 kinds of leather dressing on p. 567 a page of instructions on measuring relative humidity accurately, and a chart of incompatible chemicals in the back. This is a responsible catalog, compiled with the help of conservators, and providing references to the literature for many of the products.
• The Atlantic Paper Co. (Gulliver's Wharf, 105 Wapping Lane, London E1 9RW) sent a catalog in September that is mostly paper, board and boxes, but which also has a section on conservation and framing equipment. They sell japanese paper from Paper Nao; Best "CC [Chris Clarkson] line" bookbinding cord; Silversafe Photostore; brushes; and so on. They give information about their products: pH; shelf life; test results; lightfastness; and much more. Very responsible. [Readers should take into account that the Editor does not use the products in these catalogs, and gets only occasional feedback from people who do. ]

Supplies

• Elvace 1874 is now being manufactured by Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., Emulsion Polymers Division, P0 Drawer K, Dover, DE 19903. It has been given the new name of Elvace 40-704, which is all right, and apparently a new identity, which is not. Here are the facts the company provided Hilary Kaplan, conservator at Emory University:

  A vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer emulsion
  pH 4.5 - 5.5
  Ideal storage temperature is 72°F. Stability at 72° is more than 180 days.
  Formula: Proprietary
  Permissible exposure concentration: 3 ppm (OSHA) &. 1 ppm (ACGIH)
  Contact with skin may cause irritation or rash.
  Local exhaust and general ventilation recommended.
  Protective gloves and goggles recommended, and other protective equipment as required to prevent skin contact.

• Christine Ianna (Queensland Museum) has conducted preliminary tests on comparisons between oven-bags and Mylar. An infra-red spectrophotometric comparison was made between Mylar and the oven-bag film, which indicated that the oven-bag polymer is a polyester which is structurally very similar to Mylar. Samples of film were also exposed to 50°C over a seven-day period. There was no sweating or other evidence of plasticizers. From these preliminary results, it would seen that oven bags may be a cheap and acceptable alternative for the storage of fragile papers and photographs and would be particularly useful in small museums, and in private or domestic collections. [From Queensland Division Newsletter No. 3, 1987, as reprinted in the ICCM National Newsletter No. 23, June 1987.]
• Pellon is a polyester material commonly used in textile pressure mounts and as a support for washing works of art on paper. The September WAAC Newsletter, v.9 #3, p. 11, reports a disturbing discovery: Pellon 910 contains an acrylic foam binder which has been found to yellow in time. A company spokesman says it should not be used in long term storage or, for that matter, in any archival production. He recommends a new product as a substitute: ACXEL 20, 35 and 70, which are 100% polyester, with no binders or sizings. The WAAC Newsletter is the publication of the Western Association for Art Conservation, edited by Chris Stavroudis, 1115 N. Flores St. #8, Los Angeles, CA 90069 (213/ 654-8748).

Preservation Supplies And Equipment

• "Pink Pull Fasteners," as safe substitutes for rubber bands, are sold by GripTites Inc., 108 Dunn St., Rochester, NY 14621 (716/342-3862), but test results furnished by the company via Myra Jo Moon may show they are not so safe. They shrink when autoclaved; if they also shrink in floods, would they cinch the old books and the packages they are holding together? We need more information on their characteristics in use and over time.
• Bookguard Water Repellent for Books is an aerosol spray invented by Dr. Karl Reimer, chemist of Reno, Nevada, after reading about the water damage to books in the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in April 1986. It does waterproof books without changing their appearance or making the pages stick together. Moisture can still pass in and out of the book in the form of vapor. A patent is pending and permanence tests are under way. The literature from the supplier answers many of conservators' questions. Write General Synthetics, Inc., P0 Box 1118, Poway, CA 92064 (619/ 679-7940).
• Drawstring plastic bags for rainy days can be ordered for 2. 3� each in lots of 3000 from Browncor International, Inc., 3251 S.W. 11th Ave., P0 Box 21248, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33335 (800/327-2278). In smaller quantities, they are more (4� each in lots of 500). Custom logos are possible; price already includes name, address and phone; blank bags cost less.
• A microfilm reader that is said to be easy to use for long periods at a time with minimal fatigue is the Northwest 2020A. Northwest is also known as Micron. [From MAPS Newsletter, Fall 1987.1
• A photocopier for books with a 90° copy surface like the Xerox 4000 will be coming out in the spring, developed by Dual Copy Systems (also known as Dual Office Supplies). They also distribute the face-up copier the Archivist, and service it. For information, write them at 2411 Bond St., University Park, IL 60466 (312/534-1500; ask for John Franzese and say you want to ask about the copier.)