My cel storage solution

For the n00bs of cel collecting and production art . . . and for some of us old-timers, too. Post your questions on anything that puzzles you.
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earl
Eiketsu - Mastermind
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My cel storage solution

Post by earl »

I don't have many cels and don't intend on buying too many more in the future. My animation art collection is mostly comprised of concept art, sketches, etc. I'm also not a big fan of binders. Sketches (and similar), when placed in mylar sleeves with backing boards and micro chamber paper, can be safely stacked in archival boxes. (I prefer boxes for storage.) That being said, I was struggling to find a good (and relatively inexpensive) method for storing cels in a box. They need to be stored vertically, but need enough support that they don't lean on each other or sag. This is the solution I came up with and I am very happy with how it turned out:

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The box is a a plastic file box that I purchased for about $15. It is big enough to fit material up to 11x14 (obviously this wouldn't work for oversized cels). I drilled holes on each side of the box in rows at the top and the bottom. I then ran thin nylon cord through the holes twice, making it possible to slip a cel (bagged, boarded, with accompanying material) between the two strings. This keeps the cel standing straight without adding any pressure to the cel itself. You can shake the box and the cels hardly move. As far as light is concerned, the box is stored in a closet so I'm not too worried about light damage. As far as airflow is concerned, the sleeves are left open, the holes add a bit of ventilation, each is bagged with MC paper, and the box will be opened at least every few months, so I'm not too worried about it. There are 20 cels in the box at the moment, but I could use the space between the current cels if I needed to and get another 20-40 cels in the box.

The downsides to this method are that getting the cels into the box can be a bit tedious and obviously this isn't a space saver. However, from what I've seen of Itoya binder (and binder page) prices, I think this cost me quite a bit less.

Any thoughts?
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GoalieZero
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Re: My cel storage solution

Post by GoalieZero »

Damn, that's pretty ingenious! The only downside is space and the number of cels you could fit in the box. Maybe for those of us with large collections, this would be a great way to preserve upper tier cels.

Thanks for sharing those photos! I'll definitely keep this method in mind down the road.
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