Hey everyone,
I am sure that this topic has been bought up many, many times, and that there are multiple sites explaining the best ways to store cels / sketches / gengas.
Anyway, I wanted to get some thoughts on what is actually the best way to store and safe keep my cels? I have a couple now and really want to store them well. I was thinking of a folder of some sorts, a book that I can look through. I have also looked into cel bags (PP and PE) but I am still unsuare as to what way I should go. Ultimately, I want to protect the cels and sketches the best way they can be protected.
I live in a sub tropic environment, and the humidity can really get up there.
Let me know what you think, your opinions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
ssvegit04
Storage of cels
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ssvegito04
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Storage of cels
You can take control of my mind and my body, but there is one thing a Saiyan always keeps... his PRIDE!
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sensei
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Re: Storage of cels
My practice: Polypro bags ("Large Life Magazine" size from Bags Unlimited), not sealed and with a corner clipped or a side slit open, stored inside Itoya archival Profolios. Scan on arrival, inspect physically every three months, change bags on a every-other-yearly rate, or whenever the back of the bag is severely puckered. On that regimen I've been able to keep my cels in good health, with the exception of a few that have some kind of instability in the cel paint that has caused a gradual change in color.
As I understand it, there are two issues. First, the cels themselves are chemically active, and allowing the byproducts of the internal reaction to build up inside the bags can accelerate deterioration. Then the paint and trace lines add exotic chemicals that react to each other and to the cel. In really bad cases, this leads to "vinegar syndrome," a process in which the acetate in the cel breaks down to acetic acid (or vinegar), causing buckling and ultimately permanent damage to the image. So the bags need to be open to the air.
Second, hot, humid conditions are bad for cels, speeding up deterioration in another way. So you need to control the storage environment as much as possible. As I understand, the ideal way to store cels (and we are talking archival storage in research libraries here) is in unsealed bags hung on their side so as not to put any weight on them, in a light-tight box, drawer, or room that is kept low in humidity and at a temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. (I.e. a room used to store vintage prints of movies, which are made from the same or a similar celluloid-based plastic.)
But overall, limiting your collection's exposure to light, temperatures above 70 degrees, and humid air, while allowing its fumes to vent freely (and airing them regularly while inspecting your collection) is a valid alternative.
As I understand it, there are two issues. First, the cels themselves are chemically active, and allowing the byproducts of the internal reaction to build up inside the bags can accelerate deterioration. Then the paint and trace lines add exotic chemicals that react to each other and to the cel. In really bad cases, this leads to "vinegar syndrome," a process in which the acetate in the cel breaks down to acetic acid (or vinegar), causing buckling and ultimately permanent damage to the image. So the bags need to be open to the air.
Second, hot, humid conditions are bad for cels, speeding up deterioration in another way. So you need to control the storage environment as much as possible. As I understand, the ideal way to store cels (and we are talking archival storage in research libraries here) is in unsealed bags hung on their side so as not to put any weight on them, in a light-tight box, drawer, or room that is kept low in humidity and at a temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. (I.e. a room used to store vintage prints of movies, which are made from the same or a similar celluloid-based plastic.)
But overall, limiting your collection's exposure to light, temperatures above 70 degrees, and humid air, while allowing its fumes to vent freely (and airing them regularly while inspecting your collection) is a valid alternative.
