AnimeMuseum wrote:to them [cels] are waste and treated like waste. Pan cels are rolled up and cels are just thrown into its cut bag and then thrown into a box.
Stop it PLEASE, you're making my stomach turn with anxiety.
For everyone who says "I wash my hands firstm then handle cels", if you think that's safe you're kidding yourself. As it's been mentioned here, the oils from your skin do lasting damage to acetate/paper- just as these materials themselves slowly destroy themselves as gasses escape and it's acidity reacts with the rest of the material.
When you wash your hands, sure, you remove dirt but the oils are always there. If you get a fingerprint (made from skin oils) on the acetate you'll find if difficult to remove. You know the saying, "prevention is better than cure"- it applies here.
Holding a cel by its edges is good if you don't have gloves, so stick with that practice.
I find it's just as important, if not MORE SO, to use gloves/cotton T-shirt fabric etc when handling settei. Such copies are done on thin paper which absorb oils quickly and can permanently stain the paper. I accidentally held onto one sheet whilst fiddling around with my scanner and after 30 seconds, I noticed a dull mark on the paper. Bummer.
For anyone that wants to use white cotton gloves, you can get them off the rack in any chemist and they cost about US$5 or less. well worth it to keep your artwork in good nick.
Which reminds me, I need to place all my cels in bags and must remove them from any backgrounds- that watercolour paint damages acetate no end as it becomes really dry and abrasive...