funky acetate-like smell from CG sketches

[ginga123]

is that normal? i have not encountered this issue until today when i finally decided to open a large pack of Peach Girl sketches i've been dreading to scan (the pack is that big and just from 1 episode. lol) what causes that to happen and how should i go about handling them?

(don't get me started on storage! lmao i'm intently watching that topic and still torn between bag n box vs bag n books)

[Joost]

strange, never heard of that maybe it was the bag that had some residue ?

[iceman57]

Interesting, vinaigar syndrom normally applies on acetate and not on paper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulose_acetate_film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid

As paper contains cellulose, an unproper storage may affect documents integrity.
Would be interesting to have more details about this pack (where they glue on sketches or additionnaly materials ? Cels used as interleaves ? Bags ?).

[sensei]

Mostly older packs of sketches smell of Japanese mildew, which smells different from North American mildew. If you're not familiar with it, you might experience it as a "plastic" smell (though I get a strong "overripe banana" note in my head).

Happily, it clears with adequate ventilation. Microchamber paper (relatively inexpensive and available from Bags Unlimited) will also absorb the odor and also slow down any other deterioration processes in the paper.

[ginga123]

the smell is over powering when i open the bag of 108 genga, 43 corrections and there is no glue, tape, staples, etc attached to the sheets. it was neatly packaged in two filmsy, "crackle" bags that have re-sealable flaps. i had to take a break from scanning to get some fresh air for a couple of minutes. i am starting to wonder if this particular pack was rescued from a storage facility of sorts in order for it to absorb this odor.

it literally smells like Vinegar Syndrome, like this pack of sketches was stored together with a HUGE bunch of degrading acetate. all of the pack is in great shape, condition wise, except for the timing sheets. currently, most of the sketches from my collection do not have this issue and smell like rice paper should. i am lucky that none of my cels have yet to show signs of VS and are stored properly in portfolios. however, i am not sure how porous rice paper is compared to most other paper materials. this issue is making me rethink bagging sketches all together.

currently, i only bag sketches together if:

a) it is the same character from a specific sequence and episode

OR

b) the seller was very generous and sold me a fat folder's worth of sketches from an episode of a show-- like this pack in question

Should I air them out in this Memphis heat in the garage for a day or two and see if there is an improvement?

[iceman57]

Heat damages documents too, museum recommandation are 18°C (64°F), lower for storage.
Non humid ventilation is good for, test had been proceeded in japan some months ago by private collectors and effective. Let it breathe in a cold, non humid place for some days.
Sensei's Microchamber paper is well recommanded by museum conservators for pollutant cleanup.

[ginga123]

thank you for your insight everyone. you have been very helpful. i will try "airing" out the set in a cool, dark unused room for a few days and update you on the condition of the genga. if there is no improvement, the next step will be Sensei's micro-chamber method. in the meantime, i am going to locate a face mask.

[sensei]

A face mask would be a good idea in general. I once got a sketch set that had once been owned by a chain smoker, and I went into sneezing attacks every time I opened the envelope.

BTW, the manufacturer suggests one sheet of microchamber paper per comic-book-sized batch of paper, so don't feel as if you need a huge supply. You can also buy the larger size and cut them in half.

Good luck! We don't know where these sketches and cels have been before we got them, and I sometimes think that might be just as well. (Remember the Disney cels and set-ups that he donated to the Japan Museum of Fine Art, which didn't want them, and so they kicked around for years before being found in a leaky basement closet of a smallish technical college.)

[Keropi]

I learned first hand that if your paper collectibles get stored in a damp room with little ventilation at a constant 68%-74% relative humidity - the kind of cool dampness that grows mildew on your walls and gives you constant condensation on the inside of your windows during cold weather - that the paper is actually better off sealed in a bag and packed very tightly so that little air gets to it (stacked would be best).

But not many collectors have their paper stored in such lousy conditions. A more realistic test would be figuring out what warm/hot air humidity does to paper long term. If I moved to Hawaii some day and took my sketch bags with me, I wonder if I would be better served by stacking them out there too. Obviously a specialized environmental cabinet would be best, but if I didn't feel like paying for one and the electricity bill maybe I should just stack them there too.

I guess it all comes down to what type of paper damage am I trying to avoid the most? And I think foxing on production sketches would look terrible.

[iceman57]

A more realistic test would be figuring out what warm/hot air humidity does to paper long term. If I moved to Hawaii some day and took my sketch bags with me, I wonder if I would be better served by stacking them out there too. Obviously a specialized environmental cabinet would be best, but if I didn't feel like paying for one and the electricity bill maybe I should just stack them there too.
I guess it all comes down to what type of paper damage am I trying to avoid the most? And I think foxing on production sketches would look terrible.

Lifetime machinery test use is about $7000 + a student working on it to pay. About paper conservation there are already publications available in university press around the globe and museum conservator able to assist. Paper material is known and mastered, ain't as problematic as cel to manage in time, as cels are only some decades old whereas paper are centuries. By providing air ventilation, regulated temperature/humidity and absorbing pollutant, most of the job is done for a transmission or a donation.

[Keropi]

Well I can read about it, but there are going to be certain things that are out of my control because I don't feel like paying for a controlled environment. I've read books about paper conservation, but they do a lot of generalizing. They either generalize too much on things I already know about or they are too specific and don't fit my particular circumstance.

I would like a real life test better since I already know what I should and shouldn't be doing.

It's more like I'm trying to balance one form of paper damage versus another. Ideally I would like ventilate all of my paper collectibles, but when when you're talking about exposing them to Hawaiian humidity that's something else entirely. Many of my mom's papers have brown foxing on them and that's over a period of thirteen years or less. Wide open bags also invite silverfish (sometimes they even enter the box) so I pack my comic books and sketches tightly.

The last five years I've been writing things down only in pen. All those papers I wrote down in pencil back in the early/mid 1980s have faded so badly because of pencil smearing . Some of them are almost unreadable. Some things you just don't notice until they are well on their way to going downhill.

[iceman57]

I don't feel like paying for a controlled environment. I've read books about paper conservation, but they do a lot of generalizing.

Not that expensive, some little adjustment only cost tens or hundreds. Depending on the cost of your collectibles and the conservation level you like to reach.

They either generalize too much on things I already know about or they are too specific and don't fit my particular circumstance.

Mostly wroten in tempered weather conditions. Maybe Indian film institute publications would be more interesting for your needs, as they discovered the vinagar syndrom due to local weather conditions.

It's more like I'm trying to balance one form of paper damage versus another. Ideally I would like ventilate all of my paper collectibles, but when when you're talking about exposing them to Hawaiian humidity that's something else entirely.

Between Scylla and Charybdis
Here is an answer I tested two weeks ago for a Japanese collector looking to preserve his arts in a semi-tropical environment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator , so called "Hotel Minibar fridge". Silence, low temperature and 30% humidity, art visible through a glass, about $400.

[ginga123]

fascinating. i'm still airating the sketches. i'll take a look at them in the next day or two to see if the condition has improved.

[ginga123]

the smell is practically gone; but, i can still sense a very light VS odor when i flip through the pack. i'm extremely curious to whether the smell would return if i re-sacked them in new bags and checked them a few weeks later as a little experiment of my own.