Arg! Please tell me I didn't do any major damage.

[Katrina]

I just I left the closet holding my three cel books open for about 48 hours. In a room that gets a decent amount of sun. The book containing the fan cels was on top, and the books were still mostly in the shade, so I don't think I did damage. At least, it's been so long since I last looked at them, it's tricky to tell. But still, I know how to care for these things. I can't believe I just did that. I feel so irritated at myself right now. (Edit: Okay, the one spot I thought might have gotten some fading, looking at a scan, appears to have been faded before. So I feel a bit better on that.)

How good a job do the cel books do of preventing line fading, anyway?

[sensei]

You didn't do any major damage. I did seriously fade a cel I liked very much by framing it and hanging it on a wall that got indirect sunlight. Even though I used UV-blocking glass, it still faded noticeably after six months, at which point I deframed it and put it back in the closet. But scanning cels and taking them occasionally to events where you show them off to other collectors and interested fans are not going to affect them in this way. In general, it's what you do to a cel when you are not actively looking at it that causes major damage.

The issue, though, is that the fading is a reaction between the acetate, which is chemically unstable, and the trace lines, which contain powdered carbon mixed with plasticizers, which are also probably unstable. Light and unstable temperatures encourage this reaction, dark and stable temperatures deter it. And the type of paint that overlies the lines is another factor: warm shades like yellow, orange, and brown seem to encourage fading.

This process goes on even under good storage conditions: I can see small places in cels that I have had for over ten years where the lines have gone softer. So I think there is no permanent solution short of using a cold room (> 50 degrees F) to store cels. Regular inspection of your collection for signs of changes is a best practice, as is keeping them out of light and temperature changes when not being examined. Slitting the bags you keep them in so fumes don't build up is another good idea; likewise changing the bags regularly.

But your leaving the closet door open is not something to lose sleep over, thankfully. It's good that you take conservation of your art that seriously, in fact.

[JWR]

Considering the treatment a lot of cels go thru in life being transported to cons after con by dealers (packed into hot truck driven across country or packed in luggage in airplanes) a few hours of heat exposure while being protected from direct sunlight by the cel book should not be a problem. Most heat damage occurs from being leaft unprotected in direct sunlight fot days or under hot display lights for long periods of time.

[star-phoenix]

Just for future references, if you ever consider displaying your cels using frames (using UV plexi-glass <not glass>), I would recommend getting blackout curtains. They are very affordable, work very well at keeping direct and indirect sunlight away from the cels. I have them all over my house as I have my vintage collection displayed. I just ran around and checked again this morning, and none of them have any significant/noticeable fading when compared to 1.5 years ago when I first put them up on display here. It also helps to keep the house cooler, which saves a lot on the A/C bill if you live in a hot area like Texas!!