Quick question regarding microchamber paper

[Moop]

With a fair measure of the usual I'd-rather-have-a-root-canal factor, I'm about to embark on the dreaded rebag-all-cels mission. I don't collect much that's pre-1990, and even though I've never used microchamber paper, I've yet to see any signs of chemical change besides a few fading trace lines. Whew! This time, though, I'm going to play it safe by adding that extra bit of precaution to the mix.

I know that the standard way to do it is to place the paper against the unpainted side of the cel before bagging, but I'm wondering if anyone knows whether the direct contact is actually necessary...? Like most collectors, I store my artwork in Itoyas, with one end of the bag open and facing the open end of the Itoya page to allow the escape of any gases. My question is, assuming that the microchamber paper attracts and absorbs gases as they develop, would it still do its job effectively if it were placed inside each Itoya page, rather than inside the cel bag itself? I really dislike papering the front of all of my cels for a couple of reasons - but primarily because when I can no longer look at them, I become strictly a museum curator...and while I will do everything possible to keep these little bits of plastic healthy and beautiful, in all selfishness, that's not why I started collecting them.

[Jadeduo]

LOL, I'm not sure on that, I've always put the microchamber in the bags. What's interesting, is I am in the middle of my first rebag since starting with microchamber paper, and I am noticing I don't have to change every single bag like in the past where it was, all bags must go! They would get all stuck to the bag and there would be some serious bag wrinkling, sometimes I would get that white chalky stuff on the bag, so I wholeheartedly recommend everyone use it in some form or the other!

Although I will guiltily admit to putting the paper on the back of the cel if there is stuck rice paper, I have always been nervous about removing it, because I don't want the paint come off. I figure this will help? ^_^

If I want to take out my cels and look at them I generally just go to my gallery, it is more for me than anyone else, although I do love sharing . The collection has gotten so big over there years, it is hard to break out all the books anytime I want to look at them. So putting the microchamber paper on the front has been super great, and calms the health check worries. Although I do a visual check about once a quarter.

If I am going traveling with some pieces to show at a convention or event, I will move the paper to the same folder but when they go back home in their home books the paper goes back into the bag.

Sorry I can't be more help!
JD

[sensei]

There's a lot that isn't known about cel chemistry, as the composition of sheets of cel stock changes from source to source. And so even the makers of MicroChamber paper are coy about saying that it will prevent vinegar syndrome, though chemically it is rated to absorb and neutralize both acetic acid and its chemical predecessors. In an earlier discussion I commented:

A quick check confirms that Kodak's "Molecular Sieve" technology and Conservation Resources' MicroChamber products use the same chemical neutralizer, a form of zeolite combined with an antacid buffer (typically calcium carbonate). From what I can tell, the "Molecular Sieve" product is a zeolite powder, while MicroChamber products bind the zeolite to a paper or rag board base. Their properties are similar, according to a Library of Congress Preservation Directorate report, with the powdered form being somewhat more effective in taking up acetic acid and retaining it.

However, the LOC report notes that proper ventilation is essential to their effective use. When tested in an airtight environment, the researchers found, "the volatiles emitted by degrading materials interacted with other items immediately adjacent, rather than being neutralized by the sorbent a few inches away" (p. 15). Both forms of zeolite were effective means of absorbing damaging substances, they concluded, "provided that their application is made with an understanding of their limitations" (p. 16).

This report dealt with conservation of paper artifacts, like most studies I've found. So far I've not found sufficient data on conserving cels, which obviously have a less predictable chemical constitution, more so than film. Still, this report suggests that the closer you can get the zeolite or zeolite-charged material to the cel, which is itself the source of the acetic acid and other chemical byproducts, the more effectively it will help increase its lifespan. Also that ventilation is essential to the effective use of zeolites.

(You can check the original Vinegar Syndrome thread for links to technical info and more discussion, the gist of which is that conservation of paper products and film are relatively well researched but that cel conservation remains mysterious in lots of ways. The Getty Conservation Institute is partnering with the Disney Studio to clarify the chemistry involved.)

So I've thought that putting a sheet in the bag but not against the painted side a potentially valid compromise. But, provided that the cels are inspected frequently, if only by flipping through the Itoyas, which sucks air into the pockets and presses it out, then putting the MicroChamber paper in the pocket with the bagged cel might also be a valid compromise. Library Conservationist Karen Hong Saracino simply says that it's prudent to include MicroChamber paper "in the storage space."

In such a case, I'd recommend slitting the cel bag all the way down one side, maybe two sides, to provide as much access to ventilation as possible.

[Moop]

LOL, I'm not sure on that, I've always put the microchamber in the bags. What's interesting, is I am in the middle of my first rebag since starting with microchamber paper, and I am noticing I don't have to change every single bag like in the past where it was, all bags must go! They would get all stuck to the bag and there would be some serious bag wrinkling, sometimes I would get that white chalky stuff on the bag, so I wholeheartedly recommend everyone use it in some form or the other!

Ah, interesting! I can't use the bag wrinkling or sticking observation as a measure of gas levels, because my bags don't wrinkle or stick. I mean, ever. I bought them from Japan years ago when Rinkya stocked them, and they're a heavy grade material - I can't imagine what it would take to get them breaking down, unless it's housing a cel with late stage vinegar syndrome. If changes in the bag's structure is the way that other people know it's time to switch out, then maybe they're a little too sturdy! I've never seen white chalky stuff, so I guess that's good? Maybe I've just been lucky with the choices made by the studios I collect from concerning cel stock.

Heh, I have so many unscanned pieces, I can't admire my whole collection online...so an actual trip to the closet where they hang is essential.

A quick check confirms that Kodak's "Molecular Sieve" technology and Conservation Resources' MicroChamber products use the same chemical neutralizer, a form of zeolite combined with an antacid buffer (typically calcium carbonate). From what I can tell, the "Molecular Sieve" product is a zeolite powder, while MicroChamber products bind the zeolite to a paper or rag board base. Their properties are similar, according to a Library of Congress Preservation Directorate report, with the powdered form being somewhat more effective in taking up acetic acid and retaining it.

However, the LOC report notes that proper ventilation is essential to their effective use. When tested in an airtight environment, the researchers found, "the volatiles emitted by degrading materials interacted with other items immediately adjacent, rather than being neutralized by the sorbent a few inches away" (p. 15). Both forms of zeolite were effective means of absorbing damaging substances, they concluded, "provided that their application is made with an understanding of their limitations" (p. 16).

This report dealt with conservation of paper artifacts, like most studies I've found. So far I've not found sufficient data on conserving cels, which obviously have a less predictable chemical constitution, more so than film. Still, this report suggests that the closer you can get the zeolite or zeolite-charged material to the cel, which is itself the source of the acetic acid and other chemical byproducts, the more effectively it will help increase its lifespan. Also that ventilation is essential to the effective use of zeolites.

Wow, thank you - that's a lot of information to chew on. I don't really have a regular schedule for flipping through Itoyas, other than 'when I feel like it', so maybe airing them out regularly should just become part of the standard routine. With that extra step in place, I may in fact feel comfortable keeping the paper in the storage space, as opposed to in direct contact. I'm curious, though - what do you do with cels that are too large for a single sheet of microchamber? I think I'd be concerned that there might be a difference, over time, between an area that was physically touching it, and the area that was not.

[nowherekid85]

I'm curious, though - what do you do with cels that are too large for a single sheet of microchamber? I think I'd be concerned that there might be a difference, over time, between an area that was physically touching it, and the area that was not.

I was wondering about this too, actually. The first set of sheets of microchamber paper I bought were all on the smaller side, and I think I may have a cel or two that I put them with where the paper is smaller than the painted part of the cel. It hasn't been that long that the paper has been with them, and I'm currently waiting for my next order of larger paper to arrive.

[Jadeduo]

Actually I can sort of answer this, I buy the 8x10 sheets but cut them into quarters to save on cash. So far everything seems to be going well, my collection has been on microchamber paper for 3 years now and there is a noticeably less bag buckling and some of the cels that collect moisture when I first started adding microchamber paper have stopped collecting moisture completely.

I think it doesn't matter the size so much as long as you are changing out everything periodically. Which is a pain but so worth it to keep my pretties, pretty, longer!


JD

[Moop]

Okay, then, here's another noob-to-microchamber-paper question: Why doesn't a smaller piece mean less protection? I'd have thought that it would 'fill up', so to speak, and lose its ability to neutralize any further. And if it's absorbing moisture, too, then why isn't it getting moist and doing damage in its own right, pressed against the cels as it is? This is really confusing to me. I guess I'm still not understanding quite how the stuff works. Or...are you changing it out really frequently?

[Jadeduo]

No problem @Moop, I do change out the paper but only every couple years when I do a bag change. I do a full bag change for my entire collection every couple of years, it takes about a full six months, to do a full health check, sometimes take a new scan, and sometimes I am a crazy person that re-orders her books every few years. I currently book up CCS by Season, and then have individual books for episode 65, 66, 67 this changed when I did my last rebag. Then the other books vary on the size of the collection.

I would imagine due to the nature of a chemical trap it should be changed every few years. I don't know why it doesn't get wet, the paper has not in my recent experience. I only have two or three years experience with Microchamber paper, but I have noticed it has helped. And I don't leave it in long enough maybe to let it get wet? Also keep in mind I am based in FL, my house lives between 50-60% humidity with my air conditioning on, so by nature I think things stored a generally moist place will collect moisture.

This is why the nature of our hobby the longer we are in it and doing maintenance can be soooooo time consuming. Maybe one of the reasons I have been buying more paper lately, although I can't turn down a lovely Juppy *gives BWA hairy eyeball*

I hope this helps! Maybe Sensei could offer better insight he has been using the paper longer.

JD

[sensei]

Zeolite is the active ingredient in microchamber paper. It does have remarkable power to trap and retain water and other chemicals (it's the main ingredient in non-clumping cat litter, which can also be used to remove mildew smells from old books). I've never known it to attract so much water that it became soggy itself, though. And water isn't in itself harmful to cels -- I have actually washed some very dirty cels in mild dishwashing soap and water without damage. The issue with high humidity, as I understand, is that over time water can serve as a catalyst, enabling some very destructive processes in the cel to begin and proceed.

With some of my problem cels (which came to me with signs of vinegar syndrome), I have layered them with MC paper, then found some months later that the paper itself was giving off the smell. That was a sign that the zeolite was approaching saturation levels and needed replacement. But vinegar syndrome is very stinky. The fact that I can work in the same room with these cels is a sign that the paper is still doing its job. I'd guess that it would take years for a cel in good health to build up that level of saturation. While not a chemical expert, I'd say when the bag needed replacement, that would be a sign that the paper too ought to be replaced.

[Sui Kune]

I just wanted to add my own ongoing observations over the past two (at least, my memory sucks and it could be longer) years, after I finished rebagging all my cels and checking on my Vinegared ones.

The Microchamber paper is absolutely, 100% doing an amazing job absorbing the smell. I've noticed even my two worst-Vinegared cels hardly have a smell now, and have not suffered any noticeable deterioration either. (A note though, be extra careful with cels with correction paint on the front! I spaced out and forgot there was correction paint on one, so I ended up with the Microchamber paper lightly stuck to it, but I was able to safely remove it. I'm storing the Microchamber paper in the same pocket as the cel now, rather than inside the cel bag in front like the rest.) So at the very least, in my case, the results are consistent with Sensei's in that they're certainly doing their job in at least slowing the deterioration process.

So yeah, going's still good over here with the Microchamber paper. Definitely worth the investment.