Newspaper

[Pam]

A customer has an entire newpaper that he wants framed. He put it in a cheap frame 11 years ago and said it is yellowing. (I haven't seen this piece yet). I did ask him to check to make sure that the newsprint isn't adhered to the glass.

After searching the archives, I am totally confused.
it sounds like I could encapsulate the newspaper in mylar. Yes? Has anyone done this large of an item? But, the conservation document on encapsulation states that some acidic papers age much faster after encapsulation, and it should not be used for documents with media that is not firmly bound to the paper.That sure sounds like newspaper to me...
I will mention a conservator to my customer. (What would a conservator do to the paper?)

[Framerguy]

Pam,

From my understanding of the effects of air, humidity, and temperature on wood pulp paper products, what you have read is correct.

Encapsulation of wood pulp paper products will enhance the deterioriation of the paper and shouldn't be done without first using a de-acidifying solution on the paper.

There will probably be a host of postings on how to do this but newspaper, by nature, is a self-destructing paper and should not be expected to stay in perfect condition forever.

(I have more information on this but can't seem to get the time to type it up for you between customers today!) What a pleasant surprise THAT is!!

Framerguy

[Ron Eggers]

Framerguy, do what I do. Lock the door.

Pam, there are a number of de-acidification sprays available from United and other vendors. I'd be interested in Hugh or Rebecca's read on the use of these sprays on newsprint. I've never used them on anything but fairly new newsprint.

The one I've used is WEI T'O spray number 10. There are several others available. Follow the directions carefully. Most require you to pretty thoroughly saturate the paper, so test on a non-critical item. (Spraying an entire newspaper could be a gigantic pain.)

[wpfay]

Pam,
Edit,
Should have never even tried to beat Ron to the keyboard...what he said.

[Framerguy]

OK, the lights are out, the door is locked, the dog is on patrol (scratching his head at WHY he is doing this in the middle of the afternoon!!), now, if you have an entire newspaper to preserve, it is my feeling that it would be better to de-acidify and encapsulate each page separately as the effects of the deterioriation will be amplified if the paper is laid sheet to sheet for the entire thickness of the newspaper. The solution that is the easiest to come by is, as Ron said, the WEI T'O #10 spray solution. It is somewhat expensive and has a tendency to clog up the nozzle from time to time but it does a good job of temporarily neutralizing the acid in the paper. This treatment should be re-done every few years (I forget the exact number but 5 to 7 years sticks in my mind) so be sure to instruct your customer to bring it back for inspection and re-treatment.

(Wally, remind me to send you this little blocker program I have that sends Ron's "Post Reply" button into Limbo until you get a chance to post what you want to say!)

Framerguy

[Rebecca]

Hi Pam -

There's no one answer to the newspaper question, but here are some thoughts and ideas to kick around.

Encapsulation isn't the end all and be of preservation - its just one method of giving good, overall support to a thin, flexible, maybe brittle piece of paper, with the benefit of being able to see both sides. It's also relatively inexpensive.

Yes newspapers are inherently unstable, but many have survived in remarkably good condition over the years. How well newspaper survives is largely a function of environment: dark, cool, dry. The decision of many libraries to microfilm their newspaper collections and destroy the originals is not without controversy. There are a good arguments on both sides, but one of the things I have learned from the discussions is that well cared for newspapers can last for a lot longer than we might expect.

Some studies have shown that encapsulating acidic paper can accelerate deterioration. Ways to get around this are 1) deacidify 1st, as with Wei T'o, or washing in an alkaline water bath (conservator job) 2) put a sheet of alkaline buffered paper or tissue paper behind the acid paper and 3) only seal 2 edges (like for a storage folder).

The disadvantage of Wei T'o is toxicity, uneven deposition of alkaline material, and the fact that the acids in the paper are neutralized, but not washed out. It does help, but for the above reasons I don't do it.

The disadvantage of washing is cost.

The disadvantage of putting buffered paper in the Mylar package is that the encapsulation is no longer double-sided.

Since your newspaper is presently framed, I'm assuming that the double-side aspect of encapsulation isn't needed.

Yellowing/discoloration is mainly caused by light, so display is really the big problem here. Any chance of displaying a good quality copy and storing the original in a good quality a/f (sorry, but that is the nomenclature out there!)folder?

Displayed or stored, I think something with zeolites, like Artcare, is good to use. UV filtering glazing, and dim lighting are good, but not cure-alls.

Hope this helps.

Rebecca

[Kit]

Hi Pam. It sounds like only the front page of the newspaper is displayed but the customer wants to preserve the entire paper for historic, sentimental, or torment-your-local-framer reasons.

How about a color copy of the front page made on good quality paper? This could then be mounted and framed while the actual newspaper was stored in a safe place.

Kit