Ultra Sonic welding is the most effective technology for welding the edges of a pocket. Timecare® ‘Crystal’ Album Pages can be made using this process. Ultra sonic welders and spot welders are listed in the equipment section of this catalogue. Timecare® ‘Crystal’ Polyester storage pockets/enclosures are edge welded using a ‘Bead’ welding process similar to that of the ‘Original Curateur™’ polyester welder machine supplied by Conservation By Design.
The Timecare® Polyester HCL Album Pages developed for the popular Timecare® ringbinder boxes utilise a combination of the strength and durability of polyester with the ease of welding of polyethylene. Album pages made solely from polyethylene or polypropylene, although cheaper in material and production costs, do not offer the same level of strength or protection against fire in a disaster scenario.
The same multi layer technology employed by the HCL album pages is used for the oxygen and moisture barrier films and pouches listed in this catalogue. These products allow visible storage in a controlled atmosphere with the absence of oxygen achieved by gas flushing or oxygen scavengers using nanotechnology.
Heavy weight matt polypropylene is an excellent material for making large drawer files. The matt surface is non reflective and has reduced surface contact with the contents. It can be welded or sewn as with our Visifile™ folders. In use it makes an almost indestructible folder that allows the contents to be seen at a glance.
Controlling the atmosphere or environment is crucial for good storage of all kinds of material, but photographs are particularly sensitive to humidity. A stable relative humidity (RH) should be sought to avoid fluctuations that can cause cracking of surface coatings. Photographs generally require around 40% RH and 55% RH is recommended for other paper based items. If the RH exceeds 65% and it fluctuates there is a danger of ‘Ferrotyping’ or adhesion of the photographic surface to the plastic enclosure caused by condensation.
For the professional archive, Conservation By Design offer an integrated temperature and humidity ‘room within a room’ system which is modular and can be tailored to the size of the space available, no matter how big. For the smaller user, De-humidifiers, ProSorb™ and Silica Gel are available and although they are no substitute for a well controlled environment good quality acid free boxes offer a low cost ‘buffer’ against fluctuations in temperature and humidity.