Hi everyone,
We recently received a large collection of 3.5"x6" negatives (roughly
2000 of them). Happily, I have a couple volunteers who would like to
begin identifying them, scanning them, etc. Here is my question. These
negatives came to us already in plastic sleeves, but I do not know what
these sleeves are made of. I already know that storage enclosures for
negatives/photos should be made of polyester, polyethylene, or
polypropylene, and that polyvinyl is a big no-no. So I started in on
some further research in the hopes that I could determine what material
the sleeves are made of, and thereby determine whether the negatives can
remain in the sleeves they arrived in. I checked several places, and
found out that another key factor to this type of storage enclosure is
whether the plastic has been coated and whether it contains
plasticizers. 

But, what I'm struggling with is, how can I tell what these sleeves are
made of, and how can I tell whether the plastic has been coated or
contains plasticizers? Obviously, if we can leave the negatives in their
existing sleeves it would be a big plus, since purchasing 2000 new
enclosures is costly. In short, how can I tell if these sleeves are ok?


Thank you for any suggestions!
Cristin Grant
Wisconsin Maritime Museum

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