Re: Paper mount archivality

[P3D Michael Kersenbrock <michaelk@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Can paper be tested to see if it's archival or not?  Or do you 
> just have to wait five or twenty years to find out?  I guess you 
> can't test for acid until the lignin breaks down.  Can you 

John,

I don't know about the waiting-for-breaking down part, but 
the distributor you mentioned (Light Impressions) sells a
cheap pen with a litmus-like ink for testing acidity.
The permanent dot it leaves was "spun" to be a "feature"
by saying that it checks for acidity over time -- so long as
it isn't left in prolonged bright light.  This may be the way
to test for the lignin breaking down.  If checked occasionally.

I tried the pen on some acid-free paper tape I got from them
(they had a 10% off sale last month, so I took advantage of it
a little), and it tested buffered-non-acid.  Newspaper was acid-city.
It's only a "four-color" result test of sorts, but cheap and
one does have the monitoring "feature".

Mike K.

P.S. - What I mostly was ordering was their holmes-card "kit"
       with 200 card covers, dividers, and a box for ~$11 (last
       month).  All those stereo cards I bought from someone on 
       this list (he knows who he is) now have a clean and tidy home.


------------------------------