P3D Re: Slide Storage

[Steve Berezin <sbere@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jan Burandt wrote:
> 
> Steve Berezin wrote:
> >I have used the Plano Storage Box too, but I was a little nervous about
> >the plasticizers in the plastic and release agents in the plastic
> >effecting my slides after long term storage.
> 
> >my collectibles I keep in the steel boxes
> 
> The Plano 3700 is polypropylene and does not pose a problem. 

Jan,

I don't want to get too far off the subject but having a chemistry
background and having a day job of designing medical devices,
polypropylene (depending on the compound) generally has a small volatile
content (~<0.2%), granted it may be low for plastics it is definitely
higher than that of any steel box.  When doing research for storage I
found that most polypropylene is tested for volatiles with ASTM method
D1203 (method A). You may want to contact Plano directly to see what the
volatile release is on the polypropylene that they use.  Not to be
pedantic, volatiles are a measure of the weight change of a substance
when exposed to the environment and are generally considered a vapor or
organic compound that escapes into the atmosphere from a solid.  I would
imagine the release of volatiles will have an effect on a slide during
long term storage. Since the box is not designed for use in photographic
storage I would doubt whether it is quality controlled for that use. 
They probably have some latitude in changing the polymers that they use
for the product. But again we are talking about long term effects here
and steel storage boxes have been around for many years.

I also like
> the fact that these boxes allow you to store slides in batches, rather than
> requiring you to slip each slide into an individual slot.  They are also
> readily available for under $5 apiece.  There's info in the archive re
> purchasing for anyone who missed out on the earlier discussions.

The steel boxes I sell also are available without slots and dividers can
be added. (see SKU#532 Slotless slide box). See:

http://www.berezin.com/3d/slide.htm

and scroll to the bottom.

For those of you still awake, have a nice weekend!
-- 
Steve Berezin
mailto:steve@xxxxxxxxxxx


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