What role do storage materials play in the longevity of a photograph or negative?

Proper storage materials are essential for long-term stability of photographs and negatives. They provide much needed physical support and protection for fragile objects, and at the same time act as a barrier between the photograph and a potentially unstable environment. It is of utmost importance that storage materials be known to be unreactive to the photographic material. Much damage has been done in the past through the use of reactive materials such as acidic groundwood pulp sleeves, rubber bands, paper clips, pressure-sensitive tapes, and poor-quality adhesives such as rubber cement or animal glue.

Storage materials can be either paper or plastic. All photographic storage enclosures should have passed the photographic activity test to determine the materials' level of inertness. This test is specific in ANSI NAPM 1T 9.16-1993 and consumers should contact suppliers to see if their products comply.

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of using paper enclosures to protect photographic materials?

Paper enclosures are opaque, protecting the photograph from light. However, this makes viewing difficult, since the photograph must be removed from the enclosure before it can be viewed. This increases handling and subsequent abrasion and fingerprinting of the image.Paper enclosures are porous, protecting the photograph from the accumulation of moisture and detrimental gases. This is especially important for cellulose nitrate and early safety film negatives, since the gases generated by the deterioration of these support materials are harmful to photographic materials.

Paper enclosures are available in buffered and non-buffered stock; both should be of archival quality and non-acidic. Buffered storage enclosures are not recommended for color images, cyanotypes, or albumen prints. They are recommended for cellulose nitrate and early safety film negatives, brittle prints and prints on brittle acidic mounts. Paper enclosures should not be made of Kraft or glassine paper as the impurities in these materials will cause deterioration of the photograph. The cardboard boxes used by retail outlets to package photographic materials should also be avoided.