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Optimal Humidity and Temp. for storage of comics?

Started by CW,

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CW

CW

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I was wondering what the optimal Humidity and Temperature for the storage of comics are. Any input would be appreciated.

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FFB

FFB

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According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

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Posted
Posted
According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

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FFB

FFB

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According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

Temperature yes, humidity no. Our humidity tends to be significantly higher than 50% year round.

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Mr. Zipper

Mr. Zipper

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According to the Northeast Document Center's Preservation of Archival Materials Manual

 

Authorities disagree on the ideal temperature and relative humidity for library and archival materials.

A frequent recommendation is a stable temperature no higher than 70°F and a stable relative humidity

between a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 50%. Research indicates that relative humidities at the lower end of

this range are preferable since deterioration then progresses at a slower rate. In

general, the lower the temperature the better. The temperature recommendations

for areas used exclusively for storage are much lower than those for combination

user and storage areas. Cold storage with controlled humidity is sometimes

advisable for remote storage or little-used materials. When materials are taken out

of cold storage, however, the radical, rapid temperature changes they experience

may cause condensation on them. In such cases, gradual acclimatization may be

required...

 

It is important to realize that temperature and RH are interrelated---a change in

one will bring about a change in the other. Warmer air holds more moisture than

cooler air, so if the absolute amount of moisture in a space remains constant, the

relative humidity (which represents "the amount of moisture in the air relative to

the amount the air is capable of holding, expressed as a percentage"1) will fall as

the temperature rises, and it will rise as the temperature is lowered (these

relationships between temperature and RH can be calculated using a psychometric

chart). For example, if a space is at 60° F and 70% RH, the RH will fall to about

40% if the temperature is raised to 75° F. On the other hand, if the temperature is

lowered the RH will rise--and when it reaches 100% the air will become saturated

and moisture will condense out (this is called the dewpoint). For example, if a

space is at 70° F and 50% RH and the temperature suddenly drops to below 50°

F, condensation will occur on collections.

 

Embrittlement of paper (along with many other forms of decay in such organic

materials as leather, textiles, and magnetic tape) is an indication of chemical

deterioration, and the chemical reactions that govern this process are greatly

influenced by the climate. Temperature increases the speed of the chemical

reactions that cause acidic deterioration. A familiar rule of thumb estimates that

chemical reactions double with each 18°F (10°C) increase. In the special case of

cellulose, artificial aging tests indicate that each 9°F increase nearly doubles the

rate of deterioration, even in the absence of light, pollutants, or other factors.

Relative humidity provides moisture to fuel these reactions---the higher the

humidity, the more quickly deterioration proceeds.

 

Go to the linked site and download your manual today!

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VintageComics

VintageComics

Posted
Posted
According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

O.K. make a hater out'a me while i scrape frost from the inside of my house windows! frustrated.gif

Chris, as far as your question goes, the above essay is probably great and i will read it, but Jay Reynolds (ebayer) makes mention of an article in the #12 Overstreet PG on the deep cold storage of comics as the best method of preservation but i have been unable to verify this article....anyone ever read it? confused-smiley-013.gif

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FFB

FFB

Posted
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According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

O.K. make a hater out'a me while i scrape frost from the inside of my house windows! frustrated.gif

Chris, as far as your question goes, the above essay is probably great and i will read it, but Jay Reynolds (ebayer) makes mention of an article in the #12 Overstreet PG on the deep cold storage of comics as the best method of preservation but i have been unable to verify this article....anyone ever read it? confused-smiley-013.gif

 

Tracey Heft (a museum trained conservator/archivist and comic book restoration professional) does not recommend freezing comics. There is a discussion about it in one of the papers he sells on his website.

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PovertyRow

PovertyRow

Posted
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According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

Temperature yes, humidity no. Our humidity tends to be significantly higher than 50% year round.

 

You beat me to it, Scott. Our humidity IS pretty high. But thing is, it tends to not make wild fluctuations and with the milder temperatures, I feel it is a better environment than my old Boston. And easier to control. thumbsup2.gif

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CW

CW

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Thanks a lot guys. I'm in S.F. myself. Your articles and suggestions sound great. Keep up the good work.

C.W.

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FFB

FFB

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Thanks a lot guys. I'm in S.F. myself. Your articles and suggestions sound great. Keep up the good work.

C.W.

 

Are you coming to WonderCon? Do you want to attend the CGC forum dinner?

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Posted
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According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

Temperature yes, humidity no. Our humidity tends to be significantly higher than 50% year round.

 

You're right - Blue Canyon is MUCH better! But 893whatthe.gif is that? 27_laughing.gifinsane.gif And actually, if you look at the annual afternoon numbers for SF it is 60-61% which is pretty darn close. sumo.gif

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CW

CW

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Fantasyfootballbono,

 

I will be a dealer at Wonder-Con as Fantastic Comics. What is this dinner? if you want to post or PM some info I would appreciate it very much. Also stop by the Fantastic Comics booth and let me know your from the forum and we'll see about some discounts on merchandise.

 

Thanks, C.W.

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Posted
Posted
According to Tracey Heft's 1994 paper on "Preservation, Conservation, and Restoration of Paper Items," "Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

Or approximately San Francisco weather 75% of the year hi.gif

 

Temperature yes, humidity no. Our humidity tends to be significantly higher than 50% year round.

 

You beat me to it, Scott. Our humidity IS pretty high. But thing is, it tends to not make wild fluctuations and with the milder temperatures, I feel it is a better environment than my old Boston. And easier to control. thumbsup2.gif

 

Not in Larkspur it isn't devil.gif Get out of the City already 27_laughing.gifinsane.gif

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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"Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

I wonder if that's just the realistic numbers most small libraries and individuals can reasonably hope to achieve? Big libraries often have a "cold room" kept at around 30% humidity and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and I've seen several references to those being the absolute ideal numbers.

 

That's really just trivia, though...unless you happen to be using an old ice cream parlor with a walk-in freezer as a warehouse for comics like Reynold Jay, the hopes of keeping comics at that level is unrealistic for the average collector or dealer. Jay's process is sometimes referred to as "freezing", but I think that's an exaggeration--he's told me the temp is usually more around the same levels that library cold rooms are at.

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FFB

FFB

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Fantasyfootballbono,

 

I will be a dealer at Wonder-Con as Fantastic Comics. What is this dinner? if you want to post or PM some info I would appreciate it very much. Also stop by the Fantastic Comics booth and let me know your from the forum and we'll see about some discounts on merchandise.

 

Thanks, C.W.

 

Here is the thread about WonderCon forum dinner. It is a dinner where we (from the forum), along with Steve Borock, Paul Litch, and some other dealers and collectors get together and eat steaks as big as our heads. And drink wine and other stuff. It is a great time. 893applaud-thumb.gif Let me know if you want to attend.

 

I will look out for you at the show and will stop by and introduce myself. Also, do you have a store somewhere?

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FFB

FFB

Posted
Posted
"Internationally recognized standards for the safe storage of paper artifacts (and this includes comic books) is a temperature range of 68-72 F with a relative humidity of 50%."

 

I wonder if that's just the realistic numbers most small libraries and individuals can reasonably hope to achieve? Big libraries often have a "cold room" kept at around 30% humidity and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and I've seen several references to those being the absolute ideal numbers.

 

That's really just trivia, though...unless you happen to be using an old ice cream parlor with a walk-in freezer as a warehouse for comics like Reynold Jay, the hopes of keeping comics at that level is unrealistic for the average collector or dealer. Jay's process is sometimes referred to as "freezing", but I think that's an exaggeration--he's told me the temp is usually more around the same levels that library cold rooms are at.

 

Interesting re: the 30%, because that is below the level (35% RH) at which Tracey says that paper will lose moisure to the surrounding air and contract, possibly damaging the paper fibers.

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CW

CW

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Fantasy,

 

Unfortunately I won't be able to make the dinner. I will look forward to meeting you and other forumites at the Con. I don't have a store but I try to do as many of the San Jose comic shows that I can. I also sell on Comiclink and ebay.

 

See ya at Wonder Con,

 

CW

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jcjames

jcjames

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According to the Northeast Document Center's Preservation of Archival Materials Manual

 

.

.

.

Relative humidity provides moisture to fuel these reactions---the higher the

humidity, the more quickly deterioration proceeds.

If humidity accelerates deterioration, then why are they recommending mid 30-50% RH instead of much lower or as low as possible?

 

 

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