Archival Storage Supplies

Boxes

Archival boxes come in every size and shape imaginable, from the tiniest artifact container to boxes large enough to house newspapers and voluminous 18th century court dresses. Rest assured, no matter how unusual your family memorabilia is (we've all seen Antiques Roadshow!) there is a quality box to protect it.

Quality containers can be pressboard, corrugated cardboard or plastic. One of the decisions you will face in your quest for the perfect storage solution for your archives is whether to buy paper (cardboard) or plastic containers. When of good archival quality, both have their merits but my general preference leans toward paper for boxes for the following reasons:

• As mentioned above, plastic containers trap armful emissions released by the archives themselves.
• Plastic boxes can trap humidity or prevent a sufficiently humid environment. Remember - too dry is as bad as too wet.
• Cardboard boxes absorb moisture.
• Buffered containers actively absorb pollutants

The choice is strictly personal based on your needs, budget and preferences but be sure what you choose meets the standards listed above.

Common Configurations

• Flat Box - longer and wider than it is deep/tall.
• Lidded Box - box with a lid that removes completely.
• Deep lid - the sides of the lid completely cover the sides of the box
• Shallow lid - the sides of the lid come only part-way (usually a third or less) down the sides of the box.
• Clamshell Box - box with a hinged lid that is attached along one side. The box opens like a book and when open, the lid lies flat next to the box.
• Drop Front Box - lidded box where one side of the box (not the lid) drops outward and lies flat. This enables the contents to easily slide out.
• Vertical/Document Case - taller than it is long or wide. For holding file folders in an upright position. Can be lidded or clamshell, fiberboard or corrugated. Commonly sized to fit standard or legal file folders.
• Artifact/Object Box - comes with dividers or smaller boxes inside so you can safely store oddly shaped items together without touching. Can be lidded or clamshell. Use in conjunction with acid free tissue or archival batting to store any assortment of smaller objects you can think of: antique Christmas tree ornaments, grandma's knick knacks, small quilled decorations, Uncle Joe's snow globe collection etc. This box is one of the most versatile storage solutions available so keep it in the front of your mind.
• File/Storage Box- corrugated box, lidded or clamshell. Can come as flat, precut cardboard that you assemble yourself by folding along scored lines. These look like the file boxes you find at office supply stores but are of archival quality.
• BinderBox, Binder in a Box, AlbumBox, Preservation Box/Album - a clamshell box that has binder rings inside - usually 3 D-rings. These combine the viewablitilty of albums or binders with the full protection of a box.
• Metal Edged Box - non-corrugated boxes with metal supports on the exterior corners to add strength to the structure. Although the metal edges don't guarantee that the box won't collapse (and lack of them doesn't mean it will collapse) they are a quality feature and worth the extra money. Can be flat, vertical or artifact box.
• Presentation boxes - usually clamshell, these boxes are made of thicker materials and have a more attractive exterior. They are also considerably more expensive than fiberboard or corrugated boxes.

Specialty Boxes

These boxes are sized to fit specific shaped items but don't let that keep you from using them for other types of archives. Be creative when looking for storage solutions.

• Photograph - sized to fit standard size photographs. They can come as kits with packets of acid free paper photograph and negative envelopes. High capacity photo boxes have several compartments for photo envelopes and can hold 1600+ photos.
• Carte de Vista - sized to fit Carte de Vista photographs.
• Cabinet Card - sized to fit Cabinet Card photographs.
• Negative boxes - boxes sized to fit film negatives: 120mm, 35 mm strips etc. Kits come with box and paper negative sleeves.
• Slide files - slide files are as wide as normal slides and hold about ... slides. Slide file boxes enclose slide files as a measure of added protection.
• Slide Cases - plastic or metal cases with 35mm size compartments or slots inside
• Slide Cabinets - plastic or metal cabinets with slide size drawers
• Glass lantern - sized to fit glass lantern slides with vertical slots inside to hold the slides upright and away from each other.
• Postcard - sized to fit postcards.
• CD/DVD - sized to fit digital media.
• Video - sized either for VHS or Beta cassettes.
• Newspaper - fits a standard sized newspaper.
• Textile - sized to fit either rolled or folded textiles.

Albums, Binders

These are just what they seem, ringed binders or albums that hold clear, preserver pages. Albums can come with or without cover boxes and come in all kinds of colors and designs. Commonly sized to hold 8 1/2" x 11" pages or 12" x 12" pages. Make sure the album is larger (all the way around) than your biggest page. If you need to save money, regular office notebooks can be used since the archive itself will be protected in an archival-safe plastic page and won't come in contact with the binder itself.
Caution: DO NOT buy the albums with self-stick or "magnetic" pages - they are disastrous for long term storage. The "magnetic" quality of the adhesive often goes bad over time and both the protective plastic film and the page can become permanently glued to the archive. This type of page can irrevocably ruin your photos and manuscripts.

Enclosures

Made of paper, Tyvek®, polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene. enclosures encase individual items. Enclosures can be used for virtually any flat objects: ephemera, manuscripts and images of all kinds and sizes. Ideally, they should be sized large enough so they won't bend or put pressure on the archive within and small enough that they don't let the document bang around inside the sleeve. Bigger is better in this case. Glad ziplock bags are 100% polyethylene and are an inexpensive alternative to specialty bags.
Clear plastic enclosures vary in their clarity. Read the product descriptions carefully when making your choices.

Common Configurations

• Envelopes - sealed on three sides with a flap covering the open end.
• Plain sleeves - sealed on three sides with one side open.
• L sleeves, L-velopes - sealed on two sides and open on two sides allowing easier removal of the contents.
• 4 Flap Negative Wrappers - made of paper and shaped roughly like the Red Cross emblem. The negative is placed in the center and the flaps are folded down over it. Works well for large format negatives and glass lantern slides.
• Binder/album pages - plastic pages with holes punched along one side for insertion into ringed albums or binders. Binder pages will either be undivided ( single slot, commonly 8" x 10", 8 1/2" x 11" or 12" x 12") or divided (multiple slots created with heat sealing seams) and come in several types:
• Negative pages - sized to fit various sized single or strip negatives and usually made of softer plastic to prevent scratching delicate emulsions. Negative pages can also come in hanging format with a file hanger running through a pocket across the top of the page. The page then hangs like a hanging file folder.
• Photograph - sized to fit 3" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", or panorama prints.
• Slide - sized to fit various slide formats.
• Encapsulation - 2 plastic sheets in between which the archive is placed. The sheets are then sealed around all four edges. Although permanently sealed, the enclosure can be opened, if need be, without damaging the archive. Many museums use these for severely degraded archives but there is controversy about whether trapped humidity and toxic emissions is in itself harmful. For this reason, I do not recommend encapsulation.
• Lamination - I only include lamination to distinguish this highly destructive process from the more benign encapsulation. Laminating plastics glue DIRECTLY to the archive and the process is IRREVERSIBLE. As if that weren't bad enough, the adhesives and plastics used for laminating are NOT archival and will yellow, stain and bubble over time. NEVER, NEVER laminate an archive! Got it? Goooooood.

Tissue Paper - buffered or unbuffered depending on the archive. Sold in sheets or rolls. Used to pad or protect objects.

Paper Sheets - used as a background, support or protection for paper documents or ephemera.

• Dye free, unbleached is best.
• pH of 7.0-8.5 depending on your need.
• When used as a support, you will need stiff cardstock paper.