So what are the consequences if we don't use safe materials in our albums? What can the damages be? I have done the experimenting for you.

I hunted through some of my first albums from the late 1970's and early 1980's. Now don't laugh at what you are about to see. Remember, I was a teenager, and EK Success and Making Memories weren't even born yet! Albums were a funny size then, 12" x 14 1/2" and the paper was brownish with no page protectors. My albums are not artistic, and they are largely memorabilia and letters instead of pictures (I saved everything!) but they are very precious to me and help me remember details that I would have otherwise long forgotten. Also, if they look a little black around the edges its because they are. My family had a house fire several years ago and I was thrilled to still have my albums, charred or not. Someday I will figure out how to restore these treasures!



Although there are several apparent problems in my albums, some things were in very good shape. My greeting cards (I have dozens!) are all in great shape. I don't know if the greeting card companies knew about acid and lignin-free paper twenty-five years ago, but they held up remarkably well.



Most of my photos were in great shape EXCEPT for the places where they were held down with scotch tape. (Hey, cut me some slack. We didn't know twenty-five years ago that scotch tape was a no-no.) And if you have been wondering how Polaroid snapshots hold up, these are nearly 23 years old and look as good as when they were taken.



Handwriting in both pencil and pen were still very readable, but if you save receipts, they don't seem to hold up as well. Some of these receipts from my wedding appear to have been printed in invisible ink. The scotch tape held fine through the years, but note the browning it caused.

I'm not sure if paste is acid-free or not. I didn't notice damage from having used it. What I did note was that the paste had dried out over the years and the things that had been adhered with it were no longer stuck to the page. I guess since I want to restore these books this could be a blessing in disguise. I won't have to pry those things up to put them in another album!

Newspaper clippings were yellowed



Scotch tape left darkened spots as seen earlier, but wow! Strapping tape was HORRIBLE! It not only discolored the page that it was attached to



It bled through to the adjoining pages and left dark marks on them also! This page of brochures from a trip we went on was discolored by the strapping tape on the page BEFORE.



In conclusion, to protect your investment of time, materials and memories, be sure to use only safe products in your albums. I hope that in twenty-five more years the albums that we do in 2004 are in MUCH better condition than the ones I did in 1979!

To help assure that your albums standt the test of time, here are some steps you can take:

• Use only acid and lignin free papers in your scrapbooking.
  
  
• Use acid-free adhesives labled for use in preserving memories.
  
  
• Avoid wooden elements as they most certainly could contain lignin.
  
  
• Avoid any metals that are old and prone to rust.
  
  
• Be careful of adjoining pages. Remember the packing tape? Think of pages that touch the page you are working with. When using brads and eyelets line the space inbetween your layouts (inside your page protector) with a blank sheet of cardstock to help assure that the brad prongs don't leave indentations on adjoining pages. When adding in memorabilia that you suspect could be an acid or lignin hazard, laminate it or isolate it within its own page protector instead of possibly contaminating photos.
  
  
• Do not overcrowd the pages in your album. Use extender posts to allow for enough room or start a new album. Use plastic sleeve protectors that are archival. Store your albums upright (not stacked on top of one another)

The official definitions of these problems and some others that can occur are defined by the Scrapbook Preservation Society used by permission

bleed - The migration of ink or adhesive through or across the surface of the material to which it has been applied. This applies to either bleed immediately upon application or over the long time.

bleed-through - When an adhesive or colorant goes through and becomes visible and/or tacky on the reverse surface of the paper or substrate to which it was applied. It is difficult to test for this characteristic because the results are dependent on such variables as thickness of the paper or substrate and the amount adhesive or colorant applied.

blocking - When two materials unintentionally stick together. For instance, when the top layer of a photograph softens (as a result of high humidity) and adheres to some other surface such as a plastic binder, page protector, or another photograph.

degradation - The process of a material breaking down from its current state or appearance to a lower grade or into its individual components. Examples include when paper yellows or becomes brittle or when a tape becomes yellow or looses its tack and falls off.

degradation-induced acidification - A term used when a manufactured product is initially low in acid but becomes increasingly more acidic over time because of chemical reactions from aging.

migration - The movement of chemicals (such as acids, plasticizers, or inks) from one item to another. One example is the migration of acids from degrading paper to other scrapbook materials and photographs. Migration can occur without physical contact.

oozing - When an adhesive seeps out from under the edge of the item to which it was applied. With a wet adhesive, oozing can occur before it has dried; with a dry adhesive, oozing can occur over time such as with tapes or stickers where the adhesive seeps out from around the edges.

out-gassing - The gaseous emission of pollutants from solids or liquids. An example of this is the gaseous emissions from vinyl binders that result in a strong odor.

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