Jill's
Place Home - May 11, 2004
Adhesives:
Keeping It All Together
By Jill Davis
Scrapbooks exist because
of adhesives.
Period. Think about it: Each time we put
a layout together we must use an adhesive
of one form or another. Okay, I agree that
we could hook a layout together using only
brad fasteners or eyelets, but...those methods
are exceptions, not the rule. When we purchase
bonding agents we trust that they will safely
hold our personal and family memories together
for our lifetime and beyond. But will they?
Gone
are the days when white glue, rubber cement
and cellophane tape were our only scrapbook
adhesive options. A new generation of reliable
and safe
adhesives has emerged in the form of
double-sided
tapes and tabs, liquids,
and pastes.
With
the good bonding agents also comes the bad-
the imposters. Imposters may seem fine for
our layouts but if used, they will over
time, destroy our memories with acid and
degenerative impurities.
|
FYI:
Photos developed before 1968 were
processed on fiber-based paper.
Photos after that year were generally
processed on resin-coated paper
unless fiber-based paper was requested
at photo labs. When an adhesive
is applied to the back of fiber-based
photos before adding them to a layout,
it sticks to the fibers of the photos
and the layout background paper.
If the photos are pulled to remove
or reposition, the paper fibers
of the photos will tear.
Note:
It's best to use acid-free photo
corners to hold fiber-based photos
on layouts.
|
Acids
and Photos
Acids and photographs don't mix.
Photos have acid in them from processing.
When those acids are combined with acidic
paper, adhesives, memorabilia and page protectors
a chemical reaction occurs. Over time the
acid silently migrates within your album
leaving you with discolored, brittle or
deteriorated photos and layouts.
Our
mothers and grandmothers had limited knowledge
and products when it came to scrapbooking.
The knowledge that acid is an enemy to photos
and paper was limited to individuals who
worked in places where preservation was
imperative, such as national, state and
private archives and libraries.
When
grandma or mom needed an album to put their
photos into, they probably went to a dime
store to find one. There they found albums
containing black or cream construction paper
pages, magnetic albums, rubber cement, and
lick-and-stick photo corners. I know, it
makes you cringe, but that's because you've
been educated and recognize the telltale
signs of acidic deterioration. Grandma and
mom just thought their photos were getting
"old".
Scrapbookers
don't want acids in their albums, and will
go to great lengths to keep them out. We
look for the words "Acid-free", "pH neutral",
"Archival Safe" or the "CK OK" seal on product
labels before we consider purchasing them.
The "CK OK" symbol means that the product
has been tested by Creating Keepsakes and
has passed acidic-safety tests, thus earning
their seal of approval. Companies pay for
the CK testing.
The
Right Adhesives for the Job
There
are two types of adhesives: wet and dry.
