I recently found some letters from the early 90's.... look at the staples!! I use staples in scrappin' ALL THE TIME and THIS is what's going to happen to them!!!???
OMG! I actually haven't used staples b/c my stapler is always jamming up, but I had one on my wish list. I wonder if anyone can shed some light on this...
That was a frightening occurance and now with colored staplers and metal fasteners the thought of that is scarey. I looked up on Ek Success Website regarding fasteners and this is what I found:
Will the Fastenater® Staple Bars rust?
The Fastenater® Staple Bars are made of copper and stainless steel and treated with an anti-rust coating and only under extreme humid conditions, over extended periods of time will they rust. Always keep your projects secure in scrapbooks, keepsakes, shadow boxes, file cabinets and the like.
AND......
This is what I found on Making Memories website about the colored staples.
These staples weren’t meant for just the corner. Making Memories ® Color Staples™ provide a quick solution for attaching and embellishing – proving once and for all that they are destined for more than the margin.
Available in 3 multipacks
Each package contains: 1250 staples - 250 each of 5 colors
Archival safe
Made of non-rusting metallic compounds
I hope this gives you and everyone some peace of mind!!
That is good to know... I guess I need to buy some MM ones. That won't help for all the LOs I have used the colored and regular staples from Target on... but from now on is scrapbook ones only.... even though they cost more!
The key here is to not store your scrapbook in a damp area of a house, like a basement. We all know that. I've never had any regular staples rust but the papers my hubby had in the garage (very open) had issues--rusty staples and mildew. Ick. (It was old notes from classes lol...)
I dont' think you have much to worry about as long as you keep your scrapbooks away from moisture. If you look at the envelope the paper is warped no doubt from water damage and so the staple got wet too and rusted. That is water damage... not regular wear and tear. Scrapbooks are protected from the elements for the most part so as long as you're not spraying them with water or leaving them outside i'm sure you'll be fine.
On the bright side, thank goodness the distressing look is so trendy now...you could just say that it's supposed to look like that if they do rust! LOL
They were down in my basement in our other house... which was damp/humid. But in a humid climate, I would imagine the same thing would happen.
That got me to thinking about eyelets... brads... ALL that metal stuff I have been using!
And I know this is bad... but I REALLY love staples... and I am not even sure this will stop me from using them.
I live in a very humid climate in SC. No rust on staples in the house.
I used to read a blog from a woman who lived in Hawaii and she talked about all her books getting moldy because of the humidity.
That probably could happen here too. Fortunately, we have a new and hard working air conditioner. Plus everything is in sheet protectors. I've no doubt that mold would grow on a page if it got wet.
I've been working on reviewing and destroying 10-20 yr. old files in our office.
I've found LOTS of staples, paper clips, and binder clips that have rusted. Although they are not ALL rusted, so obviously there's a difference in the quality.
These are files that have been stored in a temperature-controlled office-- not in a damp basement or storage unit!
I really hope this doesn't happen to my pages. I use staples on every layout.
I don't want to bring anyone down, but rust isn't from water. It can be, but it's from oxygen. Water makes it rust, because the formula for water is obviously H20, with the 0 being oxygen. Here is a definition from Wikipedia: "Rust is the oxide that is formed by open-air oxidation of iron." So, it could happen without moisture or water.
I dont' think you have much to worry about as long as you keep your scrapbooks away from moisture. If you look at the envelope the paper is warped no doubt from water damage and so the staple got wet too and rusted. That is water damage... not regular wear and tear. Scrapbooks are protected from the elements for the most part so as long as you're not spraying them with water or leaving them outside i'm sure you'll be fine.
I have to respectfully disagree.
See my post above. We have lots of rust in our old files from "regular wear and tear," not water damage! We do not live in a particularly humid climate either.
That was a frightening occurance and now with colored staplers and metal fasteners the thought of that is scarey. I looked up on Ek Success Website regarding fasteners and this is what I found:
Will the Fastenater® Staple Bars rust?
The Fastenater® Staple Bars are made of copper and stainless steel and treated with an anti-rust coating and only under extreme humid conditions, over extended periods of time will they rust. Always keep your projects secure in scrapbooks, keepsakes, shadow boxes, file cabinets and the like.
AND......
This is what I found on Making Memories website about the colored staples.
These staples weren’t meant for just the corner. Making Memories ® Color Staples™ provide a quick solution for attaching and embellishing – proving once and for all that they are destined for more than the margin.
Available in 3 multipacks
Each package contains: 1250 staples - 250 each of 5 colors
Archival safe
Made of non-rusting metallic compounds
I hope this gives you and everyone some peace of mind!!
Happy Scrapping and keep on stapling.
Just a reminder to those that may not be reading all the posts to this thread, I did some research with Ek Success and Making Memories in regards to their staples and fasteners and the above quote it the information given on their website.
I recently found some letters from the early 90's.... look at the staples!! I use staples in scrappin' ALL THE TIME and THIS is what's going to happen to them!!!???
I brought this issue up a couple months ago after finding something similar to what you did. I made a personal decision not to use them.... so now what about metal tags???
I think they will be okay. Like a couple of people pointed out we are using all acid free papers.
But my thing about acid free/archival safe. Sure I watch for that and I try to avoid those things that are not. But brads, eyelets, staples, metal embellies of any kind are my FAVORITE things to use. I am not going to stop using them because my pages might rust.
I use them because I enjoy them and I love how they make my pages look. I scrap because I enjoy it. If they don't look as pristine in 200 years as the day I scrapped it, well I won't be here to know that. I understand we are scrapbooking for the next generation but in the end will they think any less of us because our staple looks "distressed"....probably not! They will cherish anything they have from the "olden days", regardless of condition.
I think they will be okay. Like a couple of people pointed out we are using all acid free papers.
But my thing about acid free/archival safe. Sure I watch for that and I try to avoid those things that are not. But brads, eyelets, staples, metal embellies of any kind are my FAVORITE things to use. I am not going to stop using them because my pages might rust.
I use them because I enjoy them and I love how they make my pages look. I scrap because I enjoy it. If they don't look as pristine in 200 years as the day I scrapped it, well I won't be here to know that. I understand we are scrapbooking for the next generation but in the end will they think any less of us because our staple looks "distressed"....probably not! They will cherish anything they have from the "olden days", regardless of condition.
Thankfully, I read all the way through this thread. I just started paper scrapping and love using staples. Good to know the staples made for scrapbooking won't rust although I have papers in the basement that have staples I've had for 20 years and haven't rusted, even after one flooded basement, so who knows.....
I use staples in scrappin' ALL THE TIME and THIS is what's going to happen to them!!!??? 
