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Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!

Hi Emilie,

I am the C2CC monitor for this week. Let me reach out to some of the experts on our list and do a little research into this, as it falls outside my area of expertise. I am assuming from your question that installing the UV film on the windows is not possible / ideal, and that the automotive brand typically used by the college is used for windows. Please let me know if these assumptions are incorrect. 

Is it possible to get a sample of the automotive film to place on a test area of the vitrine to determine whether it will impede visibility? Perhaps a sample could be adhered to a piece of Mylar and placed over the vitrine to assess this, so you wont have to actually apply the film in place. 

And yes, I would expect that the double sided tape will be visible through the film. And are you proposing putting the film on the interior or exterior of the cases? The archival quality is of concern if they are being applied inside the case, but I would imagine this might be less of a concern if its applied on the exterior. 

It may be useful to have a picture of the cases in question to help troubleshoot. 

Best,

Rebecca

Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!

Hello Rebecca,

Thank you for fielding my question. You are correct, adding UV film to the windows is not an option at this time. 

Your suggestion to apply the automotive film to create a sample display for my colleagues to view is genius! I don't know why we hadn't considered this option before. Thank you! I am going to look into this right away. I will also explain that using the UV film on the exterior is the optimal choice. 

I will report back with our findings. 

I hope you have a truly excellent day!

Hi Emilie,

I am the C2CC monitor for this week. Let me reach out to some of the experts on our list and do a little research into this, as it falls outside my area of expertise. I am assuming from your question that installing the UV film on the windows is not possible / ideal, and that the automotive brand typically used by the college is used for windows. Please let me know if these assumptions are incorrect. 

Is it possible to get a sample of the automotive film to place on a test area of the vitrine to determine whether it will impede visibility? Perhaps a sample could be adhered to a piece of Mylar and placed over the vitrine to assess this, so you wont have to actually apply the film in place. 

And yes, I would expect that the double sided tape will be visible through the film. And are you proposing putting the film on the interior or exterior of the cases? The archival quality is of concern if they are being applied inside the case, but I would imagine this might be less of a concern if its applied on the exterior. 

It may be useful to have a picture of the cases in question to help troubleshoot. 

Best,

Rebecca

Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!

Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!

Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!

I've used both, while I preferred the original archival film gaylord had before they switched to the double sided tape one. The automotive one is nearly identical to what gaylord had. When you call and talk to your local tinting shop, just tell them what you're doing and they can get you UV film that is almost transparent, it'll have a slight tint to it, but it's hardly noticeable. But make sure you have a really good squeegee. That will help move things along a lot faster. 

Greetings all,

My name is Emilie Bryant, and I am the new Collections Manager for a Virginia private college. I recently completed light measurements for one of our exhibition spaces and discovered that many of our objects would be exposed to levels of light that exceeded what is recommended. The space, located in our library, has two large windows facing northeast and was recently updated with fluorescent light fixtures, prompting me to take measurements. Since light is required for reading in the common area, the best course of action is to protect the objects by installing UV film on the vitrines themselves. I have two options: I can save money by using the UV film already in use by the college, which is an automotive brand, or I can purchase archival UV film. My primary concerns are with the application and overall appearance of each. Will the automobile brand be too dark for the vitrines, thereby diminishing the visibility of our displays? Given that the archival film must be adhered using double-sided tape, will the tape be visible? 

Regarding your experience with UV film, I would be grateful for any recommendations and suggestions you could provide.

Thank you!