Connecting to Collections Care

Good morning all, 

I'm reaching out because I need advice on best practices for flattening oversized photographic prints. They range in size, but are all roughly between 26 x 56" and 26 x 67".

I have about 40 archival pigment prints on Hahnemuhle FineArt Baryta Satin 300gsm (paper?) and all printed within the last 10 years. They have been kept in tubes approx. 12" dia. until we had a definitive plan for storage and mounting. 

The time has come to remove the prints from the tubes, and I'm stuck on best practice to flatten the artworks. Do they need to be ? should they be ? humidified before unrolling and flattened. Everything I'm reading says humidify, but I didn't know if that assumes a paper-based object older than 10 years? Can I safely unroll them and weight them down without humidifying them?

This is beyond my area of expertise, and I would appreciate any guidance! Thanks! 

Rachel Fugate

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Rachel Fugate
Collections Manager/Registrar
Lehigh University Art Galleries
Bethlehem, PA
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Hi Rachel,

As the acting C2C Care community monitor, I'd like to thank you for posting these questions to the community. Before undertaking any humidification and flattening project, make sure they will have a place to live before you commit to humidifying and flattening. That being said, an excellent starting resource is the Book and Paper Group wiki page on humidification. You will find information on the factors to consider, materials and equipment needed, and humidification treatment variations. https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Humidification

If you plan to proceed with flattening or would like additional guidance, AIC's find a conservator tool will help you get in touch with a professional conservator specializing in works on paper. https://community.culturalheritage.org/expertsearch/local-search

The following resources will assist with housing and storage options if you determine the items should remain rolled.

Storage solutions for oversized paper artifacts - https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/4.-storage-and-handling/4.9-storage-solutions-for-oversized-paper-artifacts

BPG Housings 3.6.1 Rolled storage - https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Housings#Oversized_and_Irregular

Stabilizing special collections for high-density storage – Rolled Drawings https://www.loc.gov/preservation/about/conserv/storage/rolled.html

Cornell University Library Conservation Let's Roll - https://blogs.cornell.edu/culconservation/2017/04/25/lets-roll/

Harvard University Houghton Technical Services Rolled Storage - https://wiki.harvard.edu/confluence/display/HoughtonTechnicalServices/a.++Rolled+storage

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Sharon Fickeissen
Connecting to Collections Care Monitor
Senior Library Conservation Technician
Hagley Museum & Library
Wilmington DE
sfickeissen@hagley.org
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