1. Film and Media Overview
Nancy E Kraft
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Preservation of Books and Other Media
21-25, May, 2012
IODE Project Office
Oostende, Belgium

2. Daguerreotype 1839-c1860 Direct positive image
Preservation of Books and Other Media
Daguerreotype
1839-c1860
Direct positive image
1st commercially successful photographic process
Produced a direct positive image
Used silver coated copper plate
Could not duplicate images

3. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Identified by their mirror-like quality, depending on viewer angle, image can be positive or negative
Typical exposure was often 60 to 90 seconds long, requiring the subject(s) to remain immobile and hold a pose for all that time
Daguerreotype video

4. Collodion or Wet Plate Negative Process
Preservation of Books and Other Media
Collodion or Wet Plate Negative Process
Binder made by modifying cellulose found in cotton linters*, potassium iodide, silver nitrate, alcohol and ether
Exposure and development of negatives had to be completed while emulsion was still wet
Various sizes
Hand-cut, glass plates or metal coated with collodion solution
Primarily used to make photographic prints on albumen-sensitized paper
Replaced by dry gelatin emulsion process
Collodion Process video
*fibers that stick to cottonseeds

5. Ambrotype 1854-1870s Collodion solution on polished glass
Preservation of Books and Other Media
Ambrotype s
Collodion solution on polished glass
Produced negative image
Made to appear positive by placing black-colored paper or metal behind negative
Similar in appearance to daguerreotypes but does not have mirror like surface
Ambrotype video

6. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Tintypes
1850s-late 1890s
Collodion solution on thin sheet of lacqured metal
Positive image
Small, ½ x ½ to 3 ½ x 4 ½
Tintype video

7. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Albumen process
1850-c1900
Used eggs whites, sodium chloride and silver nitrate
Often called card photographs
Can have purplish brown, red brown or yellow brown hue
Albumen process

8. Preservation of Books and Other Media

9. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Emulsion: the image-forming layer of photographic films, papers, and plates and is matte in appearance.

10. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Binder: the polymer that contains recording or imaging particles. For example, gelatin is the binder for silver image particles in photographic media.
Gelatin: A protein obtained from naturally occurring collagen. Used as a binder for the image layer of photographic materials.

11. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Base: The support of an imaging or recording material on which the recording layer is coated
Support: the glass, plastic, metal or paper base on which the image layers of photographic film, prints, or magnetic tape is coated.

12. Preservation of Books and Other Media

13. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Plastic Supports
Acetate: A transparent plastic base for photographic film made by treating cellulose with acetic acid. Term used for various modifications of cellulose acetate – cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate… (1909 – present)
Nitrate: a transparent plastic base that was used for photographic film. Obtained from the treatment of cellulose with nitric acid. (1893 – early 1950’s)
Polyester: A transparent plastic base for photographic film and magnetic tape that is composed of a polymer of ethylene glycol and terphthalic (or naphthalene dicarboxcylic) acid. Very strong and stable. (mid1950’s – present)

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16. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Degradation terms
Acetate decay: Vinegar syndrome. Degradation of cellulose acetate film base that may cause distortion, shrinkage, and brittleness, often detected by a vinegar odor.
Silver mirroring: Oxidation of black-and-white images, in which the image silver migrates to the surface, creating a mirror-like appearance.
Magnetic shedding: Degradation of the binder of magnetic tape, which results in loss of magnetic oxide particles during storage or playback.

17. Other “scary” terms: Binder degradation
Preservation of Books and Other Media
Other “scary” terms:
Binder degradation
Buckling/Channeling/Distortion/Tape deformation
Color balance shift/bleeding/fading/image decay
Delamination/Layer separation
Microspots
Outgassing

18. Preservation of Books and Other Media
Scariest of all
System obsolescence: a problem associated with machine-readable images, data, or sound recordings, whereby the information can be recovered only by using hardware or software that is obsolete.

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24. Preservation of Books and Other Media
CDs and DVDs
it is assumed that write-once discs should have a significantly longer life expectancy than rewritable discs
Rewritable discs are not intended, and should not be used, for long-term or archival use
Should always make two copies as a precaution against failure

27. Sources
Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs A Guide for Librarians and Archivists. Fred R Byers. (NIST Special Publication Information Technology)
Film Preservation Guide: the Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. National Film Preservation Foundation. San Francisco, CA
IPI Media Storage Quick Reference. Adelstein, Peter A. Image Institute, Rochester NY
IPI The Archival Advisory. IPI’s Guide for the Family Photo Collector, the Genealogist, and the Scrapbook Maker. Image Gallery

28. University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, Iowa
Preservation of Books and Other Media
Nancy E. Kraft
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa
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