Wood frames that meet photographic conservation archive guidelines

Wood Frames and Metal Frames offered by Frame Destination are made from the highest quality materials and meet conservation guidelines for photography collections.

The Physical Structure of Photographs

Photographs are complex physical objects using a variety of composite materials. Since the initial investion of photographic techniquest many different materials have been used. A typical photograph has three major components:

1. The Support Layer - most commonly made of glass, plastic film, paper or a resin coated paper.
2. The Binder Layer - an emulsion or binder layer which is commonly gelatin but can also be albumen or collodion. The Binder layer holds the final image.
3. The Image Material - usually made of silver, colored dyes, or pigments. The final image material is usually suspended in the emulsion materil of the binder layer.

Identifying the Photographic Type

There are various types of photographs and their identification requires a basic understanding of the history of photographic processes. Archivists and curators who are charged with the responsibility of maintaining photographic collections need to be familiar with the various processes used to create photographs and they need to knwo whey those processes were used.  This knowledge is needed not just for cataloging but also for making informed decisions about the proper preservation processes.  Preservation processes must be identified in order to differientiate between copies and vintage originals.

Additionally, proper storage of the images requires differing considerations due to the potential for some of the image materials to give off harmful gases as they detriorate. This can be especially important when dealing with nitrate and acetate negatives which can damage other archived images.  If the wrong type of storage environments or enclosures are used the deterioration process can be accelerated and adjacent objects in the storage enclosures may be damaged.  There are many excellent books devoted to the photographic archival and storage realm. (See Coe and Booth 1983, Reilly 1983, Jarry 1996, and Juergens 1999)

Offered by Frame Destination wood frames, foamboard, foamcore, mounting supplies and products represent just a small part of the conservation quality supplies selection available. For more information please visit our website or call us at 1-877-5FRAMES.