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Film: Displaying and Preserving a Negative

matt nalley

New member
Along with a large print I would like to give a negative as a gift for a special someone. The thought is a print can't be carried with you wherever you go, but a negative is very portable. This frame seems to be the perfect size. It is 40x40mm and the circle will nicely frame the subject. One side will hold a contact print, the portable version of the large print. The opposite side will hold the negative. The other point of this part of my gift is to say not only is this a true one-of-a-kind print for your wall that you can also take with you wherever you go, but the original negative is also yours.

Here is my problem. How can I preserve the negative? Although very unlikely, if the print is ever damaged or destroyed the negative may need to be retrieved if she wants me to reproduce the print. Even if that never happens I want to make sure the negative doesn't get dusty or scratched for aesthetic reasons. My only thought is to sandwich the negative between two very thin pieces of UV-protected plexiglass with a sheet of acid-free white paper behind the negative. (One suggestion I received on another forum is to tape the negative to mat board so the negative doesn't touch the glass.) All I can find online are standard plastic sleeves, which won't provide adequate protection. Does any sort of single-frame negative mount/preservation product exist? If so, would it be thin enough to fit in a frame like this designed for a paper thin print?

I'm not set on this particular frame. It just happens to be the right size for a 35mm negative. And she just happens to love silver :)

My original idea was something more basic than a hinged silver frame (that's just all I've been able to find so far). I thought about a simple square plexiglass sandwich, roughly 35x35mm. The negative could be directly behind the contact print, with the back of the print serving as the white background to make the negative as visible as possible. For this I had no idea what to Google so I haven't found anything yet. Ideas?

The frame:
GT-450.jpg
 

Hi Matt,

Atmospheric moisture is your enemy. High temperatures are also to be avoided for longevity. Both are factors that can activate the residual chemicals and spores of fungi. After all, it's all about chemistry and gelatin as a food source.

Your best bet would be to seal the negative in a sleeve material intended for storage of photographic film. The sealing operation should be ideally conducted in a controlled atmosphere (low Relative Humidity and if possible low on Oxygen, perhaps due to another inert heavy gass in a container). I don't know how easy it is to seal the common sleeve material at the edges yourself, but you do want to avoid other materials which emit plasticizers.

Cheers,
Bart
 
I'd advice you, if possible to make a contact duplicate of the negative, or scan it a first... (Then why not I could include the neg in a resin block :) and attach a hook, it would be a pendant). No just kidding, safety first!
 

matt nalley

New member
Sandrine, a duplicate negative may be made as part of the process. Someone suggested creating a 4x5 negative from the original 35mm negative and then creating the print from the 4x5 negative. I've never done this before, but whether or not I duplicate it I still want to give the true original 35mm negative as part of the gift. It's not very smart, I know, but saying "here's a duplicate negative" isn't very sentimental. Plus, I trust her to care for the negative properly.
 

matt nalley

New member
Bart, ideally I want the negative to be sealed (i.e. air tight) in this frame, or sealed in the plexiglass. That would provide the best possible protection next to storing it in a sleeve in a dark filing cabinet where no one can see it, correct? How I make this happen or find someone who can do it for me is where I'm completely lost. My guess is the archival sleeve is not very transparent, which is why I think plexiglass is the next best option. I'm open to suggestions though. I want the negative to be as visible as possible and as protected as possible. It's going to be a compromise, I know. Can you point me in the right direction? I don't know what else to Google.
 
Bart, ideally I want the negative to be sealed (i.e. air tight) in this frame, or sealed in the plexiglass. That would provide the best possible protection next to storing it in a sleeve in a dark filing cabinet where no one can see it, correct? How I make this happen or find someone who can do it for me is where I'm completely lost. My guess is the archival sleeve is not very transparent, which is why I think plexiglass is the next best option. I'm open to suggestions though. I want the negative to be as visible as possible and as protected as possible. It's going to be a compromise, I know. Can you point me in the right direction? I don't know what else to Google.

Hi Matt,

The common sleeves are transparent, to facilitate viewing on a lightbox they even have a matted back surface (which also avoids fusion with the emulsion side of film). I wonder about the acrylic/plexiglass (or its acidic glue) outgassing of plasticizers though... I understand that dark/cool storage may be hard to achieve, but air tight will already help a lot.

Cheers,
Bart
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Sandrine, a duplicate negative may be made as part of the process. Someone suggested creating a 4x5 negative from the original 35mm negative and then creating the print from the 4x5 negative. I've never done this before, but whether or not I duplicate it I still want to give the true original 35mm negative as part of the gift. It's not very smart, I know, but saying "here's a duplicate negative" isn't very sentimental. Plus, I trust her to care for the negative properly.

Matt,

There's no chance of improving your print by first going to a 4"x5" from a 35mm negative unless you plan to retouch the negative and want a large surface to make corrections easier. However a 4x5 negative might look better in the frame, It will last a good 100 years, so don't fret!

Are you dealing with B&W or color. If color then there is the problem of attack from hydrogen sulphide and other acidic gases in the air. Sealing in a sleeve is one way of preserving the film or else museum quality glass and acid free paper to mount the film on and a sheet of copper behind to deal with the sulphur.

B&W film is far more resistant to damage, but, as has been mentioned by Bart, with higher humidity fungus is a problem. So if this is in Florida or Malaysia or The Philippines, then you need a silica drying agent too and it has to be regularly replaced for archival purposes. In practice, just frame it as best you can and if in 10 years time they need a new picture, just replace it!

BTW, make the print from the negative you give her. Then you can honestly say, here's the print and the negative. In photography, there are many times when "the negative" is not the first sheet of film exposed and processed!

Asher
 

matt nalley

New member
Asher, it's b&w. And yes, the point is to give her the only print and only negative, true originals. That's why I'm trying to find the best way to preserve the negative :)

The frame company finally responded to my e-mail, and I'm afraid it is far to small with a gap of only 2mm. There is probably not even enough space for plexiglass, let alone two layers of mat board. Finding another frame that size to perfectly fit a 35mm negative is proving quite difficult. They make a similar frame with one side for a picture; the other side folds over just to act as a cover. Maybe I'll use that one for a portable contact print and find another way to preserve the negative and give it to her separately. How are negatives usually displayed?

Other frame that would work for a contact print:
GT-449.jpg
 
I'm thinking of something weird, like a jewellery box, inside, velvet
http://www.craftsinindia.com/newcraftsimages/DIV0001GANBOX.jpg

with a custom made hole to fit one of those slide mounting frame with glass
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/20549-REG/Gepe_456007_35mm_Pin_Registered_Glass.html

just my two cents


PS Edit: you also may want to google, the personnalised gift shops, you can find lots of stuff there that can even be engraved

like this one:http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/julieslaterandson/product/mini-leather-triple-photo-frame
AND
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/noblemacmillan/product/milestone_mini_photo_frame
 

matt nalley

New member
Sandrine, a slide mount may be perfect protection. Do they work with regular negatives or only slides? And how does the anti Newton glass work? It sounds like it sandwiches the negative to flatten it, which would be bad, right?
 
You know slides are just "negative" negatives :)
You cut a negative, you put it on a slide mount and it become a negative slide....
usually , but Doug or Bart would correct me, the glass has tiny engravings that ensures the glass is not evenly touching the surface (a bit like the viewfinder interchangeable glass in a nikon F for example) . Excuse my inaccuracy, it's where I know I'm lacking of english words...
HTH
 

matt nalley

New member
Of course :) Having never worked with slide film I only have an image in my head of slides already in the white plastic mounts. I never thought that it's "regular" film in the mount, sprockets and all. It makes perfect sense...if I think about it for 2 seconds :) Time to order some slide mounts and start experimenting.
 
Of course :) Having never worked with slide film I only have an image in my head of slides already in the white plastic mounts. I never thought that it's "regular" film in the mount, sprockets and all. It makes perfect sense...if I think about it for 2 seconds :) Time to order some slide mounts and start experimenting.

Hi Matt,

Make sure you look for the "anti-Newton" glass variety. They reduce the risk of the film 'fusing' with the glass. The slight structure in the glass is intended to avoid "Newton rings", interference of light between the shiny sufaces.

Slide frames are not perfect though. For longevity you still need to seal from contact with the outside atmosphere.

Cheers
 
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