Archival Intercept
We live and breathe in a haze of damaging oxidizing gasses created by the breakdown of organic products, industrial pollution, and the combustion of fossil fuels. Protecting your posters from the damaging effects of these pervasive pollutants is a tricky business, especially so when even the very paper your posters are printed on may hasten their demise. Over time, the sulfur used in the manufacture of paper will oxidize and may eventually cause the paper to become brittle and discolored. Tests have shown that even the sophisticated filtering systems used in high-tech "clean rooms" are incapable of removing damaging pollutants from the air. The only way to neutralize oxidizing gasses and permanently remove them is by creating a chemical reaction to bond them. That is what Archival Intercept does.
Intercept is a patented product developed by Lucent Technologies Bell Laboratories, and can be found listed under the names Corrosion Intercept or Archival Intercept. Manufactured by reacting copper into a polymer matrix, Intercept traps and neutralizes those nasty oxidizing gasses and is also an effective fungicide and bactericide.
Intercept is available as sheets that can be inserted into acid-free boxes or flat files containing your posters (ideally your posters would be stored in polyester sleeves such as Melinex 516 if using this method). It is also available as envelopes and even as heat sealable enclosures. I have included two reputable online sources where you can find these products, and you can search further to find others.
Whether it’s worth the extra expense to purchase Intercept products if you have already stored your posters in polyester sleeves is up to you. I have one large sheet in each drawer of my flat files because I figure it’s cheap insurance. The final decision is yours.
Sources for Intercept:
The Hollinger Corporation
www.hollingercorp.com
Talas
www.talasonline.com
