"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article , michael adams
wrote:

"F Murtz" wrote in message
aweb.com...

As an aside I started using an American ink that Noodles make which reacts
with the cellulose in paper making it archival,(virtually waterproof)because I had a
notebook which got damp, the ink bled and was unreadable and I lost valuable
records..

A lot probably depends on how long you want to keep stuff for.
Since the introduction of wood pulp paper in the 1850's and
the need for acid, there's no doubt that paper from that
era is now brittle and falling apart. However this is a
process that may take 100 years. And while the paper
in books printed during WW2 has a distinct "East German"
look to it - rough, brown specks - and is browning a bit, its
still holding up after 70 years.

Is the browning due to the paper oxidising (and so presumably a process
that could continue until you're left with ash) or is it a chemical
process with the acid meaning it'll brown up to a point and be stable
thereafter.

Not sure about the cause - apart from the acid attacking the cellulose but its
certainly never stable. It becomes increasing brittle rather than flexible and
can be easily torn . The folds in each sheet where the book is bound are also
stressed and the pages start to fall out. Acidity is irreversible the best that
can be achieved is for the process to be halted and the material
treated with kid gloves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_fires


michael adams

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