You are wrong on many fronts and making a case out of what I did not say.
First of all, I have been in the printing business and photo business for 40
years, I know much about papers, and ink. The term "printed material" is a
common term for papers that are printed on a printing press, and not used to
refer to photographic prints.

Litho and letterpress inks are oil base, whether they use linseed oil, soy
oil or other drying oils, they still dry slowly, especially newsprint inks
which are cheaply produced and the final drying can take weeks or months if
ever. A major problem with printers is when inks don't set quickly enough to
prevent smudging or transfer with post-press handling, the final drying is
slow, which means the inks can transfer to porous surfaces such as cedar.

Whether the paper is acid based or non-acid is not involved in this
discussion, only you brought it up. Yes, conditions do affect archival
storage. But this is a cedar lined box, the conditions that the box is
stored in will have a bigger affect on the life of the "printed material"
than the box itself.

Plastic bags may damage photographs, yes, so will many things. However, many
sheet papers and films are packed in plastic bags. Processed film negatives
are returned in plastic holders, the prints are in plastic lined envelopes.
Probably the greatest cause of photos to loose their image or to go dark is
improper processing. Many photo prints and negatives are processed so
quickly by auto-replenishing equipment that often the chemicals are
partially spent if the operator does not check on a regular basis. The wash
water is not exchanged frequently enough for the amount of material
processed so that the fixer is not removed. Fixer residue is the cause of
many photo materials deteriorating and can cause other non-photo items to
start deteriorating. Yes, I have bought, operated and managed large film
processing equipment.

There is much for you to learn before you can tell me that I don't know
anything. I prefaced my statements with "I think" because there are far too
many factors involved to present every possible condition, rather than the
general enquiry made by the original poster. I tried to make a general
answer that would be relatively easy to understand.

PS: Do you know what "microfilm pox" is, and what causes it?


"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

"Eric Tonks" etonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM wrote in message
...
I don't think "printed material" fits photographs. I also don't thing
that
the offgassing from the cedar would hurt any paper (except make them
smell
like cedar).

It does not matter what you "think", what matters is the reality of the
situation Ask any librarian about the deterioration of books printed on
acid paper, stored improperly, contaminated by poor envirnment. Please
take
the time to learn about the compostion of photo paper, the coatings, the
silver, the colred dyes and other things that may be present in a simple
photgraph, be it black and white or color.

The problem that they may be warning you about is the ink on
printed paper. Many oil based inks dry slowly, the same way that oil
based
paints dry, they absorb oxygen and the oils harden.

Most inks today are soy based and dry fast. Of course, old manuscripts may
be oil based, old letters may be dye based inks or vegetable coloring.


You may want to seal any photographs into ZipLock bags to keep the photo
chemical residues from harming any other materials you place in the
chest.

The Ziploc bags may also ruin the photos. I have a darkroom and I've
done
some serious photography. Please don't suggest anything you don't know
for
FACT. Terms like "I think" or "it may" don't hold water to the real facts
of
archived materials. Your suggestion could wipe out a family history,
memories from the old country, or valuable prints. It won't happen in a
week but it WILL happen.

I may sound a bit harsh, but your post is so far off it can cause serious
problems for a family in a few years when all the memories and history are
gone..