ARCHIVAL ENCAPSULATION:

Archival Grade Polyester Film is a safe, untreated film and therefore ideal for encapsulation or for use as a barrier against acid and moisture migration in framing. It has a neutral pH, contains no harmful plasticizers, and is transparent fo easy viewing. Available in handy pre-cut sheets or economical rolls.

When all the leaves in a book are extremely weak and/or brittle and require overall support, encapsulation in polyester film and post-binding may be appropriate. Polyester film is a clear, inert plastic that provides excellent support for fragile paper. Each leaf of the book is placed between two sheets of polyester film, and the film is sealed along all four edges. Ultrasonic welding is the preferred method of sealing the film. If the leaves of a book are still in folio form, the folios will usually need to be cut along the fold to facilitate encapsulation. However, paper requiring encapsulation is usually so fragile that any folds that once existed have already broken. Polyester film has an electrostatic charge. For this reason encapsulation is not recommended for leaves that have loose, flaking, or friable media because the electrostatic charge may loosen media even more. The encapsulated leaves can be bound together in what is referred to as a post-binding. Boards (covers) are attached to the encapsulated leaves by means of screw posts, which pass through the covers and polyester film to produce an album-style binding. Although the boards can be covered in almost any material, they are usually covered in cloth.
Our transparent Archival Grade Dupont Polyester Film also builds a barrier against acid & moisture migration.