What Are Causes Of Paper Deterioration | 6 Paper Preservation Techniques

Paper deterioration can be a nightmare, especially when it comes to important official documents or your favorite books. Since paper is made of plant fibers, mainly wood pulp, many factors can cause it to degrade. Once it becomes brittle and discolored, there’s no going back. 

So, in this article, we’ll introduce you to 6 paper preservation techniques that will save you from losing your documents.

Causes Of Paper Deterioration

Here are some of the common factors that can cause paper deterioration:

• Exposure to light or heat can cause certain chemical reactions to break down the paper fibers and fade the inked text.
• Air pollutants,e.g., sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, interact with paper and speed up deterioration. These pollutants contribute to the discoloration and weakening of the fibers.
• If exposed to damp conditions, the paper could develop mold or fungi. These agents don’t just damage the fibers but also lead to stains, decay, and foul smells.
• Insects like termites and beetles feed on the fibers of paper. 
• Improper handling of the paper can lead to creasing, tears, and sometimes permanent fingerprint stains.

Paper Preservation Techniques

Now that you know the causes of paper deterioration, let’s discuss some paper preservation techniques.

1. Environmental control

Temperature fluctuations in the environment can stain and weaken the paper. To save your documents, store them in a cool, dark place with only 30-40% relative humidity. Keep them away from any areas prone to humidity or direct sunlight.

Also, make sure your storage has proper air circulation to prevent any stagnant air and moisture buildup.

2. Acid-free protection

Use acid-free folders, boxes, or sleeves for storing your documents. Acidic materials significantly speed up paper degradation time. So be sure to choose high-quality material to protect your documents.

Go to your local stationary store and ask for files and boxes that are often used in offices in the archives section. They are designed to provide physical protection from dust, light, and other pollutants to prevent paper deterioration.

3. UV-filtering protection

When putting important documents or precious artwork on display, they’re bound to be exposed to ultraviolet rays. Constant exposure to these rays causes the ink, pigments, and dyes on the paper to fade over time.

Use UV-filtering glass or acrylic to reduce the amount of UV light that reaches your paper and slow down the fading process. 

4. Pest Management

Insects and pests, usually attracted by dust, bits of food, and other organic matter, can cause significant damage to paper. Regularly clean and vacuum your storage space, and pay attention to any corners and crevices where pests can hide.

Since wooden shelves attract pests and termites, we suggest switching to metal shelves instead.

5. Limited Handling 

Believe it or not, a major cause of paper deterioration is simply our own carelessness. To avoid people mishandling your important documents, control access to them and limit their handling to authorized individuals you can trust to be careful. 

This way, not only will fewer people touch the documents, but if, unfortunately, any document does get damaged, it’ll be easy to shortlist who is to blame.

6. Get rid of any clips and staples

If your documents have any paper clips or staples attached, remove them before you store them. Since these stationary items are made of metal, they are prone to rust, which can easily transfer onto your papers and leave stains.

Instead, use envelopes or thin plastic folder bags to hold relevant documents together in one place. These folder bags often have hole punches to keep them together in a binder.

Conclusion

In short, if you want to save your documents, you’ll have to make the extra effort to find the right storage space and methods to save them from pests and other insects. The best way to save your documents is to UV-blocking windows, but if you don’t want to spend much, we suggest going for archival containers.

If your business deals with countless paper documents every day, it’s best to leave paper conservation and restoration to professional archivists.