It seems to be this thread is casually conflating "plastic sheet protectors" sold by office supply stores like Staples, with other products like Vario stock sheets and stamp mounts. These are two very different things.
Plastics sold by stamp publishers ought to have been tested for safety for storage of stamps. And we're told they have been. This applies to stamp mounts, plastic interleaving, cover sleeves, the plastic film used to hold stamps in stock books, and other stamp-related plastic. So, we can be reasonably sure these plastics are safe for whatever is mounted with them, including stamps. But the plastics being discussed here of the office supply store type are not necessarily designed for storage of stamps or other paper products for long periods of time. Many of those plastics may not be safe for archival use over the years.
As a goodbye gift from a school where I once taught, I was once given a beautiful photo album with dozens of photos and cards mounted on those sticky photo pages which had the clear plastic overlays on top of them. I kept it for the next 30 (or so) years. One day, after not looking at it for years, I pulled it off the shelf, and I was shocked to discover all the cardboard pages had browned with age like they'd been burned. Acid in the paper at work, I suppose. And the clear plastic sheets had become oily. Out came all the photos and cards immediately and they went into another "archival" album for safer keeping (I hope).
You may have seen old plastic cover pages that have turned yellow over the years. I had some from decades ago that I had used to mount covers until I discovered they were not only yellowed, but also oily. Again, I quickly removed all the covers and threw away the so-called "protective" plastic sleeves.
You may have seen the old Scott Publishing Company hingeless pages from the 1970s and 80s where the mounts themselves have held up but the glue used to attach the mounts quickly stained the pages. As far as I'm concerned those pages are ruined. Not the stamps, fortunately. Even stamp publishers, one of whose jobs it is to certify their products as being safe over many decades, can screw up. I have a much more recently made Italian Marini hingeless album. It's beautiful but the glue which attaches the very bottom of each clear mount to the page has dried up so that the mounts are falling off the pages. If stamp publishers can't get stamp storage products right, imagine how manufacturers of generic plastics are going to screw up at times, as well.
Although we can't be 100% sure that all "plastic" or vinyl (or whatever it is) intended for stamp use is safe, I can't imagine dozens of manufacturers of stamp albums, stocks books, etc. selling plastic products they know would harm stamps. Let's hope not, anyway. We've all seen the references to those plastics as "safe for stamps." So presumably someone has done the necessary testing so that stamps and covers in that sort of plastic will be safe (Although I'd like to see the evidence).
But the other plastics I'd be concerned about. Plastics like office supply store "page protectors" are generic items. They are not necessarily designed for long-term storage of stamps. That's very different from well-tested stamp mounts.
The first thing I do when I buy a collection where someone has slid album pages into plastic sheet protectors is to throw away the sheet protectors. How do I know they're safe? Stamps can survive just fine for decades on acid-free pages with some air circulation in moderate climates. By the way, it's a good idea to air out your albums by flipping through the pages once in awhile. Since I have no idea what plastic sheet protectors might be doing to stamps, why take a chance? I play it safe and throw them away.
I'd guess that generic sheet protectors are not likely to be another Crystal Mounts disaster. But remember Crystal Mounts weren't even sold generically. They were sold by one of the major stamp supply dealers of the era, H.E. Harris and Co. A much-trusted stamp company ended up being responsible for a great deal of damage to stamps over the years.
Plastic sheet protectors sold by Staples and Office Depot and others have no guarantee they won't become oily or won't trap moisture. What if they reduce the air circulation mint stamps depend on to not become glued to the pages? The wise collector might want to avoid office supply store products not certified for long-term storage of stamps. I am not talking, by the way, about Vario stock sheets and others like them which are supposed to be just fine. I'm specifically referring to generic (cheap) office supply store products no one has certified as safe for stamps. I wouldn't experiment with my own stamp collection, that's for sure.
And, by the way, "8 years" is a very short time when you're talking about archival quality products. My own original U.S. album (a Scott National) is 60 years old now. All stamps in that album are mounted with ordinary hinges along with a few mounts, and all are in excellent shape. I'd want any plastic I used to be guaranteed just as safe for generations. I would not be confident of a product just because it's proven safe for a few years. |
Posted 11/29/2017 11:53 pm
