Most of the collectors I know have some form of preservation techniques for the cdvs they own, while others (include me) are a bit fanatical. The way I see it is that I am only the temporary owner of the image and my duty is to do my best to preserve them for the pleasure of future generations, while enjoying them as a collector.I have written my thoughts on how to preserve cdvs and have included links to the archival products I use.
In my opinion, the minimum that should be done to preserve a cdv is to make sure that it is in an archival sleeve. There are several different ones available, including those made for holding sports cards that can usually be found at hobby stores. I purchase my sleeves online from a company named Bags Unlimited. They are made out of polypropylene, which is acid-free and happen to be a great size to fit cdvs in. Thinner than most of the cdv holders, I believe that there is less likelihood of damaging a cdv when inserting it into the holder or removing it. These come 100 to the pack and at the time of writing this, each pack costs $6.29. The following is the link:
I keep my cdvs in the sleeves and then tape each sleeve, using double-sided tape, to an archival sheet of paper that has the research and story behind each image. This sheet then gets put into a page-sized acid-free 3 hole sleeve, which then gets put into an archival quality binder. The only thing that is not museum preservation quality is the double-sided tape, but that never touches the cdv.
The letter page-sized sleeves I use can be purchased at Office Depot. Although the Office Depot-branded ones state that they are acid-free, I somehow feel safer using ones made by Avery that are carried at Office Depot. They are called Easy Load Heavyweight Sheet Protectors (Avery product #75304). For the remaining products - paper and binder - I purchase those via the internet from a company named Archival Methods. The paper sheets that I print the information on and attach the sleeves to is called Permalife 20 LB Bond Paper and comes 500 sheets to the package. It's expensive at $26.10 for a pack but is well worth it for me. Finally, the binders come in several colors and sizes, all being museum quality......and expensive.
Maybe all of this is overkill but I go to sleep at night knowing that I have done my best to protect these wonderful pieces of history!
