ACIDIFIED MOUNTED SILVER GELATIN PRINTS: EVALUATION OF THE EFFICIENCY OF NEW AND CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS

Acid-attack is the main enemy of paper-based materials, including photographic materials. Accordingly, the primary aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of different deacidification methods in decreasing the acidity level in mounted silver gelatin prints, as well as to study their effect on the properties of such unique photographs. Selected methods include the use of conventional methods (i.e., calcium carbonate and barium hydroxide) and new methods (i.e., calcium carbonate and barium hydroxide loaded on gellan gum gel, and magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles). Several testing methods have been employed such as: USB digital microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), pH value measurements, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The obtained results indicate that the gellan gum gel loaded with barium hydroxide treatment yielded the best results compared to the other treatments, in terms of efficiency and having the lowest effect on the properties of the acidified mounted silver gelatin prints.