But what I do not understand is: why, if the pulp falls all over the paper, it only ends up filling the missing areas and does not stick to the surface of the paper.
As the vacuum pump draws the water, containing the paper pulp, down through the document it takes the path of least resistance which is through the missing areas, this results in the pulp gathering in these areas to form a new paper layer. A thin layer of pulp can form over the whole document if too much is added so it is critical to calculate the amount of pulp required depending on the level of damage and loss to the document, this will also prevent the infills being too heavy. As with most conservation techniques this is a process with many variables which can be adjusted to form good subtle repairs. Hope that helps answer your question!
Thank you for posting this. Fascinating!
How can I learn to do this professionally?
What is the name of the plastic sheet ?
Melinex, it is a polyyester film
The plastic sheet is 100 micron Melinex.
Awesome! Thanks for posting
But what I do not understand is: why, if the pulp falls all over the paper, it only ends up filling the missing areas and does not stick to the surface of the paper.
As the vacuum pump draws the water, containing the paper pulp, down through the document it takes the path of least resistance which is through the missing areas, this results in the pulp gathering in these areas to form a new paper layer. A thin layer of pulp can form over the whole document if too much is added so it is critical to calculate the amount of pulp required depending on the level of damage and loss to the document, this will also prevent the infills being too heavy. As with most conservation techniques this is a process with many variables which can be adjusted to form good subtle repairs. Hope that helps answer your question!
To learn how to become an Archive Conservator, take a look at the careers section of the Archives and Records Association website.
Where did you get this machine?
Thank you for your query. We purchased this machine from Preservation Equipment Ltd (www.preservationequipment.com/). Hope that helps!
My only regret in watching this video is being only able to "LIKE" it once.