Let's conduct a TEST(5/9/07 - 6/15/07)
Pieces from 12 different plastic philatelic/cuurency storage and display products (labeled below) were used
A light mask was placed over the plastic products
The mask and plastic products underneath were exposed to continuous direct sunlight for about 1 month
THE RESULTS
(right image shows clear plastic portion of products removed from their backing materials)
mouse click on a piece of a philatelic plastic product below to view the effect that sunlight had on it
Quiz 1: Which of the plastic products above will you think twice before using? Hints are given in red below.
Leuchtturm Lighthouse Vario
Supersafe Archival Polyester Currency Holder
Lindner-T Blank System
Stamp holders used by NY stamp auction firm
Lindner Fazlos Album Page
Hagner Stock Sheet
GK DS 06 dealer stock book
Showgard SuperSafe Stock Sheets
Showgard Group WSE-3
Supersafe Museum Grade Currency Holder
GK Starsheet
GK Block File
Although the visibly discolored products above have the potential to damage stamps/currency that they are used with, it is possible that the other products shown are also capable of doing so (via a non-visble chemical degradation or other decompostion that only a more formal experiment could detect).
Even though the test above was not conducted under laboratory or controlled conditions, the results should give you pause to consider the implications of blindly using plastic products for long term storage and display of your stamps.
The blue wool card above was used to estimate the cumulative exposure that occured during the 1 month under the plastic products were kept under sunlight. The fading of the 4th blue wool strip indicates that the plastic products experienced about 10 Megalux hours of light exposure.
FYI: an equivalent amount of light exposure can occur of exposure to light in an indoor environment!
For more information about the blue wool card and effects of light on plastic and paper visit the pages at:
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