And, these are available from the Bradley Company?  I just viewed the
web site listed in your other message, and found all sizes of 4-mil bags
available, but no mention of whether or not these are
archival/PH-neutral.  I prefer to use 4-mil, for the reasons you state
here, and also because some artifacts can be heavy and/or have sharp
edges, either of which can cut a 2-mil bag.  I'm going to have to order
more bags in the near future.

D. Babson.


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ron
May
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 2:20 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: archival-quality bags


D.Babson,

The 2 mil bags are not good because after opening and closing them about
ten or fifteen times, they don't seal as well as the 4 mil bags. Of
course, if you simply intend collections to be dead storage and not used
for research then 2 mil might make sense. But many artifacts require
conservation, change of the insert tags, and should be available for
examination. Having spent fifteen years working with historic artifact
collections at the Fort Guijarros Museum Foundation Lab, I can attest to
the issue. I believe that is why the National Park Service requires 4
mil bags.

Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.