Subject: Distorted microfiche
Anita, Without knowing more about your microfiche it is impossible to say for sure, but I have seen many many fiche that develop a curved shape due to the way they are stored. They are not packed tightly enough in there drawers and the front ones start to sag. This creates a domino effect and soon all the fiche are warped. This effect is accelerated in some cases because the film has a natural tendency to curl because when it was manufactured it was rolled onto a roll while it was still warm. This gives each fiche a slight curve. It is similar to copier paper. The paper wants to curl in a certain direction because it was trained to while it was on the roll. That is why there are instructions about which way to put the paper into the copier for best results. As for getting the fiche flat again, you basically have to re-train the film to lay flat. This can be done with weight. Heat would help too, but I would not suggest that--too risky. Personally, I have always just fixed the storage problem by making the fiche all stand up straight again. But I do not know if just having the fiche stored upright and straight again is enough to fix the problem. I have always just hoped that it would and knew that it would keep things from getting worse. Brian J. Baird Assistant Preservation Librarian Princeton University Libraries *** Conservation DistList Instance 7:21 Distributed: Friday, August 20, 1993 Message Id: cdl-7-21-002 ***Received on Tuesday, 17 August, 1993