PRESSURE-SENSITIVE TAPE AND TECHNIQUES FOR ITS REMOVAL FROM PAPERMerrily A. Smith, Norvell M. M. Jones, Susan L. Page, & Marian Peck Dirda
5 TESTING BEFORE INITIATING TAPE REMOVALSOLUBILITY TESTING with solvents presents difficult problems. Their low surface tension allows solvents to wick rapidly into the paper. A too liberal application of solvent will bleed very soluble inks, colors, paper dyes, or sizes. On the other hand, because solvents tend to evaporate quickly, a sufficient quantity of liquid must be used to get meaningful results. Finally, because solvents are toxic, testing must be done in the fume hood, where the draft compounds the evaporation problem and often no microscope is available. The first step in testing should be carried out on the paper itself in a non-image area. This step is critical because many papers, especially contemporary ones, contain sizes, dyes, or fillers that will move in some solvents. The following series of steps constitutes one possible procedure for testing paper.
Repetition of the process at least three times in the same area is imperative to approximate the effects of the relatively large amount of solvent actually used in tape removal. Particular care in testing is required if the adhesive is to be removed with a poultice because of the lengthy exposure to solvent this technique involves. Some papers form yellow rings with all of the solvents that are likely to remove the tape. In such cases select the solvent that causes the least movement, then use it cautiously. The second step is to test inks and colors. As with paper, repeated testing in the same spot is necessary because media that appear stable initially may move unexpectedly and quickly with prolonged exposure to the solvent. Just because an ink is stable for five minutes in an acetone bath does not mean that it will remain stable for six minutes. Media testing might be approached as follows:
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