The following messages are taken from the
IBCC archives and contain helpful information about safe storage
of business cards.
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Question: Just wondering...I had some
cards stored in a small B/C card holder and over time some of the
cards have managed to "stick" to the plastic sheets
they are in. How and why does this happen? Is it the plastic or
the card? Or both? I have some cards I would like to display in
the smaller card books (not the 3-ring kind) but am afraid of
damage to the cards over time. How can this be prevented?
Jack: The small business card holders
are most all made with vinyl plastic. This type of plastic is
really bad for storage of just about anything. It is especially
bad for other plastic items.
The reason your cards are sticking to the pages is that
the thermography process uses plastic pellets which are dusted
onto the wet ink during printing. Heat is applied and the pellets
melt which creates the raised print. So, your paper business
cards become a combination of paper and plastic.
The two plastics react with one another and cause the
sticking you describe. There is no way to prevent it that I know
of. The people who make the small holders apparently don't see
any reason to use polypropylene type plastic. It may be more
expensive, that I don't know for sure.
The only type of storage that is worse for business cards
is the "magnetic" style photo albums.
Q: I go to
Wal-Mart and buy the special plastic sheets made to hold business
cards (similar to sheets to hold sports cards) and notebooks.
Jack: I hope that you are not getting
the vinyl pages. Our local Wal-Mart only stocks the vinyl type.
They are not only bad for cards, but more expensive than the
polypropylene type available at office supply stores.
Many modern cards are made with the thermography raised
printing process. Tiny plastic beads are used to make the ink
puff up to give the raised effect. This plastic in the ink reacts
with the vinyl pages and causes them to change color, stick to
the sheets and other odd things!
The reason cards stick to plastic sheets is because the
ink used in thermography is dusted with a very fine plastic
powder while the ink is wet. The cards are then heat treated
which causes the powder to mix with the ink and creates the
raised printing effect. Thermography was originally created to
look like engraved printing. Now, very few people remember
engraving. Some types of plastic react when placed in contact.
The plastic in thermography ink reacts with vinyl pages. It will
not react with polypropylene (or “poly”) pages. If you
have a supply of vinyl pages, you can use them with flat printed
cards. Regular printing ink doesn't react (in most cases) with
vinyl.
NEVER...ever put cards in "peel-up" type albums. These
are the type of albums which have the plastic cover page which
peels up from the base. They will ruin photos, cards, clippings,
etc. I have seen them with the words "made with
archival plastic" on the wrapper. That may be true; however,
the base paper and sticky strips are NOT archival.
Q: I
would also like to know if anyone knows where to get the plastic
sheets to put the cards in. I don't need the books, just the
sheets.
Jack: The type of sheet you want is
polypropylene plastic, NOT vinyl. My favorite type is made by
C-Line products and the stock number is 61217. I ordered my last
batch through an office supply store as they didn't have them in
stock. I found their site on the web with this info:
Contact your Office Supply Dealer to purchase C-Line
products. Specify the C-Line product and product number when
ordering. If you cannot obtain C-Line products through your
dealer or retail store, contact DIRECTLY YOURS. DIRECTLY YOURS
would be happy to take your order over the phone or fax and ship
your products directly to you! All products are shipped within 24
hours provided they are in stock. Call 1-888-666-5773 to order
C-Line now! Fax: (203) 385-5701
More from Jack on obtaining storage
sheets:
I just received an
order from Viking Office Products (800-421-1222) for new biz card
pages. These are Avery pages, ten to a pack which hold 20 cards
per page. They are a bit heavier than the C-Line pages. However,
they are still acid free, archival safe and they "won't lift
print" states the package. They are some form of
polypropylene and definitely not vinyl.
Their web site is http://www.vikingop.com
Jack Gurner,
IBCC
#4
Jack's Business Card Site
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