Dear TEXCONS list of conservators & Jerry Shriner,
I do wish we in the midwest would be so lucky to need a quick response
fade card.  I perform 5 CAP surveys per year within 8 regional states
and install long term monitors near a precious textile or print on long-
term exhibit. My clients, historic Societies that receive a survey,
need a visual reminder that 5 years is a long time for an exhibit.  I
have taken the blue wool standard and added lines to get a five year
line record so they may see the damage that is caused.  I have named
these a light fade test strip monitor that I sell for $25 thru
Treatments at [log in to unmask] If you are interested in a xerox/
digital image of the prototype, just email me.
Jennifer Hein, Midwest Preservation Conservator,[log in to unmask]
>
> Judy Schwender wrote:
> I have been asked about something called either a "textile fading
card"
> or a "textile saving card". This was described as a felt-type card
> that indicates when a textile should be removed to avoid fading.
> Does anyone have any information about this?
>
>
>
> Hello (again) All!
>
> The LightCheck Cumulative Illumination Dosimeter is a new product
developed in the European Union to provide a (fairly) accurate
indication of how much light has fallen on an object.  Two styles have
been developed, differing only in light sensitivity. We are now
stocking the more sensitive indicator strip (LCU), and expect the
companion strip shortly. The LightCheck strip are not only more
sensitive than the various Blue Wool series, but they also indicate the
amount of light absorbe by comparing the colour change to a chart. The
colour chart accompanying each set of strips is calibrated to the dye
lot. Full information at www.keepsafe.ca
>
> That said... The LightCheck strip is merely another tool, useless
without someone to make some critical judgements about how much is too
much!  The LCU strip will completely change colours from new (blue) to
exhausted (pink) in response to a few weeks of bright window light-
this makes it an excellent indicator for an antique etching, or an
early photographic print, but a thousand times too sensitive for a
deeply coloured polyester curtain.
>
> While a Blue Wool indicator might not fade too quickly to be useful,
which one should be used? How much damage is done before you notice
colour fading in the textile? Without more specific information, it's
like shooting a gun in the dark- you may or may not hit your target,
but you may also do a lot of collateral damage.
>
> js
> Jerry Shiner
> Keepsafe Systems / Microclimate Technologies International
> Supplies and Solutions for Microclimate and Oxygen-free display and
storage
> www.keepsafe.ca    www.microclimate.ca   1 800 683-4696
>
>

--Jennifer Hein
Preservation Consultant
Historic Object Conservator of Textiles, Leather & Ethnography
PO Box 90379, Indianapolis, IN 46290
317-575-9296
CoreComm Webmail.
http://home.core.com