Cold storage of film

As temperatures drop the movement of molecules slows down and lowers the rate at which chemical reactions can take place. In 1889 Savante Arrhenius showed that the rate constant of a reaction was dependant upon temperature. In practical terms the rate approximately halves for every 5^oC drop in temperature and conversely doubles for a 5°C increase.

For a film, this means that we can lengthen its life expectancy by lowering the temperature under which the film is stored, this will reduce the rate of the decomposition reaction.

• Cold storage
• Acclimatisation
• Desiccants

References

• New Tools for Preservation, Assessing Long-Term Environmental Effects on Library and Archives Collections: The Commission on Preservation and Access, 1995
• Environment and Enclosures in Film Preservation, Final Report to the Office of Preservation National Endowment for the Humanities: Image Permanence Institute, Jean-Louis Bigourdan, James Reilly, 1997
• Chemistry, 4th Edition; R.Chang, McGraw-Hill, 1991
• Care of Photographic Moving Image & Sound Collections: Proceedings of Photo '98, York, edited by Susie Clark "
• Freeze/Thaw Cycling of Motion Picture Film: D.F. Kopperl, C.C. Bard, SMPTE Journal, August 1985