Lamination, Deacidification Spray, Problemematic Attachments
Lamination
Avoid lamination, as it subjects items to damaging heat and/or pressure.
It is also not permanent, as delamination will occur over time.
The far better option is encapsulation. See encapsulating documents.
Deacidification spray
Widely sold in scrapbooking and art supply stores, deacidification spray should be used sparingly and with caution.
Deacidification spray adds a buffering agent to neutralize acids, but with some sprays the effect is temporary. Look for sprays that leave an alkaline reserve permanently fixed in the paper fibers and that do not damage prints or colors.
Many sprays can cause inks and non-colorfast papers to run or smear when sprayed and can discolor even colorfast items and inks. Color photographs are at high risk of discoloration from contact with deacidification solutions or with items sprayed with these solutions.
Flowers, news clippings and other problematic attachments
Locks of hair, flowers, and other fragile keepsakes are best added to a scrapbook page inside a polyester or polypropylene envelope mounted to the page.
See encapsulating documents to make your own enclosures.
Flowers and similar items must be thoroughly dried before adding to a scrapbook. Do not press them directly into a book. Instead, press them between pieces of cotton blotting paper.
Newspaper clippings are best added to a scrapbook as photocopies on permanent paper. Another option is to deacidify and encapsulate them, although over time the paper may return to its acid state.
Folded items such as menus, maps or theater programs can be tucked into polyester or paper sleeves, mounted on the page. Slide the item out of its sleeve for viewing.
Metal items, such as coins and decorations, may tarnish or darken over time. Since you might want to remove them easily for polishing, good options are polyester enclosures or properly-spaced photo corners. Polyester or polypropylene sleeves specially made for coin and stamp collectors are another good solution.
Many fabrics are acid free and perfectly safe for archival scrapbooks. Cotton and polyester are the longest-lasting fabrics and tend not to decay when in contact with other items. Silk deteriorates over time and can become very fragile.
Rubber contains sulfur and will deteriorate quite rapidly, sometimes affecting anything it is near.
