Comparison of Drying Methods
Air Drying: Advantages
- Air-drying is useful for small quantities of wet or damp materials.
- It is an attractive option because records do not need to leave the repository.
- It allows for item-by-item inspection and special handling.
- Air-drying produced the best results with plastic coated materials.
Slide 52 Comparison of Drying Methods Kaplan/Ludwig 2003 Air-drying drawbacks
- But air-drying also has several drawbacks.
- It is labor-intensive. Time is needed to layout and re-assemble records, and to remove damp or wet papers from plastic enclosures.
- Air-drying requires large areas of surface space.
- Cockling without restraint during drying results in increased volume of dried materials, and potential need for re-boxing or rebinding.
- Coated papers will irreversibly block without interleaving.
- Extensive handling of wet materials may cause damage.
Slide 53 Comparison of Drying Methods Kaplan/Ludwig 2003