Based on our experience and information
gathered from a variety of sources,
we believe that these general guidelines will help preserve your
animation artwork.
Always keep cels flat. Bending a cel can
create an irreversible crease in the acetate and flexing a cel
can cause paint to flake. Store cels appropriately (see below)
and try not to touch them with bare hands as the body's natural
oils will stick to the cel's surface. We use white cotton gloves
when handling cels.
Framing is one of the best ways to preserve
a cel. Use acid free framing materials (we like Bainbridge Alpha
Mats) and UV filtering conservation glass or acrylic glazing
instead of standard glass. Acrylic has the benefit of being shatter
resistant, but requires more delicate care in cleaning. Cels
should be re-matted periodically since the acid-base buffers
in the mats become saturated and no longer function. Also, it's
best to use a spacer to float the cel in the frame so the painted
surface is not in contact with the background or the glazing.
Ask your framer to use "archival quality materials"
and make sure they have experience with cels! We've heard horror
stories about cels being trimmed. Also, ask them to do a "conservation"
framing so the cel can be removed in the future without damage.
Direct sunlight can quickly dehydrate
cels and fade xerographic trace lines, but takes longer to fade
painted colors. Keep cels out of direct light! The same is true
for the heat generated by display lighting, so place the light
a sufficient distance from the art to avoid raising its surface
temperature. A Japanese animator friend tells us that humidity
is the chief culprit in fading trace lines. Don't hang your cels
in a master bedroom with a shower. Without fail, keep your cels
dry! Aside from trace line fade, we've seen more moldy Miyazaki
and Tezuka cels than we can bear. Cels from Toei tend to have
some degree of trace-line fade over time regardless of what precautions
are taken. Remember, cels were not made to last forever...just
long enough to film!
Try to avoid stacking cels on top of each
other or putting too much pressure on the sides of cel books.
Separate cels from backgrounds and drawings if possible, but
read the precautions below. Most Japanese collectors use cel
books to store and preserve their cels. In our opinion, this
is one of the safest way to store your cels, because it keeps
them out of the light, protected from external forces, and allows
for vertical storage. Click here
for more details and to order.
Most careful Japanese collectors also
place their cels in bags made of relatively inert polypropylene
film. All of the cels we sell include these bags, but it you
have cels without them feel free to contact us about purchasing
some. We have them available on a limited basis. This combination
of cels books and bags are the tried and true method of preservation
used by Japanese collectors over the years. However, there has
been little research done on the long-term effects of keeping
animation cels in polypropylene. ANSI (American National Standards
Institute) allows it for the preservation of photographs, but
there is some evidence that acetate may benefit from being in
a more breathable environment. That is one reason why we clip
a corner off of the cel bag. On the other hand, the polypropylene
can create a micro climate inside the bag that buffers sudden
changes in humidity. We change the bags on our personal cels
every few years and after over eight years they appear quite
well preserved.
Cels with matching pencil drawings (douga)
can become attached when the paint from the cel sticks to the
paper. If you try to peal the douga, it is possible to
also peal the paint from the back of the cel. It is even more
likely you will tear the drawing. To avoid the risk of damaging
the cel and drawing, take it to an animation gallery or your
friendly neighborhood cel dealer to be done professionally. Do
not attempt this at home!
If you have purchased a cel from Nichibei
which is stuck to its pencil, we have concluded that the two
could not be separated without a high probability of damage occurring
to one or both. We have handled several thousand cels over the
past eight years, giving us a fairly good feeling for this type
of thing. We've damaged a few cels along the way, and it is truly
heart breaking, so please don't take the risk unless you know
what you're doing!
