TIPS ON PRESERVING NEWS ARTICLES GIVEN

You aren't normally a collector, but this year you have been saving every news item you could find regarding Mark McGwire's record-setting season.

Now that you've got it all, what do you do with it?

Local gallery owners and art suppliers said temperature, humidity and exposure to light can all shorten the lifespan of newspaper items. Newsprint also has a high acid content that can cause it to deteriorate within its first year if care isn't taken, they said.

"Newsprint is probably one of the most inexpensive papers that can be purchased," said Steven Gregg of S. Gregg Gallery. "If you just take a newspaper and put it in a box, it really won't do a whole lot for it."

Dealers said there are several preservation options available to people wanting to maintain a paper as a keepsake. The method used depends mainly upon the item's ultimate future value, they said.

Margaret Wells works in the framing department at Hobby Lobby Creative Center. She said she has received several calls this week from people wanting to preserve magazines, newspaper clippings and game tickets related to McGwire breaking the national league home run record, and she expects many more orders before Christmas.

Framing these types of items is difficult because people expect them to have future value, said Wells. Dry mounting or gluing an item to a foam core is a popular preservation technique because the process slows the speed in which an item will become dry and fall apart. However, it also reduces the item's value as a collectible, she said.

"Value is usually in the eyes of the beholder. To me, if you can't really see anything, you can't enjoy it," she said. "Dry mounting enhances value from one standpoint but devalues it from another."

Another newspaper preservation technique is the use of polypropylene envelopes, bags and boxes. These items have no acidity and can be sealed with tape, which stops moisture in the air from oxidizing acid. They are not available locally but can be ordered by most art suppliers.

"I don't have any because I just haven't had very many people want to do that so far," said Jerry Reppen, owner of Cape Art Mart. "I bet it's coming, though."

Reppen said placing newspaper under a special type of glass also helps to preserve it. Ultraviolet rays from sunlight and fluorescent light can fade newspapers over time. Regular glass used in framing helps by blocking about 40 percent of ultraviolet rays, he said. A special blocking glass is about two and one-half times more expensive than regular glass but blocks about 97 percent of rays.

"I haven't had any calls about Mark McGwire memorabilia yet, but I have done this with other things," said Reppen. "Exposure to light can really cause the papers to fade."

Gregg said one of the best ways to preserve a newspaper item while maintaining its collector's value is to deacidify a document. This process, which is very expensive and is best left to professional paper conservators, requires a chemical application to individual newspaper pages to remove acid. The process is time consuming and may cause ink to bleed, he said.

Encapsulation of newspaper pages between pieces of mylar film is the "most perfect way" to maintain its original condition, said Gregg. This method maintains an item's original state and protects it from natural elements.

He recommends that people with items of value contact professionals for the best methods of preservation. Museums are a good resource because they generally work with reputable paper conservators.

"If you go through a museum and have them refer someone, you're pretty much assured you're going to get someone reputable," said Gregg. "It will cost you some money to do that if you want to ensure it's going to maintain its value."