Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. RE: Humidification of curled film based negatives 2. ICOM Travel Grants: 21st ICOM-CC Triennial Conference, September 2026 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Joana Silva Posted: Friday January 9, 2026 7:56 AM Subject: RE: Humidification of curled film based negatives Message: Hi Sophie, I have published one of the works you mentioned. At the time I conducted our study, I did a literature review, and in fact there are only a few references to this type of processes (mostly in restoration of cinema). Regarding your question, if you do a water chamber, the RH inside the chamber will be around 100%, because it is saturated with water. In fact, I did not measure the RH inside the vapours chamber (with glycerol, acetone and water), but you can measure easly measure it by placing a datalogger inside the chamber.Otherwise, I think these treatments always require a lot of testing, because the times needed to soften and flatten the films will always vary, depending on the film type and its condition. So, if you want to try the methods, I recommend you to do some testing :) If you have any questions regarding the vapours chamber, just let me know. All bests, Joana Silva ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 1/8/2026 4:15:00 AM From: Sophie Antulov Subject: Humidification of curled film based negatives Hello all! I am seeking some insights into the humidification chamber technique for unrolling/uncurling film-based negatives. I have two panoramic roll negatives and a small section of 35mm motion picture which need to be digitised and have stiff folds. They are all Cellulose Nitrate. I was recommended to use our suction table chamber with a humidifier creating water vapour to gently relax the negatives for flattening. My instincts said to keep RH around 75-80% max and hoping they may relax in a few hours. I've been trying to do some research for recommended parameters or general guidelines, however it seems there is very little published on this technique. I could only find two papers which discuss the use of a vapour chamber: Pietsch 2015, 'Flattening Rolled Negatives on Filmbase', Topics in Photographic Preservation, vol. 16 Silva, Garrucho and Carvalho 2022, 'Unveiling Roland Oliveira's photographic images: development of an unrolling and flattening treatment for silver gelatine 35 mm negative films', CONSERVAR PATRIMÓNIO 39 (2022) 71-80 While these articles have great information around the reasoning and benefits of vapour humidification for relaxing negatives (Pietsch using water and Silva et al. using glycerol/acetone/water solution), neither sadly includes the %RH maintained in their respective chambers. The PMG AIC Wiki page for humidification also has excellent explanation of various techniques for flattening photographs including vapour chambers, but no details on RH%. I am curious if this is simply a technique which requires learning through experience, or if others have more insights from their practice. Also please send through any literature or research I may have missed! Many thanks, Sophie ------------------------------ Sophie Antulov Conservator State Library WA Australia ------------------------------ 2.From: Kate Seymour Posted: Friday January 9, 2026 7:56 AM Subject: ICOM Travel Grants: 21st ICOM-CC Triennial Conference, September 2026 Message: With the support of the Getty Foundation, the International Council of Museums – Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) will offer a limited number of travel grants for museum and/or conservation professionals from emerging economies and developing countries. Eligible applicants must be from ICOM country categories 3, 4, and 5 (according to the ICOM Country Classifications for Conferences) in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. These grants are intended to support attendance at the 21st ICOM-CC Triennial Conference, to be held in September 2026. Who can apply? Qualified museum and/or conservation professionals with a minimum of five years of professional experience, who are currently employed in a museum or related institution, are eligible to apply. While grants are not limited to ICOM members, special consideration will be given to: Individual members of ICOM and ICOM-CC Friends of ICOM-CC Applicants working for an institution that is an institutional member of ICOM How to apply Applicants must complete the grant application form available at the ICOM-CC Website <https://www.icom-cc.org/docs/content/TEMPLATE-Form-for-Getty-applicants-grant-request_2026_OLSO.docx> and on request from the ICOM-CC Secretariat ([email protected] ). Application deadline The firm deadline for submission is: Sunday, 15 February 2026 Applications must be submitted by email only to the ICOM-CC Secretariat. Any questions regarding the travel grant should be directed to: [email protected] All applicants, both successful and unsuccessful, will be notified of the results in April 2026. Sent from my iPhone You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. To unsubscribe from this community discussion, go to https://community.culturalheritage.org/HigherLogic/eGroups/Unsubscribe.aspx?UserKey=d16eaa87-0f69-494b-9f2f-303dbc1222e1&sKey=fab9aa4f27a04c5d876e&GroupKey=757a8f16-505f-4323-8e74-e376757aa9f7.
