Is temperature an issue?

[BrandonJ]

Just moved into a new place that does not have any type of central air/air conditioning unit. My question is simple, does temperature effect prints in any way? Cool vs warm etc.. If anyone has information it is appreciated.

[fredo]

Temperature changes will have an effect. The degree (get it?) to which a print is affected will depend on how extreme the differences are and also the paper. Presumably you won't have much humidity control either? That's a potential game changer too.

ps great avatar

[BrandonJ]

Thanks fredo, yeah I recently moved in to a new apartment and it's about 15 Celsius (Canadian here) which is roughly 60 fahrenheit. Never thought about temperature until last night when was contemplating bringing in my more expensive prints before the air conditioning unit is bought. I read somewhere that keeping your prints in an environment that you are comfortable in temperature wise is a good spot.

[srdzevon]

Bradbury claims 451 Fahrenheit is bad for paper. Not sure what that is in Celcius.

Sorry. What Fredo said.

[hayward96]

Changes in temperature cause changes in humidity level. If you are in a place that has low humidity ie: the bay area in northern CA, or Denver, you should have no problems at all, if you are in New Orleans or Florida, big problems with humidity.

How are your prints stored? A sleeve or portfolio will protect more than a flat file or on a table top.

[fredo]

Slight clarification- temps don't usually change the amount of water in the air (aka the absolute humdity). Instead, the relative humidity (% of water in the air relative to the amount that could be in it) changes as the temp goes up/down. Hot air can hold more vapor than cold.

Feel free to ignore this:
For example, and pulling numbers outta my butt, if you say the air temp is 80F/27C and the amount of water vapor is 3 and that the air can hold 6 vapor, then this equates to 50% relative humidity at 80F. As the air cools X won't change but the % will rise as the capacity to hold it drops until it reaches 100% (3) aka saturation....aka the dew point. Then you get condensation. And that's how your mother and I made you.

[BrandonJ]

@hayward96 My prints are so far stored in a flat file. Top drawer holds the portfolio books that I keep most of my handbills, stickers, small prints. Now that I have a bigger place I knew my setup needed to change and I am in the process of getting sleeves and other equipment to make preserving prints more hassle free.

@fredo Thanks a ton, I had a feeling humidity would be an issue. Thankfully it's only been hot about 4 days and I have a dehumidifier running to lower the temp as well as a few more days to go until the air unit is installed. Now that I know to keep levels low and not feel like I live in New Orleans, Louisiana I feel better.