Hello, i’m really in need of some preservation advice!
I have seventeen 8x10 stills that are being destroyed by yellowish dots. The yellow spots don’t have a surface, feels as if nothing is on it. Thirteen of the photos effected were in polyethylene bags
https://www.bagsunlimited.com/product/3647/8-x-10-still-sleeve from bags unlimited for 3 years. The other four are from the movie “They Live”. I had left the They Live photos in its press kit folder and the regular plastic bag they came in for 2 years. The damage to the They Live photos is minor and on 4 out of the 8 photos. All the damaged photos were purchased in 2013. I have central air conditioning and keep all sunlight out of the rooms where i keep them. It stays pitch dark in the rooms during the day when no light’s are on.
At this moment none of my lobby cards or movie posters have any damage.
Most of my lobby cards and 8 x10 stills are not in bags.
I keep them stored in boxes from bags unlimited
https://www.bagsunlimited.com/product/6961/graded-maglgsheet-musiclobby-cardbr11x14mats-plastic-corrugated-box“The Thing” scanned on September 4, 2015 along with an updated scan from May 2017. I purchased this photo from a seller called historicimages-store on eBay around february of 2013.
September 4, 2015
May 2017
September 4, 2015
May 2017
September 4, 2015
May 2017
This photo was purchased in january of 2013 from movieposter.com
Predator press kit photo from ebay 2013. Five Predator photos and the 2 ones i had in bags have this damage. The 3 other ones not in bags look fine.
This Predator photo may have had a few small dots on it when it arrive, but i don't remember seeing any back then.
I didn’t notice this photo had any yellow dots until i examined it with a flashlight.
This Weird Science photo already had a few big yellow spots and 2 little dots when it arrived in 2013. There’s been a big increase since then. Scan from may 2017.
I moved the effected photos into another room away from the others just incase this is something contagious.
Could humidity have caused this damage? I never owned a dehumidifier, but i’ll pick one up soon.
Thing i can't figure out is how these photos went downhill like this when i have had other press stills in the same environment and even worse conditions over the last almost 30 years and yet they still look good.
A few days ago i found 2 press stills i thought i had lost back around the year 2000 in a old box in cheap plastic covers and somehow they still look good.
Also been searching the internet looking for information such as photos with the same kind damage as mine and came up empty.
I truly appreciate any assistance from this knowledgeable community in helping me find the source of this problem.