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!