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If you have a special newspaper article that you'd like to save and display in a frame, in time you can expect the paper to turn yellow and brittle unless you take a few precautions. Several different preservation methods allow you to properly frame newspaper articles and show them off for years to come – so choose your favorite technique before framing newspaper articles as a final step.
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Before framing newspaper articles, Hints from Heloise advises treating the paper in a homemade solution to help prevent yellowing.
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To make the solution, mix:
Refrigerate the mixture for eight hours to prepare it. Pour the solution into a shallow pan and submerge the clippings one by one, letting each soak in the pan for an hour. Lay out several layers of white paper towel on a clean, flat surface, and carefully place each clipping on the paper towel to dry completely.
If you're nervous about dunking your precious newspaper in liquid, you can preserve it the way archivists do.
Sherelyn Ogden, head of conservation at the society says Minnesota Historical Society, says newspapers need to be placed in a stable, acid-free environment that's dry, cool, dark and insect-free. Newsprint is made with wood fibers that contain lignin, a substance that binds wood's strength-forming cellulose together and makes the paper a unified sheet -- but only temporarily. Over time, the symbiotic relationship turns and lignin gives off an acid that degrades the paper.
