In our modern day and age, one cannot be surprised when new technology is introduced to make life simpler, faster, and more convenient. Technology advances itself so fast that it can be hard to catch up. Sometimes, some people would just like to keep things the way they are, including memories. As time passes by, some memorabilia may grow more and more faded and delicate, and soon, it will just disintegrate. Again, technology answers this problem - enter document drying.



Don't be fooled by the term; document drying ISN'T just for plain papers. Books can be restored too! There are several styles of document drying and each one is made for certain material. Books are restored best when they are freeze-dried. The scientific terms for this are cryodessication and lyophilization. The idea is to dehumidify the book's immediate environment, which in this case will be in a chamber of a lower temperature than that of a normal drying process. The water is then extracted from the document, and at the same time, seals it against any outside moisture. This is also applicable for documents that have been damaged by fire.

Another kind of document drying is air drying. This is when materials are dried in normal conditions, with average temperatures of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. This kind of document drying is suitable for only a one or two-page document. While it is inexpensive, it is also labour-intensive. It has to be looked after thoroughly to make sure no mold formations occur in the process of drying.

Then there's also dehumidification or desiccant air drying, which is one of the newest methods of document drying. This makes use of massive dehumidifiers which control important factors like temperature, air velocity and humidity. The machine makes use of a desiccant chemical whose function is to lower the humidity of the room by 20%, which in turn makes the drying process quicker. This is more successful when drying damp to moderately wet books. One also has to act quickly on this process, as desiccant air drying needs to start within 24 hours of the incident. One of the perks of using this method is that the documents are accessible while they are drying.

Vacuum thermal drying is another form of document drying. Wet or frozen books, in this case, are placed in a vacuum thermal-drying chamber where they are dried, at temperatures just above 32 degrees Celsius. This is ideal for drying a large bulk or quantity of documents as it is very cost-effective. However, it can distort books and may cause adhesion when it comes to coated paper and photographic materials.

The last kind is vacuum-freeze drying. This is a type of document drying where wet books are placed in a low pressure vacuum chamber in smaller batches. They are dried in low heat (temperatures below 32 degrees Celsius) which allows them to go through the process of sublimation. This ensures that no further swelling or distortion takes place. However, this is not the method to use for leather-bound or photographic material.