Yellow Highlighter Marks

Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from pages?
They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter

Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter

Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them
should be tattooed with them, on the face.

"Al Smith" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from
pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter

Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them should be
tattooed with them, on the face.

I agree. If this is a lost cause, maybe Francis can
do some experimenting?

Some are water-based, some-alcohol based. I'd get
adventurous on the least-highlighted page, and carefully
dab with water or alcohol-soaked q-tips. Put a paper
towel on the back of the page, to soak up bleed-through.
Pretend you're removing that crap from your finest
silk shirt.

Kris
I've removed crayon from book pages, with Thoro

Kris Baker wrote:

"Al Smith" wrote in message
...


Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from
pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter


Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them should be
tattooed with them, on the face.



I agree. If this is a lost cause, maybe Francis can
do some experimenting?

Some are water-based, some-alcohol based. I'd get
adventurous on the least-highlighted page, and carefully
dab with water or alcohol-soaked q-tips. Put a paper
towel on the back of the page, to soak up bleed-through.
Pretend you're removing that crap from your finest
silk shirt.

Kris
I've removed crayon from book pages, with Thoro




I do not know the base of the yellow marker in the book I am concerned
about. I have now performed the following experiment as a first try.


Method: I experimented on printer paper where the ink had dried for
months. I used my own yellow marker and let it dry for an hour or so.
Then I applied isopropyl alcohol.


Results: Not effective. While it looked as though the yellow was
disappearing when wet, it reappeared when dry and the paper had become
non-flat in the area where the alcohol was applied.


Safety (for the paper) not examined.


Francis A. Miniter

"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:443ab929@kcnews01...
Kris Baker wrote:

"Al Smith" wrote in message
...

Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from
pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter

Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them should be
tattooed with them, on the face.


I agree. If this is a lost cause, maybe Francis can
do some experimenting?

Some are water-based, some-alcohol based. I'd get
adventurous on the least-highlighted page, and carefully
dab with water or alcohol-soaked q-tips. Put a paper
towel on the back of the page, to soak up bleed-through.
Pretend you're removing that crap from your finest
silk shirt.

Kris
I've removed crayon from book pages, with Thoro


I do not know the base of the yellow marker in the book I am concerned
about. I have now performed the following experiment as a first try.


Method: I experimented on printer paper where the ink had dried for
months. I used my own yellow marker and let it dry for an hour or so.
Then I applied isopropyl alcohol.


Results: Not effective. While it looked as though the yellow was
disappearing when wet, it reappeared when dry and the paper had become
non-flat in the area where the alcohol was applied.


Safety (for the paper) not examined.


Francis A. Miniter

Well, I guess that's not going to work. I know I've had some
that bled when the paper was damp....so maybe you can
try this with water, on the same sheet?

Thanks for trying.

Kris

Kris Baker wrote:
"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:443ab929@kcnews01...

Kris Baker wrote:


"Al Smith" wrote in message
...


Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks from
pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter


Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them should be
tattooed with them, on the face.


I agree. If this is a lost cause, maybe Francis can
do some experimenting?

Some are water-based, some-alcohol based. I'd get
adventurous on the least-highlighted page, and carefully
dab with water or alcohol-soaked q-tips. Put a paper
towel on the back of the page, to soak up bleed-through.
Pretend you're removing that crap from your finest
silk shirt.

Kris
I've removed crayon from book pages, with Thoro



I do not know the base of the yellow marker in the book I am concerned
about. I have now performed the following experiment as a first try.


Method: I experimented on printer paper where the ink had dried for
months. I used my own yellow marker and let it dry for an hour or so.
Then I applied isopropyl alcohol.


Results: Not effective. While it looked as though the yellow was
disappearing when wet, it reappeared when dry and the paper had become
non-flat in the area where the alcohol was applied.


Safety (for the paper) not examined.


Francis A. Miniter


Well, I guess that's not going to work. I know I've had some
that bled when the paper was damp....so maybe you can
try this with water, on the same sheet?

Thanks for trying.

Kris


SECOND TRY:

Warning: This is not for the faint of heart. Potassium Permangante turns the
paper a reddish purple. You have to stay calm and trust that that stain will be
cleared by the sodium bisulfite. Oh yeah, I have all this stuff because I am a
serious darkroom photographer.


Method: Again I used printer paper as above. This time I applied a 5%
solution of potassium permanganate (with a cotton swab), let it sit a few
minutes, then applied a 10% solution of sodium bisulfite.


Results: The reddish stain from the PP cleared and some of the yellow stain
went, but not all of it. I have not yet tried a second application. I am
waiting for adequate drying to occur. Again, the paper wrinkled a bit, but less
than from the isopropyl alcohol. The black print was - as far as my eye can
judge - not affected by this method.


As to paper safety, I tried this method because it is mentioned by Charles A.
Goodrum, a former head of the Library of Congress, as a method to eliminate
foxing. It is also mentioned in an Abbey Newsletter conservation article on
bleaching:
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg.../an13-516.html
But I do not know myself how safe it is long term for the paper. The sodium
bisulfite has an acid pH. In a 10% solution it would not be too low, but still
on the acidic side. It may be that the NaHSO3 neutralizes the pH of the PP when
they are applied in certain proportions. I have not checked that, though I will.


Francis A. Miniter

"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:443b1d6d@kcnews01...
Kris Baker wrote:
"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:443ab929@kcnews01...

Kris Baker wrote:


"Al Smith" wrote in message
...


Does anyone know of a safe way to remove yellow highlighter marks
from
pages? They were, of course, made over sentences.


Francis A. Miniter


Thing of the devil. Impossible to remove. Those who use them should be
tattooed with them, on the face.


I agree. If this is a lost cause, maybe Francis can
do some experimenting?

Some are water-based, some-alcohol based. I'd get
adventurous on the least-highlighted page, and carefully
dab with water or alcohol-soaked q-tips. Put a paper
towel on the back of the page, to soak up bleed-through.
Pretend you're removing that crap from your finest
silk shirt.

Kris
I've removed crayon from book pages, with Thoro



I do not know the base of the yellow marker in the book I am concerned
about. I have now performed the following experiment as a first try.


Method: I experimented on printer paper where the ink had dried for
months. I used my own yellow marker and let it dry for an hour or so.
Then I applied isopropyl alcohol.


Results: Not effective. While it looked as though the yellow was
disappearing when wet, it reappeared when dry and the paper had become
non-flat in the area where the alcohol was applied.


Safety (for the paper) not examined.


Francis A. Miniter


Well, I guess that's not going to work. I know I've had some
that bled when the paper was damp....so maybe you can
try this with water, on the same sheet?

Thanks for trying.

Kris


SECOND TRY:

Warning: This is not for the faint of heart. Potassium Permangante turns
the
paper a reddish purple. You have to stay calm and trust that that stain
will be
cleared by the sodium bisulfite. Oh yeah, I have all this stuff because I
am a
serious darkroom photographer.


Method: Again I used printer paper as above. This time I applied a 5%
solution of potassium permanganate (with a cotton swab), let it sit a few
minutes, then applied a 10% solution of sodium bisulfite.


Results: The reddish stain from the PP cleared and some of the yellow
stain
went, but not all of it. I have not yet tried a second application. I am
waiting for adequate drying to occur. Again, the paper wrinkled a bit,
but less
than from the isopropyl alcohol. The black print was - as far as my eye
can
judge - not affected by this method.


As to paper safety, I tried this method because it is mentioned by Charles
A.
Goodrum, a former head of the Library of Congress, as a method to
eliminate
foxing. It is also mentioned in an Abbey Newsletter conservation article
on
bleaching:
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg.../an13-516.html
But I do not know myself how safe it is long term for the paper. The
sodium
bisulfite has an acid pH. In a 10% solution it would not be too low, but
still
on the acidic side. It may be that the NaHSO3 neutralizes the pH of the
PP when
they are applied in certain proportions. I have not checked that, though
I will.


Francis A. Miniter

I assume you're not responsible for these highlighter marks yourself
then Francis ? ( One word, four letters, first letter "J".) So did you
acquire the book without realising it contained highlighted sections?
Because all other things being equal this seems to point up a very
good moral for all book collectors, either actual or aspiring.

Which is, that unless you're actually interested in leading edge chemistry
and\or book restoration, inspect all prospective purchases very carefully,
even 1c bargains bought by the box load. Because otherwise they can
involve you in endless trouble, and moral dilemmas concerning what
level of damage you're prepared to accept.

For myself, unless I needed a copy of that text for some specific
purpose and\or the book was otherwise totally unobtainable, I'd take
it straight down the thrift and try and forget all about it as soon
as possible. But then YMMV.



michael adams

....

michael adams wrote:

I assume you're not responsible for these highlighter marks yourself
then Francis ? ( One word, four letters, first letter "J".) So did you
acquire the book without realising it contained highlighted sections?
Because all other things being equal this seems to point up a very
good moral for all book collectors, either actual or aspiring.

Which is, that unless you're actually interested in leading edge chemistry
and\or book restoration, inspect all prospective purchases very carefully,
even 1c bargains bought by the box load. Because otherwise they can
involve you in endless trouble, and moral dilemmas concerning what
level of damage you're prepared to accept.

For myself, unless I needed a copy of that text for some specific
purpose and\or the book was otherwise totally unobtainable, I'd take
it straight down the thrift and try and forget all about it as soon
as possible. But then YMMV.



michael adams

...




Hi Michael,


No, I didn't do it. I just bought a book without noticing the
highlighting, which only occurs on 4 pages - I did not look past the
copyright page. When Kris suggested I experiment, I decided that with
the photochemical lab that I have in my basement, the books I have on
photochemistry and formulations and with resources such as the Abbey
Newsletter that I have used from time to time , I was probably in a
better position than most to do a little testing. But I am testing
only on sheets of paper. I do not know if I will ever try any of this
in a book. If I do, I will experiment first in a throw away paperback.


Also, I have been working very hard of late and need a little
distraction. So this is partly an intellectual exercise. And, I must
confess, I do have an interest in conservation issues, both as to
photographic materials and as to book materials. Acid paper in early
20th century books has been a concern since the world is likely to lose
a wealth of material, and some of us might lose books of value. But
that is another question.


Francis A. Miniter

"Francis A. Miniter" wrote in message
news:443bc583@kcnews01...
michael adams wrote:

I assume you're not responsible for these highlighter marks yourself
then Francis ? ( One word, four letters, first letter "J".) So did you
acquire the book without realising it contained highlighted sections?
Because all other things being equal this seems to point up a very
good moral for all book collectors, either actual or aspiring.

Which is, that unless you're actually interested in leading edge chemistry
and\or book restoration, inspect all prospective purchases very carefully,
even 1c bargains bought by the box load. Because otherwise they can
involve you in endless trouble, and moral dilemmas concerning what
level of damage you're prepared to accept.

For myself, unless I needed a copy of that text for some specific
purpose and\or the book was otherwise totally unobtainable, I'd take
it straight down the thrift and try and forget all about it as soon
as possible. But then YMMV.



michael adams

...



Hi Michael,


No, I didn't do it. I just bought a book without noticing the
highlighting, which only occurs on 4 pages - I did not look past the
copyright page. When Kris suggested I experiment, I decided that with
the photochemical lab that I have in my basement, the books I have on
photochemistry and formulations and with resources such as the Abbey
Newsletter that I have used from time to time , I was probably in a better
position than most to do a little testing. But I am testing only on
sheets of paper. I do not know if I will ever try any of this in a book.
If I do, I will experiment first in a throw away paperback.

Also, I have been working very hard of late and need a little distraction.
So this is partly an intellectual exercise. And, I must confess, I do
have an interest in conservation issues, both as to photographic materials
and as to book materials. Acid paper in early 20th century books has been
a concern since the world is likely to lose a wealth of material, and some
of us might lose books of value. But that is another question.


Francis A. Miniter

Thanks for doing this, Francis. I've not been a part of (ahem)
a good science project since I was a kid. Although my
husband often looks at his dinner like it's a failed project.

Kris