Features

Print File 35mm slide pages are made from archival 8 mil polypropylene and are designed to hold mounted slides. Each page holds 20 slides, each in its own sleeve. At the bottom of each sleeve, there is a white strip for identifying the slide it holds. Each page also has its own I.D. / comment strip that stretches almost the entire length of the long side. These pages are described as "side loading", but when hung in a hanging file storage box with their long side up, they are actually top loading. Pages are also three-hole punched for use in binders.

Performance

Loading the slides is very easy. I haven't had any problems with the plastic tearing. Removing the slides is the easiest I've ever experienced, but not too easy - the slides remain in their slots with no "creep out" over time. Metal hanging bars easily slide through the side of the page for use in a hanging file. Better yet, use the Print File SLB-1 plastic hangers - they don't slide out accidentally, they weigh less, and they cost less. The I.D. strips on these slide sheets are easy to write on and work well for helping to identify similar slides. The I.D. strips do not cover the film, even when a slide is oriented vertically in its slot. The I.D. strips are translucent enough that information printed on the slide mount (such as frame number) can still be read through the strip, without having to remove the slide from its slot. With regard to the archival properties of these pages, I guess I'll have to wait a very long time to comment.

Slide page comparison

Compared to archival slide pages from Adorama, BesFile, and Clear File, the Print File pages are the best I've tried for several reasons. First, the plastic seems much clearer and of higher quality. The sealing between sleeves is not perforated but instead one solid seal stretching approximately 75% of the length of each sleeve. Second, each slide is completely covered when inserted into the sleeve. I prefer to have the entire mounted slide protected. With most other brands, a small portion of the slide is exposed, which is supposed to make removing the slide easier. In reality, it's easier to remove slides from the Print File pages and the slides don't creep out of their sleeves over time. This has been somewhat of an annoying problem with the BesFile pages. If the slide creeps out to the point where the film is exposed, what's the point? I subjected the Print File slide sheets to my torture test, which consists of filling the sheet with mounted slides of various thicknesses, then violently shaking the sheet upside down to get the slides to come out, or the sheet to come apart. The only time I was able to get a slide to come out was when I had inserted a thick plastic mount slide into a slot, left it for several months, removed it and inserted a think Kodachrome cardboard mount slide. Apparently, the plastic stretched just enough to allow the slide to come out, after being shaken upside down for several seconds. I call this a torture test because it is very rare that slides are subjected to this kind of treatment, especially when hanging in file boxes (maybe more often in three-ring binders).

Conclusions

The price may be higher than other brands, but not by much. The better design and higher quality are certainly worth any additional expense. From now on, these are my first choice and I may even replace some of my slide pages that were made by other companies.

Recommended: Yes