Separating stuck colour photos

[Xícara de Café]

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Hi, a friend asked me how he could separate a packet of colour photos that have become stuck together. My first thought was to use steam, but not too hot. Googling, I see that there's a few mentions of soaking in distilled water. That sounds like a better idea. One post suggested soaking for 60 minutes before trying to separate the photos. 60 minutes sounds a bit long for photolab shots. Any tips?

Thanks

Edit:

The photos in question:

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Edited December 10, 2023 by Xícara de Café

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[fotomas]

Destilled water is not a bad idea, but I guess even normal tab-water should do the job. A few drops of wetting agent could be helpful. Depending how strong they stick together this could take quite a while to separate. Even longer then on hour in the worst case maybe. If they are just briefly connected a few minutes can be enough. Don't tried to get them apart by force. Water should not be to hot. Below 20°C would be best. But longer then 2 or 3 h I wouldn't do. Otherwise the gelatin could be damaged.