Preserving Your Photos and Other Paper Treasures

The three biggest enemies of your photographs are moisture, sunlight, and acidic storage conditions. Store your photos at a stable temperature in a dry place, away from direct sun, and ensure any substance that comes in contact with them is acid free. There are PH testing pens you can buy at art supply stores that you can use to check the acid content of paper. Do not store your photographs in wooden or cardboard boxes, as these storage containers may not be chemically inert and could accelerate the deterioration of your photos over time.

If your precious photos are currently stored in an adhesive album (commonly called a “magnetic” photo album) you should transfer your photos into an acid free, archival album. If you leave your photos in the adhesive album, the adhesive will eventually eat into the photos and will accelerate their aging. Photos left in these albums for extended periods can even be very difficult to remove, so use care when pulling your photos up from their backing. Another disadvantage to this type of storage method is that any identifying descriptions written on the back of the photo may be lost as the adhesive eats into the back of the photo.

Be wary of photo albums that are labeled as “photo safe” as the criteria for this labeling is rather loose and this still may not be the “safest” album for your keepsakes, despite the label. Look for photo albums that are labeled “archival” and “acid free”. If any plastic protectors are used they should be labeled “PVC free”. Not all “PVC free” plastics are archival so it is safest to purchase your photo storage supplies from a company that specializes in archival products.

Frames can be very harmful for your photos. The cardboard backing is usually not acid free, moisture can form behind the glass, and the framing materials themselves can harm your photo. Consider having your photo scanned and made into a digital print. Put the digital print in a frame for display, but store the original photo using the recommendations made, above.

If you handle your photos with care, store them properly, keep them out of direct sunlight, and keep them in a dry place, you and your family will enjoy them for many years.

Want to scan and store your photos digitally?
Why CDs are not a permanent storage solution

It’s a common misperception that burning your digital files to a CD-R is a permanent data storage solution. Cds that are not factory stamped, but rather burned on a personal computer, use dyes that eventually deteriorate. Some companies claim that data stored on their cds will last up to 100 years. What they don’t tell you is that some cds could become unreadable in a matter of a year or two, depending on how they are stored or the quality of the cd burn. Something else to consider is it is possible that a new technology could replace cds altogether—meaning even if your cds are readable, there is no device to read them.

Does this mean you should give up on cds as a storage medium? Not necessarily. They remain an easy way to store large numbers of images and make sharing these images with your family members a snap. But here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Burn more than one copy in case one version deteriorates more quickly or is a “bad burn”.
• Consider using gold “archival” cds, which are supposed to be more stable and long-lasting.
• Give up on the notion of permanency. Recopy your cds after a period of time—say every 3-5 years or so.
• Be meticulous in how your cds are stored. Keep them in a dry location, out of sunlight. Handle the disk by the edges and don’t scratch or abrade the data side of the cd. Don’t clean your cd with solvents. If you must wipe off smudges do so with a soft cloth, from the inside of the disk out in a straight line and not in a circular fashion. Since the data is laid down in a circular pattern, scratches that happen across this path, rather than along the curve, are less likely to cause problems.
• Label using a pen intended for writing on cds. Note there is still some risk as the ink could still affect the data on the other side. The safest thing to do is to only write on the innermost ring, where there is no recording layer. The disadvantage here is that is a very small area! So if you go that route you may need to come up with a cataloguing system that would allow you to label your cds with short names.
• Store your cds upright in hard plastic jewel cases.