Archival Photo Storage

by Betty A. Muscott, Photographer

Having taken a lot of photographs we begin to accumulate stacks of photographs and usually we find some kind of box or drawer to store them in. The best are usually displayed in a beautiful leather album, but all of the rest get thrown into a box or drawer and forgotten until something triggers us to get them out.

The problem with this is that photographs will deteriorate over time. Time passes so quickly, and a few years later we pull out the photographs to find them dog-eared and faded. Long enough and they begin to stick one to the other, and as we pull them apart we find parts of the pictures being destroyed.

What a shame! All of that work, the effort to capture those images, the money spent on having them printed and now – ruined!

There Is A Better Way

Archival Storage Boxes

Over the years I have accumulated thousands of photographs, and storing them has become a serious endeavor. So, in order to be sure these photographs would be just as good years later I have researched the best way to store them. There are any number of options, some of which will probably work for you.

Archival Photo Storage Boxes

These special boxes are a great way to store all of those important photographs. They are made of specially treated paper which will not interact with the photographs and cause them damage. Strong, sturdy and attractive these boxes come in a wide range of sizes, colors and designs, one of which is sure to please you!

Multimedia Photo Storage

300 Year CD Photo Storage

So you have decided to store your photographs on cds? While manufacturers originally thought CDs and DVDs would last for hundreds of years, recent research has found that discs may start to degrade in as little as two years. They’ve dubbed the phenomena “CD rot.”

CD rot occurs when a CD or DVD’s aluminum layer breaks down due to ozone and reactive oxygen, making it unable to reflect the laser pulse reading the disc. The breakdown erases the precious memories you’ve entrusted to the disc.

Archival Gold DVD-Rs
incorporate non-corrosive 24-karat gold and patented Phthalocyanine dye to preserve digital images hundreds of years longer than ordinary discs. That’s why it’s called “the 300 year disc.”

Archival Photo Storage Pages

Placing your photos in common, inexpensive plastic holders can cause problems as well. Recently my husband finally got a new wallet to replace his old, worn one. When he went to transfer the photos of our children and grand children to the new wallet parts of the photographs stuck to the plastic sleeves they were stored in! Not good! Not good!

Archival Photo Storage Supplies

I have found a great source for finding and purchasing archival photo storage supplies. You can find a great selection at Exposures Online.

Betty Muscott, Child Photographer

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