Organizing Your Pictures

Photo storage and display essentials from Betty Muscott

Last weekend in my blog we discussed organizing hard copy or printed pictures; this weekend we will discuss organizing & storing your digital pictures in an archival format.

Burn Your Pictures To A CD

After you download your pictures to your computer, I recommend that before you start any work on them, that you burn them to a CD or DVD & preferably in the RAW. This will give you the maximum flexibility to both have a back up to your hard drive on your computer & to be able to work on them should your hard drive crash on you. Some of you have who more than one drive on your computer can make a copy to that drive, but drives are mechanical and can fail. Anything that can fail, someday will fail.

The Best CDs and DVDs For Storing Photos

I have consulted a computer technical expert about the kinds of CD’s & DVD’s are the best to use for storing pictures. I was advised that I should the CD- or DVD- because they will work on most machines, even the older ones. Try to avoid the CD+ or DVD+ or the RW’s.

CDs Don’t Last Forever

Did you know that CD’s & DVD’s corrode & rust? I didn’t until recently. Normally, they last from only 2-20 years depending upon how they are stored. The best recommendation is to store your digital material where you live, not in the basement or the attic of your home.

My Recommendations

So what do I recommend to do about the corrosion problem? I recommend two things: First, put your CD’s & DVD’s into special corrosion intercept digital pages & sleeves. They offer ultimate protection, acting as a barrier to static electricity and a harmful element that corrodes and tarnish CD’s—extending their life to 40-120 years. Second, purchase archival gold CDs, DVDs and PEN. Put any treasured pictures on archival gold CDs & DVD’s. Trust your memories to Archival Gold recordable media. It’s the most reliable solution found for safe-guarding your images against deterioration. Archival Gold CDs and DVDs incorporate non-corrosive 24 karat gold and patented Phthalocyanine dye to preserve and protect digital images hundreds of years longer than ordinary recordable media. They are now available with Scratch Armor to prevent against scratches, dirt, and fingerprints. Label them with the black Archival Digital Marker that’s non-toxic and solvent-free. Then put the CD’s that are in the corrosion intercept pages into a specially designed digital photo album.

Make Extra Copies

While you are making copies onto CD’s or DVD’s, be sure to make an extra copy (at least of your favorite pictures), and put these CD’s into an archival CD Storage Box to give to someone else in your family or a trusted friend who lives in another home for back-up safe keeping. You will have a lot invested in your pictures. It’s certainly worth while to have a plan to organize and store your precious pictures, and to follow that plan!