Family Photo Storage - Some Major Environmental Factors

Despite the good intentions of many families to better organize family photo prints, stacks of photo prints are often stored in unfriendly environments.

Until they get around to organizing the photo print collection, it is useful for them to understand that some things can be done quickly and easily to prolong the useful life of the images.

Most deterioration of the paper, pigments, and binders used for older prints is attributable to chemical reactions. Therefore, any effort to minimize or slow these chemical reactions is helpful. The attic, basement, and garage are simply not good places to store photo prints.

Major environmental factors related to these locations include:

Temperature - Museums strive to maintain temperatures of roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it may not be possible to control temperature as precisely as a museum, the further outside of a human comfort zone, the greater the risk to your collection. Extremes and dramatic swings in temperature damage the paper and other materials in photos and documents by accelerating chemical reactions and/or by expansion and contraction.

Humidity - Museums typically strive to maintain a relative humidity of 50%. Particularly in combination with temperature extremes, humidity both initiates and accelerates many chemical reactions. High humidity can also create an environment conducive to mold and mildew, a situation that can cause rapid deterioration and irreversible damage.

Pollutants - Pollutants include a broad range of substances or objects that cause or accelerate chemical reactions, or create an increased risk of abrasion or other surface damage. These pollutants include dust, smoke, fumes from cleaning materials, chemicals and acids present in improper storage materials, and many glues and tapes used to mount and display images. Even fumes being created by natural chemical reactions in unventilated storage can accelerate other chemical processes. Clean storage areas, reasonable ventilation, and proper archival storage materials reduce the risks associated with most pollutants.

Pests - Insects and rodents may choose to take up residence in certain types of paper. Worse yet, they may perceive the collection to be a food source. The best way to avoid pest damage is to periodically inspect the collection in order to detect and resolve a pest problem early.

Exposure to Light - Museums go to extraordinary lengths to control exposure of collections to certain types of light. Many types of lighting, particularly direct sunlight, impact chemical reactions of the different materials that may be contained in displayed objects, and fade or discolor images in a meaningful way. Careful placement of displayed images, rotation of collections, use of special lighting, and day-to-day display of duplicates, are some of the many techniques used to control the level of exposure to harmful light.

Therefore, at a minimum, photo print collections should be stored in areas of the house that feel comfortable to the home owners. It is better to store the prints in a closet than in an attic, garage, or basement, as the temperature and humidity is likely to be closer to museum standards and more consistent in the closet. It is also important to eliminate obvious pollutants such as paper clips and rubber bands. Use of proper storage materials such as acid free envelopes and boxes will also help to prolong the useful life of the prints.

For additional tips and resource suggestions on family photo and document storage, organization, and image sharing, visit LocalArchiver.com.

Organizing Family Photos - Hysterical Preservation and the 80/20 Rule

With limited time and budgets, families and others hoping to preserve a historical heritage in photos and documents often have a difficult time drawing the line between what is important to preserve and what can be preserved.

Many preservationists have been referred to as "hysterical preservationists" when they appear to take the position that most or all things historic should be preserved. The "hysterical " approach is often criticized as spreading resources and attention too thin, to the detriment of truly special and unique objects of historical significance.

I believe that the same debate can be applied to family photo and document collections. If a collection consists of boxes of photos or "keepsakes" in an attic, there is a decent probability that someone named in your will could be even less motivated to sort and cull the image collection than you are.

On the other hand, if you approach a culling and organizing project as an application of the 80/20 rule, it is much easier to make some decisions and real progress. In a recent culling project of family photos around our house, we tossed about 80% by volume of our old prints.

We determined that uniqueness and mediocrity were the most obvious criteria. We simply decided that we did not need to keep all of the mediocre shots of a trip to the Grand Canyon in 1975. A couple of the better shots of us with the canyon in the background were sufficient to recall a memorable trip in our younger years. Likewise, multiple shots of a young child in a Halloween costume could be easily reduced to the single best shot.

Uniqueness and historical significance can also be measured differently over time. Historical photos of people may only have had significance to the people in the picture at the time. If people in a picture were engaged in some activity that has historical significance, perhaps the activity is the uniqueness to future generations.

In any case, the person who is culling, sorting, and organizing images is likely the person most qualified to judge uniqueness and historical significance. Keep in mind that you are not just sorting and organizing the collection for yourself, you are also helping those who will inherit the images in the future.

If based on the best judgement of the sorter, roughly 20% of the collection ends up properly sorted, organized, and captioned, the most unique and historically significant photos and documents are much more likely to survive and be shared into the next generation.

For more suggestions on culling and organizing photo and document collections, see the article on Organizing Photo and Document Collections.

Family Photo Sharing in The Digital Age

There are now so many creative ways to share digital family photo images. If you have not yet tried some of the popular online photo image services, you likely can not grasp the range of possibilities.

In days past, we would ultimately remember to take that roll of film to be developed and perhaps order double prints so that we could share photos with at least one friend or another family member. Less often we would take a negative to have additional prints made. This is the reason many of us have older one-of-a-kind prints that others would like to have as well.

Now most of us have more recent subjects as digital image files on our computers. Many of us send downsized copies via email or post these in an online album and send a link for a quick look by friends and relatives.

Older relatives without easy access to email or the internet, and those who simply can not be bothered, are now often left out of the image sharing flow.

By easily uploading your images to an online gallery, you can then order inexpensive prints for hard copy display and sharing, create photo books, and access a broad range of other image based products.

My favorite online printer is Shutterfly.com based on its breadth of products and cutting edge services, including its share sites. Uploading and storing your digital images is free. Then you or others ordering prints and image products pay only for orders placed. Your relatives who want a print can place the order and pay themselves. If you know a relative without access to the digital photo album would want a print, you can order one for them and have it delivered directly. Prints are typically shipped within two days, and there is an option to pick up 4x6 prints at local Target stores.

It is also easy to take your best older one-of-a-kind prints and turn them into digital files that can then be added to your online gallery and/or used in other family photo projects.

If you do not have the time, energy, expertise, or equipment to scan your older prints, check out the services of ScanDigital.com.

If you are hesitant to create an online album because you have so many old prints and digital files on your computer, try one of the online services such as Shutterfly with just a handful of images. Once you realize how easy the process can be and experience the flexibility and convenience, you are likely to become more motivated to grab a second handful. You will also begin to see the many sharing possibilities more clearly.

For more family photo sharing guides and project ideas, visit LocalArchiver.com.

Preserving Family Photos and Documents - Archival Paper Basics

Understanding the basic archival qualities of paper is useful in understanding how long a family photo or document might last, and to better select proper paper storage products.

Most paper produced since the late 1800s has been produced using wood pulp, an inherently acidic material. The quality of paper made from wood pulp often equates to how many steps are taken in the manufacturing process to reduce the acidity of the paper and to improve the chemical stability of better quality papers.

This is why we see rapid deterioration of cheaper paper materials such as newsprint, which remains highly acidic. This rapid deterioration is the result of chemical reactions, which are accelerated by light, heat, and humidity.

There are some labeling terms often used with paper products, which provide clues to the appropriateness of using paper for archival storage purposes.

Be cautious as you see these terms, as suppliers' definitions of archival qualities vary. In any case, if you can become satisfied that paper being used for reproductions and storage are chemically stable, your preservation efforts are improved.

pH Balanced - A chemically neutral paper is typically described as pH balanced. This paper will have a pH between 7.5 and 10. A pH of 7.5 is often referred to as "balanced" and a pH of 10 is often associated with "archival".

Buffered - Paper is referred to as buffered when it is manufactured to contain a small amount of Calcium Carbonate to act as a barrier to acid contamination. The calcium carbonate is typically in the range of 2%.

Acid Free - The term acid free is used to suggest a very low acidic content. In paper content descriptions, this is often denoted as the % of lignin content. Lignin is an acidic compound present in wood. Therefore, a very low lignin content percentage is indicative of a low acid content, and is often described as acid free.

Archival - Materials are best described as archival when the pH approaches 10, and lignin is not present. However, you may see materials described as archival when pH is above 7.5, only small percentages of lignin are present, and materials are buffered.

Although many products sold through mass marketers are labeled archival or such, the best way to be certain of labeling is to buy from sources that are experienced with these materials. Dick Blick Art Materials has a dedicated archival materials department and Archival Methods provides a broad range of archival storage products, and provides custom solutions as well.