Preserving your memories…In all honesty, many are not concerned with ensuring photos and pages are of complete archival quality and that is fine. However, if you are interested in preserving your photos to ensure they will not deteriorate for your forebears, consider these important basics:

Newly developed film:

Do not: Keep your film in the envelope from the photofinisher long-term… it may be acidic, however as scrapbooking becomes more popular many photofinishers are changing their methods.

Do: Keep your photos in a storage container designed for long-term storage, specifically one that is light-proof and archival.
If you are organizing photos from envelopes and storing long-term, consider using a storage container designed specifically for archival purposes.

Taking notes of the 5 w’s on photos:

Do not: Write with felt on your photos, unless the markers are acid free as the marker will eventually come through the photos and yellow.

Do: Use acid free markers or even better… use a grease pencil that can easily be wiped off the photo when you are ready to scrapbook.

Long Term Storage:

Do not: Keep your photos/books in hot humid areas (if you live in a northern climate such as Edmonton, AB this should not be a concern.) Store your photos in areas where the temperature fluctuates dramatically.

Do: Store your photos in tepid areas for all to enjoy and see.

Old photos and photo albums:

Do not: Once you have decided to start the hobby of scrapbooking, do not keep your photos in the old magnetic albums a minute longer. Take them out, however this may be hard to accomplish. The best way to refrain from ripping your photos is to use dental floss and saw the picture from the magnetic glue. The glue used in the popular albums of the 70’s and early 80’s is acidic and lignin lined and is not archival.

Do: Take the photos out of the albums and organize into an archival safe storage container. NEXT