Proper Handling and Storage of Paper Photos


Youv'e taken that perfect photo in the perfect light at the perfect angle and it has turned out beautifully.

How you handle and store the photo from now on will determine how long it will last.

No one wants to pull out their photo album only to to come face to face will faded, yellow and warped photos.

With the proper handling and storage of photos you can help prolong the life of your precious moments until they can be transfered into a digital format for extended storage life.

To simplify things I have broken down the procedures into 10 steps.

1. Never eat, drink or smoke around photographs.

2. Always wear clean white cotton gloves to handle your photos. This will keep skin oils off of the photos.

3. Never bend a photograph to pick it up. Slide it to edge so that it may be picked up in a manner that keeps the photo flat.

4. When removing photos from a bag or sack, hold the photos steady and still in your hand and pull the bag or sack away from the photos. Never pull on the photos. By pulling the sack or bag you are lessening the tork and stress on the photos.

5. Never store photos in an album that uses any type of adhesive to hold the photos in place. The chemicals will only speed up the break down of the photograph.

6. Never store photos in direct florescent or sun light.

7. Always store your photos in the room that has the least amount of heat and humidity. This will help slow down the mold and mildew that will attack photos.

8. Any type of album or plastic used to hold photos must be chemical and acid free.

9. If a photo is showing signs of dust use a very soft bristle brush to lightly dust photo.

10. Never write on the back of photos. This places grooves and places cracks in front of photo that will show up on face.

Paul F. Olshefsky is the owner of "Sentimental Services" a service that specializes in the creation of Picture Book DVDs and keepsake videos. His introduction into the digital world started back in 1987 when he was trained by the U.S. ARMY on teir Tactical ARMY Combat Service Support Computer System. He has continued to further his digital knowledge thru college courses.Paul F. Olshefsky
http://www.SentimentalServices.com