Preserving Archival Photos and Newspapers

Do you have old photos, newspapers, and other documents you need to preserve or archive?   Do you maintain your family genealogy documents? Here are some neat archiving tips & resources to help you preserve your valuable historical photos, newspapers, books & documents make sure they last and stay in the best quality archival condition possible over the years.

Preserving Photos

Did you know?

• No color prints last forever! Black and white is made of silver and not dyes, so it lasts longer than color. So, consider turning some of your more important photographs into black and white prints. (Wonder if this is true of ink-jet printed photos?  My guess is yes as mine do seem to fade)

• You should display COPIES of photos in frames because being in a frame exposed to light makes them fade faster? Originals should be stored in a cool, dark dry place.
• Instead of storing photos in plain cardboard boxes and photo albums, you should buy envelopes or containers that are acid-free, lignin-free and/or have a neutral PH.

Source: The above are claims made by experts at Montana State University-Bozeman, Steven Jackson, head of Research and Collections at the Museum of the Rockies, specializes as curator of art and photography. John Hooton is photography coordinator in the department of media and theater arts. Kim Scott is Special Collections Librarian/University Archivist at  http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/univ/photos.html

http://aic.stanford.edu/library/online/brochures/photos.html

http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/univ/photos.html

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/roosa/roosa1.html

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn10/wn10-3/wn10-302.html

Converting Photos to a DVD Production

http://www.keepitreelonline.com/

Cherie Palmer
Keep it Reel
Phone 201-543-1323

Preserving Newspapers

Did you know?

• 80 % Newspapers printed today will only last about 50 years because of the high lignin content
• Newspapers made prior to the 1850 may last much longer because they had a very high rag content
• The best way to preserve newspapers is to make copies of them onto acid-free  lignin free, alkaline buffered paper (alkaline buffer neutralizes acids that cause yellowing)

Source:  http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/reports/nytimes_preserving.pdf#search=%22Preserving%20Newspapers%22

http://www.ehow.com/how_13081_preserve-newspaper-clippings.html

http://www.historybuff.com/newspapers/preserve.html

http://www.mnhs.org/about/publications/techtalk/TechTalkMarch1997.pdf

http://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/newspap.html

Also see my previous post on preserving archival quality books:

http://blog.neatandsimple.com/blog/2006/04/keeping_old_or_.html

First Published in April 2006.