|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Today, more than ever, people are researching their roots and discovering details about their past. Names and dates are merely the framework of a family's history. Stories and photographs give it character, sentimental value, and historic importance.
When you collect old photos, you are doing your part to maintain a family history. You understand the value and importance of passing down family photo collections through generations.
Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the true danger their photo collection is in. Although a photograph may survive decades after the person is gone, it is vulnerable to its surroundings. Many factors are contributing to the deterioration of your photos, including heat, humidity, sunlight, aging, and rodents. Regardless of the storage conditions, your collection of photographs will inevitably succumb to its environment.
Make your photographs last forever and protect your heritage through Plastic Trees photographic digital preservation. Unlike emulsion-based photographic prints, digital images never fade, erode, or crack with age. Digitalized photographs can be copied, shared, e-mailed, and printed, without ever losing any quality. Your photographic heritage will be forever preserved on a collection of archival CDs to be appreciated for many lifetimes.
|
|
|
|
|
Ultraviolet Light
|
|
|
Direct sun and standard fluorescent lights are strong sources of ultraviolet light. UV light is especially damaging to color photographs, robbing them of their original brilliance through bleaching and fading.
Don't regret the idea of showing off your prized photographs. Display a copy and keep the original stored safely away.
|
|
Smoke, Fire, and Water
|
|
|
Floods and fires are threats that can destroy or severely damage entire collections of irreplaceable photographs. Your photos would require extensive restoration to repair the smoke and water damage, which can be costly. The easiest way to ensure that your photographs will survive such disasters is to have them digitalized to an archival CD collection which can then be stored in a safe or as a duplicate copy at a relative's house.
|
|
Metallic Objects
|
|
|
Photographs are commonly stored in drawers and boxes which can cause more harm than most may realize. Metallic objects, such as paper clips, pens, keys, and screwdrivers, are very damaging, scratching the surface of prints, slides, and negatives.
Search through your drawers and storage areas and remove any photographs, slides, and negatives. Gathering all of your photographs from their scattered locations and digitalizing them onto archival CDs gives you the peace of mind that your photo collection is finally safe and secure.
|
|
Adhesives
|
|
|
Any adhesive, such as rubber cement and tape, is especially harmful to photographs. Liquid adhesives contain chemicals that will permeate your photograph, breaking down the chemical bonds, promoting accelerated deterioration.
Using tape to repair a torn photograph is always a bad idea. Over time, the tape will lose its adhesive qualities and flake off, leaving an unsightly residue, adding further harm to your all ready damaged print.
Many older photo albums have self-adhesive pages that will yellow and discolor your photographs, and, over time, will permanently adhere themselves to your photos, making it impossible to remove a photo from the album without severely damaging it.
Always use copies of photograph originals in scrapbooks, family history projects, and albums. Protect your copies by using acid-free paper, photo-safe glue and tape, and photo corners. Store your original photographs in metal or acid-free cardboard boxes and plastic sleeves.
|
|
Chemicals
|
|
|
Don't store your photo collection in a closet with household cleaners or other chemicals. Always be sure to keep your photos away from a freshly painted room. Airborne substances contain fumes and pollutants that are damaging to prints. Fresh paint vapors interact with the silver image material, causing it to fade.
|
|
Rodents and Insects
|
|
|
Rodents and insects view a photo collection as a favorite nesting place. In addition to eating photos, they fowl the area with their droppings. Their nests are difficult to locate and remove, and by the time you discover their presence in your collection, the damage may be irreversible.
|
|
Heat and Humidity
|
|
|
The emulsion layer of a photograph is made up of organic gelatin material that serves as a binder for holding the final image material to the backing paper support. High humidity causes the gelatin to become sticky and soft, while low humidity causes it to shrink, crack, and curl. Uninsulated basements and attics have rapid fluctuations of temperature and humidity, promoting the movement of moisture in and out of the photograph, speeding up the rate of chemical deterioration, and promoting the breakdown of the gelatin layer that binds the image material to the backing paper support.
|
|
Have Your Photos Digitalized Now
|
 |
Plastic Trees photo digitalizing is your solution to winning the seemingly unwinnable war against losing your photo collection forever. Each of your photos is treated with the utmost respect and care during the digitalizing process. Every digitalized image is carefully inspected for quality and enhancements such as color/contast correction are performed while minor defects that were apparent in the original photograph are repaired, resulting in a digital copy that often surpasses the quality of the original.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Your family's memories and heritage are in danger of being lost forever. As hard as you fight it, your collection of photographs is degrading fast. The only way to prevent your family history from disappearing is to make high quality digital copies of your photographs.
Imagine having all of your family's photographs within easy reach at any time. Digital files are easy to view and share with your family and friends free of the risk of damaging the originals. Having your collection of photos on a disc makes it easy to integrate into family projects, such as scrapbooking, family histories, school assignments, and special gifts.
|
|
 |
|
|
Resolve family bickering and prevent future issues with copies of your digitized photo collection. Your cherished collection will be more appreciated when all family members are able to view, utilize, and pass on copies to their own children. Leave a legacy right now -- Make copies and give them to everyone to be handed down to several generations to come.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
You are proud to have your favorite photo of your mother. It is a priceless treasure, and you don't want to have to be afraid to show it off. Digital archiving allows you to make a digital copy that can be placed on exhibit in your home without contributing to the deterioration of the original. Store the original in a safe place and display a digital copy on the wall, and you never have to feel guilty of any disasters that may occur.
Once in digital form, you can make a perfect copy of your photograph every time. Your digitalized photo collection won't degrade with age, and at such a small size, you can afford to have several backups without taking up space.
It is important to know that you have a special photograph hidden away safe from harm, but isn't it more important to be able to view, share, respect, and appreciate your cherished photograph? Digital archiving allows you to do both -- you can have your cake and eat it, too.
|
|
|
|
