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Preservation

I found an interesting chart in the June 2008 issue of Family Chronicle about the life expectancies of paper, which is a question I’m often asked by people interested in preservation. According to the author, Gregory Peduto, newsprint/ground wood will last 20-30 years, but has a potential of lasting 50-100 years with proper care.

In contrast, rag paper can last 500 years with a potential of lasting over 1,000 years Archival paper (ISO 11108) will last 100 years with a potential of 500 to over 1,000 years, which is awesome, isn’t it?

Interested in collecting photographs? Color prints will last 5-30 years with a potential of 60-80 years. Black-and-white prints, he says, are paper dependent. Color negatives: 20 years with a potential to last 100 years, and black-and-white negatives, 100 years, with a potential of 500 to 1,000 years.

Photographs are more delicate than papers because of their chemical composition. Like papers, prints need to be stored in mild temperatures and humidity which remains constant. Most of us like to display our pictures in albums, which often causes serious problems for prints. The common album with PVC plastic-covered pages can, he says, strip the emulsion right off the prints, and I imagine a lot of us have had that experience.

Use photo sleeves of PAT (Photographic Activity Tested) plastics, such as Mylar. Protect your negatives, also, with PAT Mylar covers, and they will last hundreds of years.

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