Archival plastic photo sleeves - are they really? I just spent a pleasant half hour carefully peeling some 1981 photos out of one of those "magnetic" photo albums. Thankfully they were...

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I just spent a pleasant half hour carefully peeling some 1981 photos out of one of those "magnetic" photo albums. Thankfully they were still removable! The album was stashed away in a box of my father's things for the last 20 years and forgotten. As they are mostly about a trip my daughter took to visit there, I'd like to put them in a new album and send it off to her. Are the archival plastic sleeve pages they have nowadays the way to go. If not, what?

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

BlueMorel wrote:

I just spent a pleasant half hour carefully peeling some 1981 photos out of one of those "magnetic" photo albums. Thankfully they were still removable! The album was stashed away in a box of my father's things for the last 20 years and forgotten. As they are mostly about a trip my daughter took to visit there, I'd like to put them in a new album and send it off to her. Are the archival plastic sleeve pages they have nowadays the way to go. If not, what?

I would use archival plastic sleeve pages that are punched for a three whole binder.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Below is a link to an article about archiving film negatives and prints. I recommend you take a look.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/a-guide-to-archiving-your-film-negatives-and-prints-properly

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I've had some pictures in real "archival" <pocket> 3-ring sleeves for over 40 years, none stuck, none changed that I could tell.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Longshadow wrote:

I've had some pictures in real "archival" <pocket> 3-ring sleeves for over 40 years, none stuck, none changed that I could tell.

Thanks for the real-world experience! Maybe I'll gift her an album for Christmas. I'm sure she and her kids and grandkids would enjoy it!

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

JD750 wrote:

Below is a link to an article about archiving film negatives and prints. I recommend you take a look.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/a-guide-to-archiving-your-film-negatives-and-prints-properly

Thanks! I apreciate the link to B&H archival album info and products. Trusted vendor so i trust their products.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

BlueMorel wrote:

I just spent a pleasant half hour carefully peeling some 1981 photos out of one of those "magnetic" photo albums. Thankfully they were still removable! The album was stashed away in a box of my father's things for the last 20 years and forgotten. As they are mostly about a trip my daughter took to visit there, I'd like to put them in a new album and send it off to her. Are the archival plastic sleeve pages they have nowadays the way to go. If not, what?

I had several 3 ring binders of negatives in archival sleeve pages. Other than 3 pages that somehow got wet, I was able to pull them out easily. I don't have paper photos from that time period so I can't say how they would do today.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

hpucker99 wrote:

I had several 3 ring binders of negatives in archival sleeve pages. Other than 3 pages that somehow got wet, I was able to pull them out easily. I don't have paper photos from that time period so I can't say how they would do today.

The photos aren't works of art but my daughter is, so the pictures are precious to me. Looks like sleeves it is!

MrPhotog

Make digital copies of your old prints as soon as you can. Scan them or use a camera to copy them. Those old prints will slowly fade. One year you will look at them and see the accumulated damage of the years.

MrPhotog

Make digital copies of your old prints as soon as you can. Scan them or use a camera to copy them. Those old prints will slowly fade. One year you will look at them and see the accumulated damage of the years.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

Paper copies are great however, I agree that you should scan them and if you like, put a CD/DVD in a holder in the back of the binder. It can be used to create an enlargement of a photo should one be desired and to store the shots in case the paper version is damaged. It makes it a full package.

Silverrails

PixelStan77 wrote:

I would use archival plastic sleeve pages that are punched for a three whole binder.

👍👌

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Be sure to check out light impressions (http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/) They sell a variety of archival quality supplies.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Country Boy wrote:

Paper copies are great however, I agree that you should scan them and if you like, put a CD/DVD in a holder in the back of the binder. It can be used to create an enlargement of a photo should one be desired and to store the shots in case the paper version is damaged. It makes it a full package.

Great idea!

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

The original criterion for archival storage was that paper album pages, envelopes, boxes be acid-free. Plastics sleeves and pages don't contain acids.

The problem with plastics can be if prints or negatives STICK to them. Heat and chemical breakdown cause that. PVC plastic is less stable than polyester or polyethylene.

Choose your storage materials carefully.