bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

1000% agree, I know many print their own with off the shelf inkjet paper and inks. that's fine for them, but I've treasured my photos long enough that I send them out to be printed in archival paper with archival inks. For my personal family stuff that I label and put in books, I use Meridianpro. They "guarantee" the prints to last 200 years if kept in an album. I don't plan to live long enough to test that theory, but I can't imagine that they would fade into oblivion much faster than my tintypes, and those are still viewable.

I'm not saying that what I do is perfect for everyone, but it's as close as I can get for ME.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

It highly depends who/how makes the prints, and what they are using. If you truly want to have the quality of color that you see in the prints from 40+ years ago, don't make inkjet prints, or take them to a pharmacy for inkjet prints, you don't know what kind of inks they are using, or what kind of paper. You need to send them to a quality lab, that makes "wet prints" using Kodak or Fuji paper with a guarantee not to fade.

I haven't checked this out, but my local Costco "supposedly" uses wet processing. Sam's, Walmart, or the pharmacy chains do not. Again, I haven't personally checked it out, because I have a lab that I'm very happy with, and why risk it?

Yes, you do pay more, but if they don't mean that much to you, why do you care?

The other thought that I have is, even if the color shifts, or it fades a little bit.........isn't a faded photo better than no photo at all, because of a lost disk or corrupt drive? I prefer to spend the extra on those photos that mean a lot to me.

RolandDieter

Epson makes the Fast Foto FF-640, a great photo scanner that does prints, postcards, etc. Depending on the original size, it scans up to one photo per second. They load in a slot, similar to how you load paper in top-load printers. This scanner can also scan both sides, which also captures anything written on the back. It can also scan as it sees the photo and/or scan with correction for yellow fading. I've had excellent results with it. Then you can photobook all your old stuff. When it comes to heirs sorting and figuring out what's in a shoebox, some will enjoy the experience and others will just toss.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Technically, multiple hard drives might work. But unless your "key photos" become their "key photos" you may be looking for something that you won't find. Prints, perhaps silver-based prints may offer permanence and the ability to hand off your treasures to your descendants that is beyond a more technical solution.

Nuclear13 Loc: North Lauderdale, Florida

Steve
I don't know what others are doing but after my ex wife died, my son had a load of pictures that were taken over the years. I am in the process of laminating them for him. I'm not sure how long they will last but I suspect if air won't get in to deteriorate them, they will last a long time. How long they will last like that I really don't know. Maybe some other people who know better than me can tell you. Michael

Steve411

Great idea, hope the lamination will result in permanent "frozen in time". After all the great input I will select the top 100 PRINTS of my...no kidding 73,000 edited and named pic for my narrow gene pool and a set for the one cousin that has a passion for family history. The remainder are now on a 4TB drive in the bank which get swapped ever 6mo's or so with the home back up drive. Funny that the cave dwellers had the best initial solution with their cave art... Steve

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Now if only I could figure out how to laminate my ex wife and have her permanently frozen in time. My current wife would definitely help!

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

73,000? Rookie! You need to go out and take more photos!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Yep, cave art lasts a few million years. Even Egyptians had a system of making it lasted several thousand years.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

While admittedly the cave art is older than the Egyptian art, it's less than 20,000 years old.

As far as laminating is concerned, I do that with signs for the farm stand. It's not the air that degrades the images, it's the sunlight. Keep them out of sunlight, like the cave art was (the Egyptian art was also shaded by being hidden in pyramids and temples).

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

You are wrong on your cave art comment.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

While you are right, it would help to present a reference to your comment.

I was thinking of the paintings at Lasceaux, which are considered to be about 17,000 years old. Wikipedia says that the oldest cave paintings are estimated to be 40,000 years old (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_painting)

Still less than "millions of years old"

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I never once said the cave art WAS millions of years old. Only an idiot would say that. Read it again.
"cave art lasts a few million years." That is a projection similar to the stupid projection of the actual life of a paper print that will be unknown until 2218 at least.

Of course if you learn to use Google you can find out what I say is correct or not.
Most clowns on this site love to Google to try and find if I am in error and they generally are wrong.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120614-neanderthal-cave-paintings-spain-science-pike/

DavidThompson Loc: Asheville, NC

I seldom printed photos and then my favorite hiking dog died and I was sad and became depressed and my kids urged me to have an album professionally printed. A week of work with Shutterfly arrived 2 weeks later and I was amazed at how beautiful pictures in print are and it told a story about me and our family and love (him to us and us to him) and it is so easy to look at, and so personal and so therapeutic and when friends pick it up off the coffee table many are speechless or cry...yes it is pictures but it is a 13 year story. It spurred me to pull out albums from my parents youth and my youth, one or two pictures a year, not Nikon or Cannon quality BUT they tell a story and there is love and sacrifice and some relatives I never knew but they are fascinating and the hand written notes are part of the story and I am certain that they will survive. When I go to a waterfall or a monument or a vista, I love the science and the are, but a little voice in my head says, “Thousands of pictures have been taken right here, statistically mine is not the best, but I enjoy the hobby.” I believe an album with a story will beat out the hard drives, etc.

Steve411

Cave Art Facts... So amazing that 35,000 years ago we have first known cave art.. Gee I wonder what their preoccupation was with animals ?
Like tigers... Check out the pictures.. This is about 30,000 years before the pyrmids. Steve411

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave