digital photo permanence

[jmccabe]

I'm new to digital photography, love my G2, but only plan to use my photos for family and friends, etc. It just occured to me that I should consider the permanence of these photos that I plan to keep "forever".
Where could I get information on the permanence of paper and ink? I have a HP722C printer. Or should I be having my favorites printed through ofoto, etc.? Any other ideas for perserving the photos would be appreciated.

[eland]

Hi

Permanence of course has to do with printers and inks and papers.

I'm not familiar with HP products.
Epson has come out with expensive "archival" paper and inks that are supposed to last for years.

However even they say that Prints last best if kept behind glass in sealed frames.

Also sunlight tends to fade any picture, so avoid direct sunlight where possible.

So it appears that air contact and sunlight are the enemies of photo prints.

Regards
eland

[Rudi]

Hi,

Let’s remember that traditional photo prints also fade, especially when exposed to the Sun. Old Kodachrome slides get discoloured, even when stored properly. Everything ages! (Including me :()

So let's not make too much of this "permanence" thing! The beauty of digital is, that given some care and regular backups, you can keep your files FOREVER! They're only ones and zeros, and if you have enough copies and transfer them to new media and so on, you can literally keep your photos looking as good as new! This is something that was NOT possible before this, as all analogue media does deteriorate...

[pvdiamon]

I am interested in how folks organize their digital photos. As with anything else, one hates to have only one copy (on the hard drive!). What I have been doing is downloading them to my hard drive, and making a copy to a CD-RW before deleting from the camera. If I have a theme with lots of photos, I make a CD for "permanence". Then I can erase those from the CD-RW. But the problem is collecting bunches of photos with no clear theme. I may have a group of ten or twenty that go together, but that's hardly worth making a permanent CD for. SO, I'd like to hear how others keep up with these digitals. thanks.

[Eric F.]

John,

I do about the same as you in organizing your pictures with themes on cd, I also include the RAW image as a negative on the same cd.

In addition, I keep a "negative file" on better shots on Zip disks and make a cd when I have a enough to fill one and keep them by DATE. This is so I have an unedited copy if ever needed.

Then with the snapshots, small bunchs, etc. I burn them to a cd whenever I have 700mb or when a time period expires (for me 3 months). I then label the CD by DATE.

In more than 4 years at this system, I have always been able to come up with a picture when I wanted to find it. :)