preserving your memories

Have you started preserving your families photos and now wonder how to properly store them? I use a lot of the Verbatim 96320 UltraLife 4.7 GB 8x Gold Archival Grade DVD-R, 5-Disc Jewel Case for my families old photos, and now found a great way to properly store them. Family Tree Store has an Archival Section to preserve your families photos, and special memories they have left behind for us.

I will admit, I love kits! Everything you need in one package, no searching for what you may need or forgetting something that really is a need. I have tons of my Archival Discs but they are laying around in the open. Never did I for a moment think about placing them in a photo box or using special markers for the discs. Here is everything that is available in their Photo Preservation Kit.

5 by 7 inch tan storage box is designed to store photos safely, having passed the Photo Activity Test (PAT) for archival quality. Its flip-top lid allows easy access to contents, and reinforced metal edges help the box maintain its original shape after years of use.

   Polypropylene Sleeves there are 25 4×6-inch sleeves and 25 5×7-inch sleeve in this kit.  These archival-safe plastic sleeves will protect your photos/cards from fingerprints, soils, pollutants and the stress of handling. The 4×6-inch sleeves fit standard-size modern prints and smaller photos; 5×7 sleeves are large enough to hold many cabinet cards from the 19th century.

  40 Unbuffered Negative/Print Storage Envelopes.  These envelopes to organize groups of photographs; you can insert photos with or without the included polypropylene sleeves. Label with the stabilo pencil also included in the kit.

                        Archival Gold CD in Polypropylene Case, I have used the Verbatium discs I shared above, and in this kit you will receive a couple discs. How are these different than the ones you buy for music? On these the digital information is stored on CD-Rs in pits that have been burned into the dye layer by a CD burner. The patented phthalocyanine dye layer found in the Archival Gold CD-R reacts to the writing laser faster than the dye layer found in traditional CD-Rs, making it easier for CD drives to read it.

These discs are gold layered and are more dependable, scratch proof. Some promise to last between 100 to 300 years.

  Stabilo Black Pencil, you should never write on the front of a photograph, however,  a stabilo pencil is a safe way to label the back of a print and write on storage envelopes. This is a  water-soluble pencil features a soft, waxy lead that makes clear, dense, legible marks on paper, glass, metal, photos and film. Pencil lead wipes off smooth surfaces with a damp cloth and is easily erased from paper.

Pigma Identi-Pen (black)

Something I never considered needing, an archival-safe solution for labeling folders and your Archival Gold CD, as well as making notes on preservation copies or printouts. This pen contains alcohol-based ink with no harsh solvents and writes on virtually any surface, including film, glass, metal, rubber, foil and resin-coated papers. Permanent on most surfaces, the ink can be removed from solid, non-porous surfaces with a solvent such as alcohol. This pen contains a fine-point marker on one end and an extra-fine plastic tip on the other.

Disposable Cotton Gloves. This was something I got when I started working with our families old photos. While I do not toss them, I also try not to touch photos without these gloves. I had gotten mine around the time I got my flip pal and started restoring the photos digitally.