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What causes photographs
to deteriorate?
Digital restoration
of photographic images is necessary when some of the following damage occurs
on photos:
Light
Prolonged
exposure to UV (ultraviolet) light, contained in sunlight, is especially damaging
to photographs through fading.
Fluorescent
and incandescent light can also cause photographic dyes as well as inks to
fade.
Keep your
pictures from extended exposure to all bright light.
Picture frames
using. UV-resistant glass are readily available in better photo and frame
shops.
Moisture
Damp air
will lead to mold and mildew development on the print or film surface.
Never store
pictures in the garage or basement.
Temperature
extremes and fluctuations in humidity
Cause prints
to crack and become brittle. Don't put any photographic materials in the attic
as well. The ideal storage temperature is between 55 and 68 degrees with a
humidity level between 30 and 40 percent.
The
use of non archival sleeves or photo albums containing PVC's (vinyl polyvinyl
chloride)
Cheaper sleeves
or albums have acids that contribute to yellowing and sticking to the material.
Like humans in a swimming pool and fish in an aquarium, photographs require
proper pH levels.
Use good
archival storage materials such as acid-free photo albums and picture frame
mats. These can be found in most quality art supply and photography stores.
We recommend using photo corners to adhere your pictures to album pages and
the beauty of it is, you can easily remove them from the page and place them
into a new album or mat. So use the "sticky pages" to catch flies,
not your precious pictures!
Fumes
from chemical cleaners and paint supplies contain acids that break down the
prints
Fumes will
break down surface (emulsion) and cause staining and deterioration.
Even the
air we breath every day has very minute levels of oxidizing gasses which cause
the silver in non-digital prints (black and white especially) to shift color
to a yellowish-green in the lighter to mid tones and become mirror-like where
the image was darkest. Don't panic, you don't need to live in a hyperbaric
chamber to extend your own life, just common sense.
Proper storage
of your pictures will slow this eventual degradation greatly.
Excessive
touching and handling of pictures
When you
touch a picture with your bare hands you expose a print to the oils in your
skin (which contain acids,) and you wear out of the paper your photograph
is printed on.
Again, a
good photo album or sleeve can help.
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