June 4, 2025
It’s time to ask yourself: How am I storing all those precious family photos, old letters, certificates and other mementos?
If you’re trying to preserve them for future generations, there are some things you should think about.
- All plastic and paper materials used to display or store heirloom photographs, certificates, letters, newspapers, etc. need to be archival quality materials.
- If using plastic enclosures like photo albums or plastic envelopes/document protectors, they need to be made from uncoated pure polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester. Those materials are considered stable and non-damaging to photographs.
- AVOID the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics – they generate acids which can fade your photos and cause paper document deterioration. PVC can sometimes cause images or printed documents to transfer to the plastic.
- Photos can be stored in plastic pocket pages for organization in another contains like albums, folders, or boxes – BUT – don’t forget to use containers that are also archival quality.
- When using paper enclosures to preserve your photos or documents, the enclosures should be made of high quality, non-acidic, lignin-free paper made from cotton or highly purified wood pulp. AVOID envelopes with a center seam. Seam adhesives can cause fading or staining of the photo/document. If you have to use envelopes with a center seam, make sure the seam is on the back side of the photo/document.
- Damaged photos or documents are best stored flat inside protective enclosures (envelopes, boxes, or other archival paper enclosures).
- Finally, consider digitizing your photo/document collection. Even the best-preserved heirlooms can deteriorate with age, just like us; but unlike us, there is a way to preserve (and easily share) a copy potentially indefinitely through digitization. If you don’t have the expertise or interest in doing it yourself, there are many businesses that offer this service.
Most importantly, it’s going to take time – so get started!
For more information, check out the National Archives Preservation website: https://www.archives.gov/preservation/family-archives
