How can you keep photos from changing colors and becoming faded? It seems pictures I had developed at K mart ten and fifteen years ago are fading…yet photos I had developed last week are crisp and clear.
I have them in photo books, but someone mentioned to me that the plastic covering was actaully doing more damage then good.
What’s the scoop?
Thanks
Most mass photo-processing is done in the cheapest way possible and the print emulsion slowly decomposes.
Think of those old time photo’s on glass plates and you find that they are still sharp thought the prints themselves may have faded.
You can pay more at specialist dealers, a great deal more and you would be surprised at the differance in quality, the clour are more saturated and the definition is way better.
Like many things, you get what you pay for, those old time photos were very expensive which is why so many of the subjects put on their best clothes when posing for them, it’s also why there are far fewer old photos of everyday life, people just didn’t take snapshots back then.
Acid-free.
Mrs. Rastahomie is positively obsessive about preserving her photos, and this means making sure that her photos are kept on acid-free and lignen-free paper. Those photo albums that you buy at Wal-Mart, especially ones with the adhesive paper, are chock full of acid and will leech out the colors of your photos over time.
Go to a hobby supply store (I recommend Hobby Lobby) and ask the clerk to direct you to the acid-free and lignen-free photo supplies. They should, at the very least, point you to acid-free albums. You’ll have to pay more, but it’ll be worth it.
And Mrs. Rastahomie will bless you.