Tips on the Safe Handling and Storage of Photographs and Negatives

by Glen Smith M.Photog. and Accredited Professional Photographer.

Enemies and Some Remedies:

1) Moisture and Humidity can do untold damage to photos and negatives by allowing mould to grow. The mould produces acids and other chemicals which attack and damage the film or negative emulsion. Always handle photos and negatives with clean dry hands. Preferably store in an airtight container with a desiccant such as silica gel or one of the new "closet camels".

2) Acid that is in cardboard and paper and is in contact with the photographs or negatives can discolour and eventually destroy them. Acid is used during the manufacture of paper and cardboard and also occurs naturally in wood fibre. This acid causes the paper to discolour, that is go yellow with orange to brown discoloured areas and is worsened by high humidity. This discolouration is known as "foxing" and is commonly seen in old cheap paperbacks and newspapers. The solution is to make sure your photographs are only in contact with "acid free" paper and cardboard. This is especially important when framing. Both the mats surrounding the photograph and the backing board should be acid free. Some mats of the cheaper type are not acid free, while some are low acid. The best (and most expensive) are "acid free" also called "archival quality". Cheap photo albums will also cause problems. The type you can buy for a few dollars at news agents, book shops and chain stores are usually not acid free. The "el cheapo" with the peal away plastic pages are the worst type and can be guaranteed to destroy your photos in a little as six months! Plastics should also be kept out of contact with negatives and photographs. Invest in a professional quality acid free album for your most precious photos. Another option is an archival box with polypropylene sleeves. Store albums and archival boxes in a low humidity area, preferably with silica gel or a cupboard "camel".

3) Sunlight or more specially the UV part will fade your colour photographs as it will anything that has colour dyes such as fabrics and paints. Fluorescent light tubes can also be a problem as some of these emit UV. The ordinary tungsten type of bulb is not a problem. The solution is to keep your photographs away from fluro tubes and out of bright light particularly direct sunlight. Hang your photographs in an area that doesn't get any direct sunlight. Only half an hour per day of sunlight through a window adds up to a lot of UV in a short period and will cause noticeable fading. Consider using the more expensive UV resistant glass to frame your photos with. Black and white photographs which do not contain colour dyes and are printed on b/w photographic paper are less likely to fade. A toned b/w print such as sepia, selenium or gold toned will be archival if printed on a quality b/w photographic paper, processed correctly (the acid paper fixer fully washed out) then stored correctly. This is generally what museums and art galleries do for the long term archival storage of their photographs.

4) Handling negatives and photographs can result in creases, cracks and scratches in the photographic emulsion. In extreme cases whole areas of the emulsion may be missing or the photo may be torn. Handle photographs with respect and do not bend or crease them. The less handling of them the better and preferably handle photos by the edges with clean dry hands. Clean white cotton gloves are ideal if not always practical. Acids secreted in perspiration will damage photos and oils from skin secretions will attract dirt. Negatives are particularly subject to damage. The smallest spot of dust, scratch or finger print will be enlarged many times when the negative is printed. Always handle negatives by the edges. A finger print on a negative can ruin a print. Negatives can be gently wiped to remove fingerprints but then there is the risk of scratches. Do not try to repair torn photos with "sellotape", even on the back of the photo! It will do even more damage as it ages and is almost impossible to remove without causing further damage. Store valuable negatives in acid free (not plastic) archival sleeves. Remember that as long as you have the negative in a good printable condition, you will be able to get good prints off it. The photographic print is only as good as the negative it was printed from.

5) Poor Framing may be a combination of some of the above. Old family portraits were often beautifully taken and printed onto quality b/w paper then pasted onto cheap cardboard when framed. Masonite is even worse. This results in the cardboard becoming yellow/orange then similar stains appear on the photograph. There is no cure except to gently remove the photo from its backing board to prevent further damage. Copying the photograph with b/w film and using an orange filter will remove most stains when the new negative is printed. Otherwise scan the photo at a minimum of 300dpi and store the file as a high quality JPEG or TIF File.
Another problem with framing is the photo touching the glass. Over time, and when there is high humidity the emulsion on the photo can adhere in patches to the glass. Gloss surface photos are notorious for this. Once again there is no cure and it is impossible to remove and unstick the photo from the glass. The solution is to use an acid free mat surround, so that there is an airspace the thickness of the mat between the photo and the glass. The photo then doesn't touch the glass. Sometimes mildew will form on the inside of the glass after a number of years, but this can be cleaned by dismantling the frame and generally the photo is undamaged.

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