Choosing Clear Plastic Storage Boxes For Photos
If a photo is worth printing, it is worth preserving. Choosing the right storage boxes for your prints helps to keep them in pristine condition.
Why Do I Need a Storage Solution for My Printed Photographs?
- Prints on photographic paper are quite easy to damage, especially color prints. Heat, moisture, light, dust, and household pests can all do irreparable damage to photos. If you want to store prints long enough to show them to your grandchildren, you really need a secure way to store them.
- Proper storage makes it much easier to organize your prints. Keeping prints in labeled albums or boxes makes it easy to find the ones you want, when you want them.
Which Features Should I Look for in Photo Storage Boxes?
- Some storage containers that aren't designed specifically for photographs may be made from materials that contain acids. These acids can discolor and degrade your pictures. Archival photo boxes made from acid-free plastic won't damage your prints, making them safe for long-term storage.
- Water is another enemy of archived photos. Choose a storage box with a well-fitting lid, perhaps a snap-tight or locking one. Some lids are designed to make the boxes stackable, which is very useful if you have a lot of pictures to keep.
- Internal dividers or sleeves are great for keeping your pictures organized inside the box during storage. Some storage boxes come with them. If you choose to make your own dividers, make sure that they are also made from acid-free materials.
- Choose an appropriately sized box. Your pictures should be able to lay flat without any bending or creasing. For the same reason, make sure that you buy enough photo boxes to store all of the prints that you want to preserve without having to pack them down tight.
Where Should I Keep My Photo Containers?
- Big swings in temperature are bad for prints, as is excessive heat. Attics and basements tend to have less stable climates than the rooms that you spend more time in, so consider storing your prints in your bedroom or living room. For the same reason, don't store your pictures near a heating vent or radiator.
- High humidity destroys prints more quickly than almost anything else. Look for a room that is consistently below 30 percent relative humidity. A tight lid will help to keep humidity out, but you still shouldn't keep plastic photo storage boxes in your bathroom.
- Exposure to bright light can cause photos to fade and can even damage certain kinds of photographic paper. Clear plastic photo boxes provide very little protection against light exposure. To keep your pictures in perfect condition, keep the boxes out of direct light in a drawer or an opaque storage box.