Photo Sleeves and Albums

• Only use non-coated plastic polyester sleeves to store your old photographs--such as old Polaroids, ferrotypes, newspaper clippings and other photographic prints. Do not use a magnetic album. Make sure any storage materials are "acid free" also. Cardboard and paper can harm old photographs. For storage boxes, make sure it is plastic and constructed out of polyester or polyethylene. Avoid PVC, or polyvinyl chloride containers.
  
  

Proper Temperature

• Store old photographs in a space where the temperature is around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid placing photo containers, sleeves and albums in direct sunlight. Old photo negatives should be stored in a location ranging in temperature from 30 to 40 degrees. Make sure the storage location is dry and well ventilated.
  
  

Scanning Old Photographs

• When scanning old photographs, wear clean white cotton gloves and handle the prints by their edges. Do not rub, touch or scratch the photograph. Old photographs are easy to damage--especially the sensitive emulsion. When scanning, try to document old photographs from the album they are already in instead of trying to remove them. Use a flatbed scanner and copy the image at a high resolution (above 300 dpi) with the "descreen" function on. Descreening will remove any dots from the image and make the photograph look like a photograph instead of a computerized scan. For old newspaper clippings and engravings, set your scanner to "Line Art" and resolution to "600 dpi."
  
  

Expert Advice on Restoring Old Photographs

• After scanning your old photographs and saving them on your system, photographer D'Lynn Waldron, Ph.D recommends you try the following tools in Adobe Photoshop to clean up and restore your scanned photographs: Use the "clone" tool to cover any cracks, scratches, specks and spots present on your photos; the "dust & scratches" function to blend out dust particles and small scratches like in a background or other area; "variations" tool to resaturate and rebalance colors. This function has a set of "preview windows" so you can see what different changes will look like before you make them; the "brightness & contrast" tool to to give your photographs more depth and detail; the "unsharp mask" function for photographs that are not in focus. This function should be used after you have made all of your needed adjustments.
  
  Waldron also recommends you save your changed scanned file under a different file name from the one used when you originally scanned the photograph. This is helpful if you want to return to the original photograph and make additional changes or to print the original.
  
  

Set Up a Electronic Folder

• Store your scanned photographs in a folder on your computer labeled "Old Photographs" or similar wording. Make any needed adjustments to the photographs like cropping, sharpening, straighten, removing red eye problems, contrast, brightness and color/black and white controls. After scanning your old photographs, store them in proper containers and albums mentioned above.
  
  

Cleaning Old Photographs

• Try to determine what type of photo processing procedure was used to create the photograph before attempting to clean the image. There are several books and guides available for helping to determining photo processes. You can also consult a local photo center or camera shop if you are still unsure. Do not use water to clean any of your old photographs. Wipe them with a clean soft cloth to remove any dust, dirt, debris. Avoid scratching or rubbing the old photograph. Also, do not write on the photograph with a pencil, pen or marker. If you need to make a comment about the photograph, write it on a small label and attach it to the outside of a plastic sleeve containing the old photograph.