How to store old photos, prints and negatives
Put each print in a paper or plastic enclosure that passed the Photographic Activity Test, stand them in a fitted box, and keep the box in a cool, dry room. Store negatives in a separate box.
Loose prints in a shoebox are the usual starting point. Move them into enclosures, then into boxes, then into a room with steady conditions, in that order.
Sort by size while you rehouse. One enclosure size per box stops small prints sliding under large ones and getting bent.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
| Item | Enclosure | Box and position | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snapshot prints | Paper envelope or clear sleeve that passed the Photographic Activity Test | Upright in a fitted box, one size per box | Prints sliding in a half-full box; add a spacer board |
| Large or mounted prints | Folder or large sleeve | Flat, in a box sized to the mount | Brittle mounts cracking at the corners |
| Colour prints | As for snapshots | The coolest steady spot you have | Fading on display; show a copy instead |
| Film negatives | Paper envelopes, never plastic for nitrate or acetate | A separate box from prints, cool | A vinegar smell, which means decay |
| Colour slides | Slide boxes or polypropylene slide pages | A separate box, as cool as you can manage | Colours fading |
| Glass plate negatives | A paper enclosure for each plate | Upright on edge, never stacked flat | Cracks, which knocks and vibration can worsen |
| Cyanotypes | Unbuffered paper only | As for snapshots | Buffered paper, which can harm them |
| Prints in magnetic albums | Leave in place unless they lift freely | Album flat in a box | Yellowing adhesive and stuck prints |
Temperature and humidity
The Library of Congress suggests 30 to 50% relative humidity and 21°C (70°F) or below for photographs, with little daily change. Colour prints and negatives do better at 4°C (40°F) or below.
The US National Archives gives a looser home limit: under 24°C (75°F) and under 65% relative humidity, but not below 15%, where paper turns brittle.
A cheap humidity and temperature meter left there for a few weeks shows whether the spot is steady. The American Institute for Conservation names an interior cupboard as usually the most stable.
Places in the house to avoid
These come from US National Archives and American Institute for Conservation guidance. A bedroom wardrobe on an inside wall often clears every one.
- The loft, which heats up in summer and cools in winter.
- The cellar or garage, where damp and flooding are likelier.
- Beside radiators, vents, fireplaces and doorways.
- Below pipes, windows or a roof that has leaked before.
- Anywhere food is kept, which brings insects and mice.
Paper or plastic enclosures
Paper envelopes block light but mean taking the print out to look at it. Clear polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene sleeves let you see both sides without touching the print.
The Library of Congress warns that above 70% relative humidity, a print's surface can stick to plastic. Never use PVC or a plastic you cannot identify.
Buffered paper suits brittle prints. Use unbuffered paper for cyanotypes, which are the blue prints, and for dye transfer prints, since alkaline buffering can harm both.
Negatives, slides and old albums
Keep negatives in a different box from prints. Some negatives give off harmful gases as they age, and acetate film that smells of vinegar is decaying.
Nitrate and acetate negatives go in paper envelopes, not plastic sleeves. Colour slides and negatives last longer cold, so give them the coolest steady spot.
Magnetic albums with sticky pages harm prints. Lift a print out only if it comes away freely; if it resists, scan the page as it is and ask a conservator.
Store oversized or brittle mounted prints flat. Standard prints can stand upright in a full box, with a spacer board filling any gap.
Steps
Sort by type and size
Separate prints, negatives, slides and mounted photos. Within the prints, group by size.
Rehouse one box at a time
Put each item in its enclosure and fill one box completely before starting the next batch.
Number the boxes
Give each box a number and keep a separate list of the years and people in each, stored away from the boxes.
Test the spot
Leave a humidity meter in the chosen cupboard for a few weeks and move the boxes if the readings swing.
Questions
How should I store photos that are 100 years old?
Hold them by the edges, give each its own enclosure and lay brittle mounted ones flat. Flaking, mould or broken glass is work for a conservator.
Are plastic photo boxes and sleeves safe?
Some are. Polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene are suitable materials and PVC is not. Ask the seller which plastic it is and whether it passed the Photographic Activity Test.
What do I do with thousands of loose old photos?
Rehouse them before sorting them in detail. Get each size into a fitted box first, then sort and number within the boxes as time allows.